Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton – May 2022

Area prices rose 1.1 percent over the past two months, up 7.5 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Boston advanced 1.1 percent for the two months ending in May 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. Within the all items less food and energy group, price increases were noted for several indexes, including shelter, household furnishings and operations, and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 7.5 percent, reflecting price increases for shelter and new and used motor vehicles. This was the highest annual advance recorded in Boston since November 1981. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, May 2019–May 2022

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, May 2019–May 2022
Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2019	2.3	2.5
Jul 2019	2.0	2.7
Sep 2019	1.1	1.9
Nov 2019	2.1	2.8
Jan 2020	2.2	2.4
Mar 2020	1.8	2.3
May 2020	0.6	1.1
Jul 2020	0.8	0.8
Sep 2020	0.6	0.5
Nov 2020	0.4	0.4
Jan 2021	0.5	0.2
Mar 2021	1.3	0.4
May 2021	3.2	2.3
Jul 2021	4.3	3.3
Sep 2021	4.0	2.7
Nov 2021	5.3	3.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.7
Mar 2022	7.3	5.2
May 2022	7.5	4.9

Food

Food prices advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 3.9 percent, and prices for food away from home inched down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 8.7 percent. This was the highest annual advance recorded in Boston since January 1981. Prices for food at home rose 9.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 7.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.2 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 4.0 percent, and prices for natural gas service fell 11.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 43.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (57.4 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 41.1 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 12.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent) and household furnishings and operations (3.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-5.1 percent) and education and communication (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (14.9 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for July2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000. Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts; Rockingham, Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table A. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
Month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	1.1	2.8	0.5	2.5	0.6	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	6.3
March	0.9	3.6	0.5	2.1	0.1	1.8	0.9	1.3	1.9	7.3
May	0.0	3.2	0.2	2.3	-1.0	0.6	0.8	3.2	1.1	7.5
July	0.3	3.4	0.0	2.0	0.2	0.8	1.2	4.3
September	1.2	3.3	0.2	1.1	0.1	0.6	-0.1	4.0
November	-0.4	3.2	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.4	1.7	5.3

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Ma.-N.H. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
Expenditure category	Historical data	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	May 2022	May 2021	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022
All items		310.311		313.578	7.5	1.1
All items (1967 = 100)		901.926		911.422

Food and beverages		305.791		312.662	8.1	2.2
Food		309.522		316.898	8.7	2.4
Food at home		279.213	281.075	290.104	9.2	3.9	3.2
Cereal and bakery products		338.042		347.425	8.8	2.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		310.171		317.587	12.1	2.4
Dairy and related products		319.740		332.523	14.6	4.0
Fruits and vegetables		357.581		376.289	8.3	5.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		168.060		175.428	4.0	4.4
Other food at home		209.243		219.249	8.2	4.8
Food away from home		362.937		362.550	7.6	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages		268.857		269.720	0.8	0.3

Housing		323.726		325.761	7.1	0.6
Shelter		375.114	376.867	377.395	4.0	0.6	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)		385.422	386.973	388.190	3.4	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)(4)		402.554	403.791	405.346	3.8	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)(4)		402.554	403.791	405.346	3.8	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities		385.343		379.200	28.6	-1.6
Household energy		332.000	335.281	325.258	32.9	-2.0	-3.0
Energy services(2)		334.893	335.526	312.895	21.7	-6.6	-6.7
Electricity(2)		360.829	361.872	346.253	12.9	-4.0	-4.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		272.127	272.127	241.257	41.1	-11.3	-11.3
Household furnishings and operations		146.320		151.131	14.9	3.3

Apparel		143.254		135.997	5.9	-5.1

Transportation		234.578		242.470	17.3	3.4
Private transportation		245.026		249.985	18.4	2.0
New and used motor vehicles(5)		135.327		136.123	12.6	0.6
New Vehicles(1)		230.588		234.301	10.8	1.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		483.410		483.067	17.1	-0.1
Motor fuel		366.194	360.242	396.371	57.6	8.2	10.0
Gasoline (all types)		362.173	356.248	391.698	57.4	8.2	10.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(6)		353.109	346.685	382.105	58.3	8.2	10.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(6)(7)		382.582	380.501	412.235	54.3	7.8	8.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(6)		367.482	365.861	396.049	51.7	7.8	8.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Medical care		723.561		733.033	4.9	1.3

Recreation(5)		117.281		118.266	1.4	0.8

Education and communication(5)		175.660		174.610	0.8	-0.6
Tuition, other fees, and child care(1)		1,433.865		1,434.076	0.7	0.0

Other goods and services		563.943		565.740	8.2	0.3

Commodity and service group
Commodities		224.796		228.512	13.1	1.7
Commodities less food and beverages		181.196		183.589	16.6	1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		238.609		245.049	23.5	2.7
Durables		129.251		129.193	10.7	0.0
Services		387.526		390.392	4.8	0.7

Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		287.607		291.367	9.6	1.3
All items less medical care		294.493		297.528	7.7	1.0
Commodities less food		185.061		187.439	15.8	1.3
Nondurables		271.758		278.442	14.8	2.5
Nondurables less food		240.012		246.095	21.5	2.5
Services less rent of shelter(3)		419.615		423.369	5.8	0.9
Services less medical care services		363.235		365.422	4.8	0.6
Energy		342.958	342.506	351.088	43.0	2.4	2.5
All items less energy		313.115		316.080	5.3	0.9
All items less food and energy		314.943		317.284	4.9	0.7
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a January 1978=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (4) This index series underwent a change in composition in January 2010. The expenditure class now includes weight from secondary residences, and has been re-titled "Owners' equivalent rent of residences." The item stratum "Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence" excludes secondary residences. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (6) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (7) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Last Modified Date: Friday, June 10, 2022

Northeast Information Office

Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton – May 2022