Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.4 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley attributed much of the July increase to higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.4 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 3.5 percent. In contrast, energy prices fell 11.5 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of July, as prices for food at home and for food away from home were flat. Groceries with higher July prices included carbonated drinks, while those with lower prices included soups and other fresh fruits.

For the year ending in July 2023, food prices increased 3.5 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 6.5 percent, and prices for food at home rose 1.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.1 percent over the month, after increasing 4.1 percent in June. The increase was primarily due to a 1.2-percent rise in household energy prices, which reflected higher prices for electricity (1.8 percent) and for fuel oil. Gasoline prices also rose 0.9 percent in July. In contrast, prices for natural gas ticked down 0.1 percent.

From July 2022 to July 2023, energy prices fell 11.5 percent, fueled by a 21.7-percent drop in gasoline prices. Prices for household energy fell 2.2 percent over the year, with declines in natural gas (-11.1 percent) and fuel oil. These decreases were partially offset by an over-the-year increase in electricity charges (8.1 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in July. A 0.4-percent rise in shelter prices included increases for owners' equivalent rent (0.7 percent) and residential rent (0.4 percent). Prices for new and used motor vehicles, a category that includes leased and rental vehicles, rose 2.8 percent. On the other hand, apparel prices fell 1.2 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.4 percent. Shelter prices, up 5.8 percent, included a 5.9-percent increase for owners’ equivalent rent and a 5.8-percent rise for residential rent. Other categories with increases included new and used motor vehicles (4.7 percent), recreation (4.0 percent), and education and communication (2.5 percent). A 1.4-percent decline in medical care prices partly offset the increases.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.6	0.8	2.5	0.4	1.2	1.1	5.1	0.8	6.0
February	0.2	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.3	1.4	0.3	5.1	0.4	6.0
March	0.3	1.6	-0.2	2.0	0.4	2.0	1.3	6.1	-0.1	4.6
April	0.3	1.6	-0.5	1.1	0.7	3.2	0.9	6.3	0.1	3.7
May	0.2	1.5	0.5	1.4	0.5	3.2	0.5	6.3	0.2	3.5
June	0.3	1.7	0.1	1.3	1.0	4.1	1.4	6.7	0.4	2.5
July	0.0	1.7	0.5	1.7	-0.1	3.5	-0.3	6.5	0.4	3.2
August	0.2	1.8	-0.1	1.4	0.1	3.7	0.2	6.6
September	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.9	0.5	3.8	0.2	6.2
October	0.0	1.5	-0.2	1.7	0.3	4.3	0.1	6.0
November	0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.4	0.3	5.0	0.2	5.9
December	0.1	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	4.4	0.2	6.3

The August 2023 Consumer Price Index for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2023.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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 CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2023	June 2023	July 2023	July 2022	May 2023	June 2023
Expenditure category
All items	320.002	321.290	322.496	3.2	0.8	0.4
All items (1967=100)	925.082	928.806	932.290
Food and beverages	329.810	331.592	331.731	3.6	0.6	0.0
Food	331.137	332.950	332.929	3.5	0.5	0.0
Food at home	313.418	314.529	314.574	1.9	0.4	0.0
Cereals and bakery products	383.126	381.920	382.577	6.1	-0.1	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	309.440	311.089	314.354	-2.6	1.6	1.0
Dairy and related products	263.994	267.557	271.734	2.3	2.9	1.6
Fruits and vegetables	379.859	378.003	374.277	1.6	-1.5	-1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	311.647	317.104	317.522	5.4	1.9	0.1
Other food at home	283.284	283.943	281.539	2.9	-0.6	-0.8
Food away from home	365.661	368.988	368.822	6.5	0.9	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	305.994	307.267	309.858	5.7	1.3	0.8
Housing	341.008	343.387	344.880	4.9	1.1	0.4
Shelter	428.969	430.019	431.935	5.8	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence	440.484	441.748	443.416	5.8	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	438.473	440.046	443.102	5.9	1.1	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	437.930	439.501	442.553	5.9	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities	226.122	238.304	240.834	-1.4	6.5	1.1
Household energy	214.526	227.873	230.676	-2.2	7.5	1.2
Energy services	201.765	216.062	218.649	1.0	8.4	1.2
Electricity	194.352	218.773	222.710	8.1	14.6	1.8
Utility (piped) gas service	203.724	197.821	197.674	-11.1	-3.0	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations	131.392	132.030	131.641	2.7	0.2	-0.3
Apparel	136.107	133.673	132.051	4.5	-3.0	-1.2
Transportation	275.073	275.125	277.284	-0.3	0.8	0.8
Private transportation	272.511	274.174	278.968	0.4	2.4	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)	123.321	124.170	127.607	4.7	3.5	2.8
New vehicles(1)	259.414	259.463	259.666	3.0	0.1	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)	388.516	393.155	391.381	-5.7	0.7	-0.5
Motor fuel	283.110	284.993	287.432	-21.7	1.5	0.9
Gasoline (all types)	281.966	283.909	286.395	-21.7	1.6	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	279.431	281.405	283.909	-22.1	1.6	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	297.421	299.192	301.751	-20.2	1.5	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	303.656	305.450	307.860	-18.6	1.4	0.8
Medical care	568.156	565.875	567.523	-1.4	-0.1	0.3
Recreation(3)	144.682	146.511	148.303	4.0	2.5	1.2
Education and communication(3)	159.075	159.311	159.420	2.5	0.2	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,354.573	1,358.656	1,369.491	4.1	1.1	0.8
Other goods and services	487.352	486.457	487.686	2.7	0.1	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	320.002	321.290	322.496	3.2	0.8	0.4
Commodities	225.983	226.616	226.279	-0.6	0.1	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	165.470	165.588	165.087	-3.8	-0.2	-0.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	207.798	206.989	206.889	-5.5	-0.4	0.0
Durables	111.908	112.663	111.950	-1.9	0.0	-0.6
Services	399.764	401.596	404.060	5.1	1.1	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	309.158	310.587	311.771	3.5	0.8	0.4
All items less shelter	276.599	278.004	278.916	1.6	0.8	0.3
Commodities less food	170.667	170.815	170.384	-3.4	-0.2	-0.3
Nondurables	269.980	270.399	270.412	-0.2	0.2	0.0
Nondurables less food	213.721	213.018	213.057	-4.7	-0.3	0.0
Services less rent of shelter(2)	379.820	382.665	385.873	4.1	1.6	0.8
Services less medical care services	383.894	385.989	388.467	5.8	1.2	0.6
Energy	241.983	251.997	254.755	-11.5	5.3	1.1
All items less energy	329.994	330.596	331.690	4.2	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	332.129	332.538	333.821	4.4	0.5	0.4
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.