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News Release Information

24-499-BOS
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Consumer Price Index, New York-Newark-Jersey City – February 2024

Area prices up 0.2 percent over the past month; up 2.9 percent over the year

Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.2 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the February increase was attributed to higher prices for items other than food and energy, including shelter and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the New York area all items CPI-U increased 2.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index rose 3.4 percent, while food prices increased 1.8 percent. In contrast, the energy index decreased 0.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.4 percent in February after rising 0.5 percent in January. A 0.6-percent decrease in prices for food at home was accompanied by a 0.1-percent decline in prices for food away from home. Within the at-home component, prices decreased in five of the six grocery categories. Groceries with lower February prices included coffee.

From February 2023 to February 2024, the food index rose 1.8 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 5.3 percent, while grocery food prices ticked down 0.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index was down 0.9 percent in February, led by a 2.1-percent decrease in household energy prices. Within household energy, prices declined for electricity (-3.6 percent) and natural gas (-0.4 percent). By contrast, gasoline prices increased 1.2 percent.

For the year ended in February 2024, the New York area energy index decreased 0.5 percent. Gasoline prices decreased 4.5 percent. In contrast, household energy prices advanced 2.1 percent, with higher prices for electricity (7.7 percent) partially offset by lower prices for natural gas (-4.8 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in February. A 0.3-percent increase in shelter prices included increases in owners’ equivalent rent (0.4 percent) and residential rent (0.7 percent) that were partly offset by price declines for lodging away from home. Higher prices were also recorded for recreation (1.4 percent) and airline fares.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.4 percent. Shelter prices rose 5.1 percent, which included increases of 5.5 percent for owners’ equivalent rent and 4.8 percent for residential rent. Higher over-the-year prices for recreation (3.6 percent) and motor vehicle insurance also contributed to the annual change.

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
Month20202021202220232024
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.82.50.41.21.15.10.86.01.03.1

February

0.22.40.31.40.35.10.46.00.22.9

March

-0.22.00.42.01.36.1-0.14.6

April

-0.51.10.73.20.96.30.13.7

May

0.51.40.53.20.56.30.23.5

June

0.11.31.04.11.46.70.42.5

July

0.51.7-0.13.5-0.36.50.43.2

August

-0.11.40.13.70.26.60.63.5

September

0.41.90.53.80.26.20.43.7

October

-0.21.70.34.30.16.0-0.13.5

November

-0.31.40.35.00.25.9-0.23.0

December

0.41.6-0.24.40.26.30.12.9

The Consumer Price Index for March 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for New York is published monthly. 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 GroupIndexesPercent change from-
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Feb.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Expenditure category

All items

324.691328.006328.6062.91.20.2

All items (1967=100)

938.637948.219949.955   

Food and beverages

334.874336.611335.2781.80.1-0.4

Food

336.391338.232336.8131.80.1-0.4

Food at home

315.692317.847315.929-0.10.1-0.6

Cereals and bakery products

385.477386.116385.0462.6-0.1-0.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

314.662317.801314.927-1.70.1-0.9

Dairy and related products

270.433275.912274.056-0.31.3-0.7

Fruits and vegetables

379.659382.195378.293-1.1-0.4-1.0

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

314.399322.658316.7941.00.8-1.8

Other food at home

282.810280.346281.8780.5-0.30.5

Food away from home

377.365378.685378.1175.30.2-0.1

Alcoholic beverages

308.093308.137308.1932.10.00.0

Housing

351.718355.317355.9824.51.20.2

Shelter

441.713444.186445.4675.10.80.3

Rent of primary residence

452.537453.146456.2334.80.80.7

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

454.823456.358458.0155.50.70.4

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

454.260455.793457.4485.50.70.4

Fuels and utilities

243.727257.695253.1782.03.9-1.8

Household energy

233.489249.184243.8932.14.5-2.1

Energy services

220.133235.768229.7673.24.4-2.5

Electricity

214.595235.251226.8807.75.7-3.6

Utility (piped) gas service

217.401222.155221.204-4.81.7-0.4

Household furnishings and operations

131.799133.504134.9272.22.41.1

Apparel

123.495131.085130.345-2.65.5-0.6

Transportation

273.816276.927277.4051.91.30.2

Private transportation

273.964277.409276.0402.10.8-0.5

New and used motor vehicles(3)

119.970123.386122.707-0.92.3-0.6

New vehicles(1)

258.858259.047259.3450.90.20.1

Used cars and trucks(1)

364.340350.557352.927-1.2-3.10.7

Motor fuel

266.948257.794260.937-4.5-2.31.2

Gasoline (all types)

265.724256.613259.749-4.5-2.21.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

261.772252.454255.807-4.9-2.31.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

288.203279.810281.259-2.9-2.40.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

296.204287.994290.057-2.3-2.10.7

Medical care

551.560564.674566.846-0.92.80.4

Recreation(3)

152.338149.438151.5864.6-0.51.4

Education and communication(3)

158.822159.955159.9580.30.70.0

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,361.9271,363.6671,365.9580.90.30.2

Other goods and services

490.650497.457505.9544.73.11.7

Commodity and service group

All items

324.691328.006328.6062.91.20.2

Commodities

224.452225.829225.6950.10.6-0.1

Commodities less food and beverages

161.409162.537162.930-1.30.90.2

Nondurables less food and beverages

200.218203.164204.817-1.12.30.8

Durables

110.912110.655110.148-1.5-0.7-0.5

Services

409.527414.474415.6924.21.50.3

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

314.695317.633318.1733.21.10.2

All items less shelter

277.865281.548281.8691.51.40.1

Commodities less food

166.713167.826168.214-1.20.90.2

Nondurables

268.331270.692270.8670.60.90.1

Nondurables less food

206.616209.414210.985-0.92.10.8

Services less rent of shelter(2)

386.249394.315395.4913.02.40.3

Services less medical care services

395.321399.638400.7734.71.40.3

Energy

250.174257.051254.754-0.51.8-0.9

All items less energy

334.456337.557338.3763.11.20.2

All items less food and energy

336.493339.836341.0513.41.40.4

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024