The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area inched up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley attributed the index movement to rising prices for food, shelter and medical care that were largely offset by lower energy prices. (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 New York area all items CPI-U advanced 4.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A). The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.2 percent. Food prices rose 1.8 percent, and energy prices declined 1.7 percent. (See table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, November 2021–November 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Nov 2021	5.0	3.4
Dec 2021	4.4	3.0
Jan 2022	5.1	3.3
Feb 2022	5.1	4.0
Mar 2022	6.1	4.1
Apr 2022	6.3	4.4
May 2022	6.3	3.6
Jun 2022	6.7	4.1
Jul 2022	6.5	4.2
Aug 2022	6.6	4.6
Sep 2022	6.2	5.0
Oct 2022	6.0	4.9
Nov 2022	5.9	4.5
Dec 2022	6.3	5.4
Jan 2023	6.0	5.7
Feb 2023	6.0	5.6
Mar 2023	4.6	5.1
Apr 2023	3.7	4.4
May 2023	3.5	5.1
Jun 2023	2.5	3.8
Jul 2023	3.2	4.4
Aug 2023	3.5	4.5
Sep 2023	3.7	4.1
Oct 2023	3.5	4.0
Nov 2023	3.0	3.9
Dec 2023	2.9	3.4
Jan 2024	3.1	3.7
Feb 2024	2.9	3.4
Mar 2024	3.4	3.5
Apr 2024	3.8	3.9
May 2024	3.9	4.0
Jun 2024	4.2	4.4
Jul 2024	4.1	4.3
Aug 2024	3.7	4.4
Sep 2024	3.8	4.5
Oct 2024	4.0	4.7
Nov 2024	4.3	5.2

Food prices increased 0.4 percent in November after ticking down 0.1 percent one month earlier. Prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent with higher prices recorded for both full service and limited service meals and snacks. A 0.3-percent increase in prices for food at home was the result of higher prices in three of the six grocery categories, led by meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Other groceries with higher November prices included soups and processed fish and seafood.

From November 2023 to November 2024, the food index increased 1.8 percent. Away-from-home food prices rose 2.6 percent, and at-home food prices increased 1.4 percent.

The energy index was down 1.2 percent in November with declines in the indexes for household energy (-1.2 percent) and gasoline (-1.2 percent). Within household energy, lower prices were recorded for electricity (-4.4 percent) and fuel oil. In contrast, natural gas charges rose 5.5 percent.

For the year ended in November 2024, the New York area energy index declined 1.7 percent. Over the year, a 13.4-percent drop in gasoline prices outweighed a 5.9-percent rise in household energy prices. A decline in fuel oil prices partially offset higher prices for natural gas (13.9 percent) and electricity (7.1 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in November. A 0.3-percent increase in shelter prices included a 0.3-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent and a 0.6-percent rise in rent of primary residence. Medical care prices advanced 1.6 percent with higher prices for medical care services and medical care commodities. Higher prices for leased cars and trucks contributed to a 0.7-percent increase in prices for new and used motor vehicles. A 0.2-percent increase in prices for education and communication included a 0.5-percent rise in tuition, other school fees, and childcare. All of these increases were largely offset by a seasonal reduction in apparel prices (-5.4 percent) as well as lower airline fares.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.2 percent. A 5.7-percent increase in shelter prices included increases of 6.3 percent for owners’ equivalent rent and 5.5 percent for rent of primary residence. Among the other price categories with annual increases were education and communication (3.6 percent) and household furnishings and operations (6.9 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for December 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 Consumer Price Index for New York is published monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

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