The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 2.3 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The food index and the energy index also increased from December to February, up 2.6 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U advanced 10.6 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy increased 10.1 percent over the past year. The energy index rose 22.3 percent over the last 12 months, while the food index rose 6.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 2.6 percent from December to February, led by a 3.0-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 2.1 percent.

The food index jumped 6.8 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The food away from home and the food at home indexes advanced over the past year, up 7.6 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.8 percent from December to February, reflecting a 4.9-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index rose 0.5 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index rose 22.3 percent for the 12 months ending in February, led by a 39.9-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index also increased over the past 12 months, up 0.5 percent.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent from December to February, led by a 1.9-percent increase in the shelter index. Recreation (+5.0 percent) and apparel (+6.7 percent) were also among the indexes to increase over the bi-monthly period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 10.1 percent for the 12 months ending in February. Several indexes contributed to the increase, including shelter (+8.7 percent). The new and used motor vehicles index advanced 32.4 percent over the past year, reflecting increases in the used cars and trucks (+41.4 percent) and new vehicles (+30.7 percent) indexes.

Table A. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.2	3.3	1.2	1.3	0.8	2.9	1.6	2.4	2.3	10.6
April	0.2	2.8	1.4	2.5	-1.8	-0.3	1.6	6.0
June	1.2	2.8	-0.1	1.1	1.1	0.9	1.8	6.7
August	0.3	2.2	1.3	2.2	1.2	0.7	1.1	6.6
October	-1.0	1.6	-0.2	3.0	0.3	1.2	1.5	7.9
December	-0.6	1.4	-0.3	3.3	0.1	1.6	1.9	9.8

The Consumer Price Index for March 2022 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022	Feb. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022
Expenditure category
All Items	273.424	-	279.743	10.6	2.3	-
All items (1967=100)	824.564	-	843.618	-	-	-
Food and beverages	277.321	-	284.255	6.5	2.5	-
Food	291.013	-	298.560	6.8	2.6	-
Food at home	266.777	269.611	274.651	5.9	3.0	1.9
Cereals and bakery products	227.379	-	228.402	1.7	0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	314.636	-	316.239	9.6	0.5	-
Dairy and related products	234.053	-	251.158	0.9	7.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	311.121	-	319.516	5.0	2.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	280.100	-	290.030	9.2	3.5	-
Other food at home	224.521	-	235.511	4.9	4.9	-
Food away from home	329.573	-	336.596	7.6	2.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	156.726	-	158.642	3.1	1.2	-
Housing	281.966	-	287.546	8.6	2.0	-
Shelter	313.923	317.718	319.920	8.7	1.9	0.7
Rent of primary residence	332.425	336.541	337.027	8.5	1.4	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	307.958	311.288	314.173	8.7	2.0	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	307.958	311.288	314.173	8.7	2.0	0.9
Fuels and utilities	329.561	-	333.896	7.6	1.3	-
Household energy	280.785	281.709	282.270	5.9	0.5	0.2
Energy Services	278.783	279.650	280.025	5.6	0.4	0.1
Electricity	223.852	225.007	225.007	0.5	0.5	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	138.094	-	142.319	8.6	3.1	-
Apparel	151.087	-	161.284	11.8	6.7	-
Transportation	258.469	-	266.286	28.1	3.0	-
Private transportation	265.160	-	271.756	28.8	2.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	140.048	-	140.911	32.4	0.6	-
New vehicles(1)	287.389	-	287.347	30.7	0.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	312.553	-	319.189	41.4	2.1	-
Motor fuel	279.288	277.543	293.160	40.0	5.0	5.6
Gasoline (all types)	277.500	275.800	291.052	39.9	4.9	5.5
Unleaded regular(4)	272.062	270.351	285.743	40.4	5.0	5.7
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	349.073	347.238	363.583	40.0	4.2	4.7
Unleaded premium(4)	297.640	296.208	308.779	35.9	3.7	4.2
Medical Care	500.232	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	89.102	-	93.578	5.5	5.0	-
Education and communication(3)	144.097	-	143.542	1.9	-0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,589.795	-	1,591.088	5.4	0.1	-
Other goods and services	437.392	-	438.140	6.1	0.2	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	273.424	-	279.743	10.6	2.3	-
Commodities	206.027	-	211.229	15.3	2.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages	172.435	-	176.817	20.6	2.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	208.347	-	216.789	17.2	4.1	-
Durables	134.673	-	135.882	24.4	0.9	-
Services	336.251	-	343.554	7.8	2.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	261.286	-	267.638	11.3	2.4	-
All items less shelter	260.884	-	267.425	11.5	2.5	-
Commodities less food	171.415	-	175.673	19.9	2.5	-
Nondurables	238.317	-	245.892	11.4	3.2	-
Nondurables less food	202.994	-	210.757	16.2	3.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	375.794	-	385.020	6.5	2.5	-
Services less medical care services	317.954	-	325.352	8.3	2.3	-
Energy	256.733	256.302	264.024	22.3	2.8	3.0
All items less energy	275.032	-	281.268	9.6	2.3	-
All items less food and energy	272.936	-	278.955	10.1	2.2	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Index is 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.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.