The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South increased 0.6 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent over the month. The food index increased 0.4 percent in February and the energy index rose 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South advanced 6.4 percent for the 12 months ending in February, after increasing 6.9-percent for the 12-month period ending in January. The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.2 percent over the past year. The food index and the energy index also increased over the last 12 months, up 9.6 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.4 percent in February, reflecting increases in the food away from home (+0.7 percent) and food at home (+0.3 percent) indexes.

The food index advanced 9.6 percent for the 12 months ending in February, led by a 10.7-percent increase in the food at home index as all six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year. The food away from home index also increased over the past year, up 7.8 percent.  

Energy

The energy index rose 0.1 percent in February. The gasoline index increased 0.7 percent over the month, while the natural gas index declined 6.2 percent.

The energy index rose 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The natural gas index contributed to overall increase, up 11.3 percent over the past year. In contrast, the gasoline index declined 4.0 percent over the last 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent in February, primarily reflecting a 0.9-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent and rent of primary residence each rose 0.8 percent over the month. Apparel (+3.6 percent) and recreation (+1.4 percent) were also among the indexes to increase in February.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.2 percent for the 12 months ending in February, after increasing 6.3 percent over the 12-month period ending in January. Several components contributed to the 12-month increase, most notably, shelter (+10.0 percent). Within shelter, owner’s equivalent rent increased 10.0 percent over the past year and rent of primary residence rose 11.5 percent. In contrast, the used cars and trucks index declined 13.8 percent over the last 12 months.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. In February, the all items index rose 1.0 percent in the East South Central division, 0.6 percent in the South Atlantic division, and 0.5 percent in the West South Central division.

Over the year, the all items index advanced 6.5 percent in the East South Central division, 6.4 percent in the South Atlantic division, and 6.3 percent in the West South Central division.

Table A. South region 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	0.2	1.2	0.3	2.3	0.5	1.6	0.9	7.8	0.8	6.9
February	0.5	1.1	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.0	1.1	8.4	0.6	6.4
March	0.7	1.6	-0.1	1.1	0.8	2.9	1.4	9.1
April	0.5	1.8	-0.8	-0.2	0.7	4.4	0.5	8.8
May	-0.1	1.4	-0.2	-0.4	0.8	5.6	1.2	9.2
June	-0.1	1.1	0.6	0.3	0.9	5.8	1.5	9.8
July	0.3	1.4	0.6	0.6	0.5	5.8	0.1	9.4
August	-0.1	1.4	0.4	1.1	0.3	5.6	-0.2	8.9
September	0.0	1.3	0.2	1.3	0.3	5.8	0.2	8.7
October	0.2	1.3	0.1	1.3	1.0	6.6	0.4	8.1
November	0.0	1.6	-0.1	1.2	0.4	7.2	0.1	7.7
December	0.0	2.1	0.2	1.4	0.3	7.4	-0.3	7.0

The Consumer Price Index for March 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 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 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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023	Feb. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023
Expenditure category
All Items	288.205	290.438	292.285	6.4	1.4	0.6
All items (December 1977=100)	467.509	471.130	474.128	-	-	-
Food and beverages	309.645	311.404	312.804	9.3	1.0	0.4
Food	313.189	315.003	316.381	9.6	1.0	0.4
Food at home	297.461	299.300	300.089	10.7	0.9	0.3
Cereal and bakery products	353.339	358.811	358.690	14.8	1.5	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	315.797	318.558	316.907	7.7	0.4	-0.5
Dairy and related products	272.771	272.181	272.025	13.0	-0.3	-0.1
Fruits and vegetables	329.676	332.213	331.366	5.3	0.5	-0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	209.448	210.078	213.327	13.9	1.9	1.5
Other food at home	263.095	263.885	266.207	12.7	1.2	0.9
Food away from home	338.303	340.027	342.563	7.8	1.3	0.7
Alcoholic beverages	260.396	261.359	263.094	4.2	1.0	0.7
Housing	290.077	292.411	294.492	9.6	1.5	0.7
Shelter	334.068	336.921	339.967	10.0	1.8	0.9
Rent of primary residence	357.390	359.781	362.735	11.5	1.5	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	336.311	338.949	341.669	10.0	1.6	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	336.307	338.949	341.662	10.0	1.6	0.8
Fuels and utilities	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household energy	-	-	-	-	-	-
Energy services	-	-	-	-	-	-
Electricity	-	-	-	-	-	-
Utility (piped) gas service	281.445	282.375	264.777	11.3	-5.9	-6.2
Household furnishings and operations	146.112	147.474	147.904	5.8	1.2	0.3
Apparel	134.195	135.810	140.727	3.1	4.9	3.6
Transportation	256.321	259.775	260.983	1.8	1.8	0.5
Private transportation	257.730	261.635	262.642	1.2	1.9	0.4
New and used motor vehicles(2)	127.916	127.720	127.396	-2.5	-0.4	-0.3
New vehicles	184.377	185.268	185.889	6.6	0.8	0.3
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(3)	183.167	183.899	184.477	6.5	0.7	0.3
Used cars and trucks	189.268	186.252	183.625	-13.8	-3.0	-1.4
Motor fuel	261.605	279.869	281.557	-3.7	7.6	0.6
Gasoline (all types)	258.204	277.095	278.990	-4.0	8.1	0.7
Unleaded regular(3)	251.615	270.612	272.410	-4.3	8.3	0.7
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	291.528	309.283	312.053	-2.5	7.0	0.9
Unleaded premium(3)	286.202	302.407	304.849	-1.4	6.5	0.8
Medical care	521.499	521.622	521.410	2.4	0.0	0.0
Medical care commodities	366.500	371.362	371.540	3.7	1.4	0.0
Medical care services	573.981	572.305	571.949	2.1	-0.4	-0.1
Professional services	393.046	392.817	393.158	1.5	0.0	0.1
Recreation(2)	133.207	134.282	136.204	5.3	2.2	1.4
Education and communication(2)	139.993	140.206	140.415	1.1	0.3	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,445.669	1,446.974	1,446.972	3.2	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	501.130	503.821	506.826	6.4	1.1	0.6
Commodity and service group
All Items	288.205	290.438	292.285	6.4	1.4	0.6
Commodities	216.564	218.744	219.903	3.2	1.5	0.5
Commodities less food and beverages	174.589	176.763	177.777	0.1	1.8	0.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	221.466	227.625	230.438	2.4	4.1	1.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	274.193	282.967	284.708	2.2	3.8	0.6
Durables	129.056	129.137	129.201	-1.7	0.1	0.0
Services	360.160	362.401	364.960	8.5	1.3	0.7
Rent of shelter(1)	343.942	346.923	350.102	10.2	1.8	0.9
Transportation services	425.474	428.804	435.834	15.5	2.4	1.6
Other services	381.283	383.524	386.697	4.1	1.4	0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	275.326	277.643	279.576	6.8	1.5	0.7
All items less food	284.207	286.494	288.403	5.9	1.5	0.7
All items less shelter	271.490	273.484	274.853	4.7	1.2	0.5
Commodities less food	177.231	179.396	180.429	0.2	1.8	0.6
Nondurables	263.021	267.099	269.243	6.0	2.4	0.8
Nondurables less food	223.322	229.198	231.951	2.5	3.9	1.2
Nondurables less food and apparel	271.532	279.626	281.356	2.4	3.6	0.6
Services less rent of shelter(1)	391.864	393.135	394.899	6.7	0.8	0.4
Services less medical care services	340.619	343.120	345.864	9.4	1.5	0.8
Energy	246.435	255.006	255.361	3.5	3.6	0.1
All items less energy	294.063	295.731	297.728	6.7	1.2	0.7
All items less food and energy	291.382	293.029	295.124	6.2	1.3	0.7
Commodities less food and energy commodities	167.175	167.823	168.789	1.1	1.0	0.6
Energy commodities	267.290	285.321	286.968	-3.5	7.4	0.6
Services less energy services	372.695	375.070	377.962	8.3	1.4	0.8
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.