The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell declined 0.1 percent from October to December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the bi-monthly decrease in the all items index was influenced by declines in several indexes, including apparel, gasoline, and food at home. (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 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending in December. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent over the past year. The food index and the energy index all increased over the last 12 months, up 3.6 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, December 2020–December 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Dec 2020	1.6	2.0
Feb 2021	2.4	2.3
Apr 2021	6.0	5.0
Jun 2021	6.7	5.8
Aug 2021	6.6	5.8
Oct 2021	7.9	7.0
Dec 2021	9.8	9.3
Feb 2022	10.6	10.1
Apr 2022	10.8	9.8
Jun 2022	11.5	9.7
Aug 2022	11.7	11.0
Oct 2022	10.7	10.4
Dec 2022	8.1	8.2
Feb 2023	7.2	7.5
Apr 2023	5.8	6.6
Jun 2023	4.6	5.6
Aug 2023	4.4	3.9
Oct 2023	3.2	3.4
Dec 2023	3.6	3.3

The food index declined 0.4 percent from October to December, reflecting a 0.8-percent fall in the food at home index. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes declined over the bi-monthly period, led by a 1.8-percent decline in the index for other food at home. In contrast, the index for fruits and vegetables rose 2.0 percent over the two-month pricing period.

The food index advanced 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending in December, led by an 8.5-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index also increased over the past year, up 0.7 percent. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the last 12 months, including the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.1 percent). In contrast, the index for dairy and related products declined 4.8 percent over the past year.

The energy index fell 0.4 percent from October to December, reflecting declines in the gasoline (-2.3 percent) and electricity (-2.4 percent) indexes. The natural gas index increased 12.8 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index advanced 6.0 percent for the 12 months ending in December. The indexes for electricity and gasoline increased over the past year, up 13.5 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively, while the index for natural gas declined over the last 12 months.  

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.1 percent from October to December, led by a 5.3-percent decrease in the apparel index. The index for new vehicles (-0.7 percent) was also among the indexes to decline over the bi-monthly period.

The shelter index rose 0.2 percent from October to December, reflecting a 0.7-percent increase in the index for owners' equivalent rent; the index for rent of primary residence was unchanged over the bi-monthly period. Other indexes with notable increases over the bi-monthly period include recreation (+0.9 percent) and household furnishings and operations (+0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending in December. Shelter (+5.7 percent) was the largest contributor as owners’ equivalent rent (+6.3 percent) and rent of primary residence (+7.1 percent) continued to increase over the past year.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell Consumer Price Index for February 2024 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

The Consumer Price Index for Atlanta is published bi-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, 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 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.