The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell rose 0.1 percent from June to August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the bi-monthly all items increase was largely attributed to an increase in the shelter index. (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 1.7 percent for the 12 months ending in August. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent over the past year. The food index continued to increase, up 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, while the energy index fell 4.5 percent over the same period. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, August 2021–August 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Feb 2024	3.3	3.2
Apr 2024	3.1	2.8
Jun 2024	2.6	2.5
Aug 2024	1.7	2.3

The food index declined 0.4 percent from June to August. The food at home index fell 0.5 percent over the same period. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes declined over the bi-monthly period: other food at home (-2.4 percent), fruits and vegetables (-2.6 percent), and dairy and related products (-2.2 percent). The remaining three major grocery store food group indexes rose from June to August, led by a 3.2-percent increase in the cereals and bakery products index.

The index for food away from home also decreased from June to August, down 0.2 percent.

The food index rose 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending in August, led by a 2.9-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index also increased over the past year, up 0.5 percent. The six major grocery store food group indexes were split over the year, with three increases and three decreases. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+8.4 percent) was among the indexes to increase over the year, while dairy and related products (-4.5 percent) was among the indexes to decline over the past 12 months.

The energy index fell 1.5 percent from June to August, primarily due to a 2.6-percent decline in the gasoline index. The natural gas and electricity indexes also declined over the bi-monthly period, down 2.0 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

The energy index declined 4.5 percent for the 12 months ending in August, reflecting a 10.6-percent fall in the gasoline index. In contrast, the electricity (+1.1 percent) and natural gas (+0.7 percent) indexes increased over the 12-month span.  

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent from June to August. The index for shelter continued to increase, up 0.7 percent over the bi-monthly period. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rose 0.6 percent from June to August, while the index for rent of primary residence declined 0.7 percent over the same period.

Apparel (+3.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (+1.3 percent) were among the indexes to increase from June to August. In comparison, the index for used cars and trucks declined 2.2 percent over the two-month period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in August. Shelter (+3.3 percent) was the largest contributor as owners’ equivalent (+4.3 percent) and rent of primary residence (+1.5 percent) also increased over the past year. In contrast, the index for used cars and trucks declined 11.0 percent over the past 12 months.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell Consumer Price Index for October 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 13, 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.