Prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.1 percent for the two months ending in October 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy, but advances in the energy index and food index also contributed. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 6.1 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent over the year, the largest rise since February 2016. Energy prices jumped 38.5 percent, while food prices rose 5.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.7 percent for the two months ending in October. Within the two components of the index, prices for food at home increased 3.4 percent, while prices for food away from home increased 2.1 percent for the same period.

During the 12 months ending in October 2021, food prices rose 5.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 5.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.8 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (+6.8 percent). Prices for gasoline increased 3.8 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 38.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+59.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity jumped 22.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service jumped 16.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in September and October, after rising 0.3 percent in July and August. Higher prices for new vehicles (+5.3 percent), owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for alcoholic beverages (-5.7 percent), other goods and services (-1.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (+17.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (+10.2 percent) and shelter (+1.3 percent).

The December 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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,
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, October 2021 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Aug. 2021	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021	Oct. 2020	Aug. 2021	Sep. 2021
All items	241.088	-	243.813	6.1	1.1	-
All items (1967 = 100)	773.255	-	781.997
Food and beverages	246.754	-	251.965	5.2	2.1	-
Food	246.558	-	253.292	5.6	2.7	-
Food at home	234.938	240.961	242.828	5.9	3.4	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	264.818	-	288.071	5.1	8.8	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	267.387	-	278.343	11.9	4.1	-
Dairy and related products	189.807	-	199.750	3.5	5.2	-
Fruits and vegetables	290.991	-	290.869	4.2	0.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	286.516	-	285.206	3.7	-0.5	-
Other food at home	204.478	-	211.775	3.9	3.6	-
Food away from home	254.042	-	259.343	5.3	2.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	236.271	-	222.749	-0.7	-5.7	-
Housing	237.248	-	238.777	3.9	0.6	-
Shelter	275.699	275.903	276.207	1.3	0.2	0.1
Rent of primary residence	271.352	272.067	272.817	1.3	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	257.941	258.273	259.282	1.5	0.5	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	257.941	258.273	259.282	1.5	0.5	0.4
Fuels and utilities	208.552	-	217.878	15.7	4.5	-
Household energy	184.174	189.177	194.933	21.5	5.8	3.0
Energy services	181.220	186.268	191.827	21.4	5.9	3.0
Electricity	183.289	189.178	195.663	22.1	6.8	3.4
Utility (piped) gas service	154.222	154.228	154.240	16.4	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	154.373	-	154.321	10.2	0.0	-
Apparel	175.743	-	176.624	3.9	0.5	-
Transportation	199.300	-	206.367	18.6	3.5	-
Private transportation	203.929	-	210.685	21.7	3.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.573	-	104.187	17.4	3.6	-
New vehicles(1)	175.773	-	185.106	13.4	5.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	321.635	-	317.708	26.1	-1.2	-
Motor fuel	247.228	244.899	256.792	59.7	3.9	4.9
Gasoline (all types)	247.468	245.129	256.926	59.8	3.8	4.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	249.992	247.595	259.888	62.3	4.0	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	270.228	267.688	279.229	48.0	3.3	4.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	273.004	270.702	280.826	42.4	2.9	3.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	650.179	-	659.651	-0.6	1.5	-
Medical care	532.157	-	532.879	-0.3	0.1	-
Recreation(3)	116.434	-	115.956	6.4	-0.4	-
Education and communication(3)	124.309	-	124.233	3.4	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,282.424	-	1,295.012	2.9	1.0	-
Other goods and services	432.191	-	426.314	0.6	-1.4	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	187.677	-	191.409	11.6	2.0	-
Commodities less food and beverages	158.579	-	161.627	15.4	1.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	204.152	-	207.103	15.6	1.4	-
Durables	113.173	-	115.834	15.3	2.4	-
Services	295.807	-	297.517	2.7	0.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	228.248	-	231.851	8.4	1.6	-
All items less medical care	227.148	-	229.907	6.6	1.2	-
Commodities less food	161.235	-	163.866	14.8	1.6	-
Nondurables	225.571	-	229.631	9.8	1.8	-
Nondurables less food	205.759	-	207.598	14.2	0.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	314.953	-	318.123	4.0	1.0	-
Services less medical care services	271.708	-	273.418	3.1	0.6	-
Energy	212.448	214.198	222.690	38.5	4.8	4.0
All items less energy	247.466	-	249.504	4.0	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	247.453	-	248.737	3.7	0.5	-
(1) Indexes on an April 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.