Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

22-2156-DAL
Thursday, November 10, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Consumer Price Index, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land – October 2022

Area prices declined 0.6 percent in September and October, up 7.6 percent over the year.

Prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.6 percent for the two months ending in October 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index decreased 12.7 percent in September and October, largely driven by a decline in the prices paid for electricity. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.5 percent over the past two months, the increase was primarily due to higher costs for shelter. The food index rose 1.3 percent. (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 7.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.9 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 13.2 percent, while energy prices increased 5.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

 
  
Food

Food prices increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in October. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 1.5 percent. Prices for food at home (grocery store prices) advanced 1.2 percent over the two-month period. The increase in the index for food at home was mainly due to increases in the cost of other food at home (+2.6 percent). Prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials declined (-0.9 percent) for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 13.2 percent. Prices for food at home rose 14.3 percent since a year ago, with the largest contribution coming from an increase in the other food at home category (+16.3 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 12.2 percent over the past 12 months.

Energy

The energy index declined 12.7 percent for the two months ending in October. The decrease within this index was led by lower prices for electricity (-19.5 percent), followed by gasoline (-9.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service (-1.5 percent) also contributed to the decline.

From October 2021 to October 2022, energy prices rose 5.0 percent. Higher prices for gasoline (+9.1 percent) and natural gas service (+47.8 percent) both contributed to the rise. Partially offsetting the increase, prices for electricity decreased 8.5 percent during the same period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Among the components contributing most to the increase were shelter (+1.5 percent), public transportation, and recreation (+1.6 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-6.2 percent), motor vehicle maintenance and repair, and medical care commodities.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+7.9 percent), recreation (+11.7 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+5.2 percent). Slightly offsetting the increases was a decline in the index for education and communication (-3.5 percent).

The December 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 12, 2023.


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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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 2022 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and GroupIndexesPercent change from -
Aug.
2022
Sep.
2022
Oct.
2022
Oct.
2021
Aug.
2022
Sep.
2022

All items

264.074-262.4237.6-0.6-

All items (1967 = 100)

846.980-841.685   

Food and beverages

280.536-284.40712.91.4-

Food

283.030-286.78013.21.3-

Food at home

274.391276.710277.56214.31.20.3

Cereals and bakery products

333.444-344.72519.73.4-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

303.501-305.3979.70.6-

Dairy and related products

228.118-229.09214.70.4-

Fruits and vegetables

320.898-319.94610.0-0.3-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

342.991-340.07119.2-0.9-

Other food at home

240.142-246.35916.32.6-

Food away from home

286.571-290.87112.21.5-

Alcoholic beverages

232.998-238.4397.02.3-

Housing

256.133-254.6376.6-0.6-

Shelter

293.375296.226297.9147.91.50.6

Rent of primary residence

289.977293.656294.7168.01.60.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

275.194278.095279.3287.71.50.4

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

275.194278.095279.3287.71.50.4

Fuels and utilities

251.004-219.0740.5-12.7-

Household energy

231.890219.758194.556-0.2-16.1-11.5

Energy services

227.727215.683190.602-0.6-16.3-11.6

Electricity

222.414208.816179.002-8.5-19.5-14.3

Utility (piped) gas service

231.303227.870227.90947.8-1.50.0

Household furnishings and operations

162.103-162.3795.20.2-

Apparel

180.341-178.8051.2-0.9-

Transportation

237.619-230.60611.7-3.0-

Private transportation

241.382-231.5279.9-4.1-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

109.674-106.6202.3-2.8-

New vehicles(1)

193.517-195.6605.71.1-

Used cars and trucks(1)

347.671-325.9692.6-6.2-

Motor fuel

312.061278.267283.03610.2-9.31.7

Gasoline (all types)

310.094275.698280.3999.1-9.61.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

313.584278.088283.0488.9-9.71.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

338.318304.745308.64010.5-8.81.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

339.670308.176311.53910.9-8.31.1

Medical care

551.549-549.6283.1-0.3-

Recreation(3)

127.471-129.56511.71.6-

Education and communication(3)

120.587-119.835-3.5-0.6-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,289.138-1,289.077-0.50.0-

Other goods and services

452.941-448.4775.2-1.0-

Commodity and service group

Commodities

208.773-206.0017.6-1.3-

Commodities less food and beverages

174.069-168.8584.5-3.0-

Nondurables less food and beverages

228.807-220.8026.6-3.5-

Durables

121.382-118.3932.2-2.5-

Services

320.790-320.1947.6-0.2-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

253.418-249.3037.5-1.6-

All items less medical care

249.985-248.3648.0-0.6-

Commodities less food

176.312-171.3384.6-2.8-

Nondurables

254.757-252.62310.0-0.8-

Nondurables less food

228.594-221.4136.7-3.1-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

348.184-341.3107.3-2.0-

Services less medical care services

296.042-295.3098.0-0.2-

Energy

267.881246.313233.9265.0-12.7-5.0

All items less energy

267.469-269.1057.90.6-

All items less food and energy

264.700-265.9786.90.5-

(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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, November 10, 2022