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 Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
All items	264.074	-	262.423	7.6	-0.6	-
All items (1967 = 100)	846.980	-	841.685
Food and beverages	280.536	-	284.407	12.9	1.4	-
Food	283.030	-	286.780	13.2	1.3	-
Food at home	274.391	276.710	277.562	14.3	1.2	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	333.444	-	344.725	19.7	3.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	303.501	-	305.397	9.7	0.6	-
Dairy and related products	228.118	-	229.092	14.7	0.4	-
Fruits and vegetables	320.898	-	319.946	10.0	-0.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	342.991	-	340.071	19.2	-0.9	-
Other food at home	240.142	-	246.359	16.3	2.6	-
Food away from home	286.571	-	290.871	12.2	1.5	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.998	-	238.439	7.0	2.3	-
Housing	256.133	-	254.637	6.6	-0.6	-
Shelter	293.375	296.226	297.914	7.9	1.5	0.6
Rent of primary residence	289.977	293.656	294.716	8.0	1.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	275.194	278.095	279.328	7.7	1.5	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	275.194	278.095	279.328	7.7	1.5	0.4
Fuels and utilities	251.004	-	219.074	0.5	-12.7	-
Household energy	231.890	219.758	194.556	-0.2	-16.1	-11.5
Energy services	227.727	215.683	190.602	-0.6	-16.3	-11.6
Electricity	222.414	208.816	179.002	-8.5	-19.5	-14.3
Utility (piped) gas service	231.303	227.870	227.909	47.8	-1.5	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	162.103	-	162.379	5.2	0.2	-
Apparel	180.341	-	178.805	1.2	-0.9	-
Transportation	237.619	-	230.606	11.7	-3.0	-
Private transportation	241.382	-	231.527	9.9	-4.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	109.674	-	106.620	2.3	-2.8	-
New vehicles(1)	193.517	-	195.660	5.7	1.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	347.671	-	325.969	2.6	-6.2	-
Motor fuel	312.061	278.267	283.036	10.2	-9.3	1.7
Gasoline (all types)	310.094	275.698	280.399	9.1	-9.6	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	313.584	278.088	283.048	8.9	-9.7	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	338.318	304.745	308.640	10.5	-8.8	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	339.670	308.176	311.539	10.9	-8.3	1.1
Medical care	551.549	-	549.628	3.1	-0.3	-
Recreation(3)	127.471	-	129.565	11.7	1.6	-
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	-0.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services	452.941	-	448.477	5.2	-1.0	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	208.773	-	206.001	7.6	-1.3	-
Commodities less food and beverages	174.069	-	168.858	4.5	-3.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	228.807	-	220.802	6.6	-3.5	-
Durables	121.382	-	118.393	2.2	-2.5	-
Services	320.790	-	320.194	7.6	-0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	253.418	-	249.303	7.5	-1.6	-
All items less medical care	249.985	-	248.364	8.0	-0.6	-
Commodities less food	176.312	-	171.338	4.6	-2.8	-
Nondurables	254.757	-	252.623	10.0	-0.8	-
Nondurables less food	228.594	-	221.413	6.7	-3.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	348.184	-	341.310	7.3	-2.0	-
Services less medical care services	296.042	-	295.309	8.0	-0.2	-
Energy	267.881	246.313	233.926	5.0	-12.7	-5.0
All items less energy	267.469	-	269.105	7.9	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	264.700	-	265.978	6.9	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.