Prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.2 percent for the two months ending in June 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the June increase was mainly influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 4.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 29.7 percent, while food prices advanced 2.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

Food

Food prices increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in June. Within the two components of the index, prices for food at home advanced 0.5 percent, while prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

During the 12 months ending in June 2021, the index for food advanced 2.4 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.0 percent, and prices for food at home increased 1.8 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.7 percent for the two months ending in June, after rising 9.6 percent in the two months ending in April. The latest increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+3.1 percent). In contrast, prices for electricity and natural gas service both declined, down 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, for the same period.

From June 2020 to June 2021, energy prices jumped 29.7 percent, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+51.9 percent), but all components contributed to the rise. Prices paid for electricity rose 12.0 percent, while prices for natural gas service advanced 6.5 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent in May and June, after rising 1.2 percent in March and April. The latest movement was fueled by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (+8.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (+9.4 percent) and shelter (+0.7 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-4.0 percent), medical care (-0.5 percent) and alcoholic beverages (-3.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (+44.9 percent) and new vehicles (+8.0 percent) drove the majority of the advance, while household furnishings and operations (+7.6 percent) and shelter (+1.0 percent) also made notable contributions to increases in the index. Partly offsetting the increases were falling prices for apparel (-5.5 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-9.0 percent).

The August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2021.

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.