Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.3 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The September increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter, food, and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 8.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 10.8 percent. Energy prices rose 20.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.6 percent, with increases in five of the six subcategories. Prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 10.8 percent. Prices for food at home increased 12.8 percent since a year ago, ranging from 9.4 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 15.6 percent for other food at home. Prices for food away from home increased 8.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.1 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (2.3 percent). Prices for electricity rose 0.1 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 20.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (24.5 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 21.6 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 10.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in September. Higher prices for apparel (1.7 percent), medical care (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-4.3 percent), other goods and services (-0.5 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (9.2 percent), household furnishings and operations (9.0 percent), shelter (7.1 percent), and medical care (7.1 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9	0.2	1.4	0.9	7.7
February	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1	0.5	1.6	0.8	8.1
March	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5	0.7	2.4	1.3	8.7
April	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3	1.0	3.9	0.7	8.3
May	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8	0.8	4.7	0.8	8.3
June	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2	0.9	5.1	1.2	8.8
July	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7	0.6	5.2	0.1	8.3
August	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6	0.3	1.9	0.2	5.0	0.0	8.1
September	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6	0.0	1.6	0.2	5.3	0.3	8.3
October	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8	0.2	1.2	0.8	6.0
November	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.4	0.5	6.5
December	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8	-0.1	1.5	0.4	7.1

The October 2022 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on November 10, 2022.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Sep. 2021	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022
Expenditure category
All Items		313.951	314.013	315.094	8.3	0.4	0.3
All items (December 1977=100)		507.484	507.585	509.331
Food and beverages		319.435	321.522	323.196	10.4	1.2	0.5
Food		321.428	323.582	325.368	10.8	1.2	0.6
Food at home		307.392	309.684	311.473	12.8	1.3	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		311.396	315.874	316.590	14.8	1.7	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		339.241	338.220	342.424	9.4	0.9	1.2
Dairy and related products		280.307	284.299	285.055	14.9	1.7	0.3
Fruits and vegetables		387.540	390.537	395.247	11.5	2.0	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		215.558	216.670	219.904	11.2	2.0	1.5
Other food at home		263.070	266.031	264.816	15.6	0.7	-0.5
Food away from home		337.584	339.446	341.180	8.0	1.1	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		288.488	289.581	289.606	4.1	0.4	0.0
Housing		339.184	341.297	343.325	7.6	1.2	0.6
Shelter		387.370	390.037	392.875	7.1	1.4	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)		409.379	412.007	415.793	6.9	1.6	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		406.994	409.704	413.541	7.1	1.6	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		406.820	409.522	413.341	7.1	1.6	0.9
Fuels and utilities		374.545	376.664	378.177	10.5	1.0	0.4
Household energy		325.206	327.690	329.464	13.2	1.3	0.5
Energy services(1)		326.537	329.254	331.435	13.1	1.5	0.7
Electricity(1)		355.360	355.707	356.042	10.4	0.2	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		279.382	287.655	294.166	21.6	5.3	2.3
Household furnishings and operations		155.742	156.027	155.649	9.0	-0.1	-0.2
Apparel		121.815	123.502	125.596	5.4	3.1	1.7
Transportation		292.198	283.159	281.109	13.9	-3.8	-0.7
Private transportation		288.693	281.395	279.405	13.1	-3.2	-0.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.187	131.094	129.218	9.2	-1.5	-1.4
New vehicles		173.173	173.955	174.083	7.7	0.5	0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)		173.081	173.975	174.279	9.5	0.7	0.2
Used cars and trucks		205.520	204.650	195.855	7.4	-4.7	-4.3
Motor fuel		441.270	401.599	400.726	25.0	-9.2	-0.2
Gasoline (all types)		438.278	398.778	398.085	24.5	-9.2	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		435.287	395.449	394.709	24.8	-9.3	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		415.325	379.059	378.897	24.1	-8.8	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		422.219	386.612	386.142	23.5	-8.5	-0.1
Medical Care		568.682	575.535	581.386	7.1	2.2	1.0
Medical care commodities		434.655	434.650	433.516	3.7	-0.3	-0.3
Medical care services		610.102	619.063	627.061	7.8	2.8	1.3
Professional services		386.038	391.203	399.239	5.5	3.4	2.1
Recreation(3)		124.108	124.640	124.771	3.0	0.5	0.1
Education and communication(3)		141.617	142.874	143.433	0.9	1.3	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,578.362	1,611.267	1,631.390	4.6	3.4	1.2
Other goods and services		504.605	508.756	506.461	6.2	0.4	-0.5
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		313.951	314.013	315.094	8.3	0.4	0.3
Commodities		230.358	228.731	228.268	9.9	-0.9	-0.2
Commodities less food & beverages		185.340	182.479	181.280	9.5	-2.2	-0.7
Nondurables less food & beverages		247.292	239.234	239.801	12.4	-3.0	0.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		334.339	319.900	319.531	14.4	-4.4	-0.1
Durables		131.121	131.431	129.390	6.9	-1.3	-1.6
Services		389.690	391.538	394.206	7.3	1.2	0.7
Rent of shelter(2)		412.791	415.664	418.772	7.2	1.4	0.7
Transportation services		367.484	359.466	361.129	14.4	-1.7	0.5
Other services		384.005	386.802	388.271	2.9	1.1	0.4
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		302.196	301.976	302.853	8.4	0.2	0.3
All items less food		312.922	312.659	313.629	7.9	0.2	0.3
All items less shelter		285.234	284.237	284.606	8.9	-0.2	0.1
Commodities less food		189.636	186.834	185.649	9.3	-2.1	-0.6
Nondurables		283.881	280.709	281.818	11.3	-0.7	0.4
Nondurables less food		251.151	243.561	244.101	11.8	-2.8	0.2
Nondurables less food and apparel		329.662	316.645	316.311	13.5	-4.0	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)		404.055	404.763	407.158	7.5	0.8	0.6
Services less medical care services		374.268	375.643	377.954	7.2	1.0	0.6
Energy		397.191	375.830	376.137	20.1	-5.3	0.1
All items less energy		311.066	312.536	313.676	7.4	0.8	0.4
All items less food and energy		310.157	311.515	312.548	6.8	0.8	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities		163.664	164.285	163.111	6.3	-0.3	-0.7
Energy commodities		448.036	408.291	407.149	24.9	-9.1	-0.3
Services less energy services		394.874	396.679	399.386	7.0	1.1	0.7
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (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) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.