Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.7 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The October increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (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 8.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 10.5 percent. Energy prices increased 24.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.4 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.6 percent for the month of October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.2 percent, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 1.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 10.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 11.8 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 8.1 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 14.9 percent for other food at home. Prices for food away from home rose 8.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 5.2 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.3 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 1.9 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 3.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 24.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (33.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 12.7 percent, and prices for electricity rose 9.8 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 October. Higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent) and recreation (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.2 percent), medical care (-0.5 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.2 percent), new and used motor vehicles (6.8 percent), and medical care (5.8 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	0.7	8.1
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 November 2022 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on December 13, 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	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
Expenditure category
All Items		314.013	315.094	317.299	8.1	1.0	0.7
All items (December 1977=100)		507.585	509.331	512.896
Food and beverages		321.522	323.196	325.289	10.1	1.2	0.6
Food		323.582	325.368	327.312	10.5	1.2	0.6
Food at home		309.684	311.473	312.155	11.8	0.8	0.2
Cereals and bakery products		315.874	316.590	320.348	14.3	1.4	1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		338.220	342.424	343.299	8.1	1.5	0.3
Dairy and related products		284.299	285.055	283.916	14.0	-0.1	-0.4
Fruits and vegetables		390.537	395.247	391.901	9.7	0.3	-0.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		216.670	219.904	220.708	11.0	1.9	0.4
Other food at home		266.031	264.816	266.416	14.9	0.1	0.6
Food away from home		339.446	341.180	345.261	8.5	1.7	1.2
Alcoholic beverages		289.581	289.606	293.879	4.9	1.5	1.5
Housing		341.297	343.325	345.092	7.4	1.1	0.5
Shelter		390.037	392.875	395.367	7.2	1.4	0.6
Rent of primary residence(1)		412.007	415.793	418.953	7.2	1.7	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		409.704	413.541	416.203	7.2	1.6	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		409.522	413.341	415.996	7.1	1.6	0.6
Fuels and utilities		376.664	378.177	379.933	8.8	0.9	0.5
Household energy		327.690	329.464	332.078	10.8	1.3	0.8
Energy services(1)		329.254	331.435	333.224	10.5	1.2	0.5
Electricity(1)		355.707	356.042	362.797	9.8	2.0	1.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		287.655	294.166	284.737	12.7	-1.0	-3.2
Household furnishings and operations		156.027	155.649	155.108	7.5	-0.6	-0.3
Apparel		123.502	125.596	125.343	4.3	1.5	-0.2
Transportation		283.159	281.109	287.321	15.1	1.5	2.2
Private transportation		281.395	279.405	285.147	14.1	1.3	2.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.094	129.218	128.176	6.8	-2.2	-0.8
New vehicles		173.955	174.083	174.748	7.0	0.5	0.4
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)		173.975	174.279	174.793	8.9	0.5	0.3
Used cars and trucks		204.650	195.855	191.640	2.7	-6.4	-2.2
Motor fuel		401.599	400.726	433.144	33.8	7.9	8.1
Gasoline (all types)		398.778	398.085	430.968	33.6	8.1	8.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		395.449	394.709	427.664	33.9	8.1	8.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		379.059	378.897	409.380	33.0	8.0	8.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		386.612	386.142	416.636	32.2	7.8	7.9
Medical Care		575.535	581.386	578.273	5.8	0.5	-0.5
Medical care commodities		434.650	433.516	433.426	3.7	-0.3	0.0
Medical care services		619.063	627.061	623.019	6.3	0.6	-0.6
Professional services		391.203	399.239	397.833	5.0	1.7	-0.4
Recreation(3)		124.640	124.771	125.367	2.4	0.6	0.5
Education and communication(3)		142.874	143.433	143.188	0.8	0.2	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,611.267	1,631.390	1,625.960	3.9	0.9	-0.3
Other goods and services		508.756	506.461	509.802	5.5	0.2	0.7
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		314.013	315.094	317.299	8.1	1.0	0.7
Commodities		228.731	228.268	230.415	9.8	0.7	0.9
Commodities less food & beverages		182.479	181.280	183.324	9.6	0.5	1.1
Nondurables less food & beverages		239.234	239.801	247.557	14.9	3.5	3.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		319.900	319.531	332.569	17.8	4.0	4.1
Durables		131.431	129.390	128.069	4.6	-2.6	-1.0
Services		391.538	394.206	396.383	7.2	1.2	0.6
Rent of shelter(2)		415.664	418.772	421.427	7.3	1.4	0.6
Transportation services		359.466	361.129	367.184	15.5	2.1	1.7
Other services		386.802	388.271	390.163	2.8	0.9	0.5
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		301.976	302.853	305.272	8.3	1.1	0.8
All items less food		312.659	313.629	315.876	7.8	1.0	0.7
All items less shelter		284.237	284.606	286.702	8.7	0.9	0.7
Commodities less food		186.834	185.649	187.765	9.4	0.5	1.1
Nondurables		280.709	281.818	286.867	12.2	2.2	1.8
Nondurables less food		243.561	244.101	251.708	14.2	3.3	3.1
Nondurables less food and apparel		316.645	316.311	328.539	16.7	3.8	3.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		404.763	407.158	408.954	7.0	1.0	0.4
Services less medical care services		375.643	377.954	380.535	7.2	1.3	0.7
Energy		375.830	376.137	395.694	24.1	5.3	5.2
All items less energy		312.536	313.676	314.760	7.0	0.7	0.3
All items less food and energy		311.515	312.548	313.489	6.4	0.6	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities		164.285	163.111	162.359	4.7	-1.2	-0.5
Energy commodities		408.291	407.149	440.236	33.6	7.8	8.1
Services less energy services		396.679	399.386	401.594	7.0	1.2	0.6
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.