Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent for the two months ending in October 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 0.9 percent. Energy prices declined 7.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Alaska, October 2020–October 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Oct 2020	0.3	0.3
Dec 2020	0.3	0.4
Feb 2021	1.3	1.3
Apr 2021	4.8	3.7
Jun 2021	6.2	6.0
Aug 2021	5.7	4.5
Oct 2021	6.3	4.9
Dec 2021	7.2	5.7
Feb 2022	7.4	5.9
Apr 2022	7.5	5.2
Jun 2022	12.4	6.3
Aug 2022	7.6	6.7
Oct 2022	7.6	6.6
Dec 2022	5.4	5.6
Feb 2023	4.3	5.0
Apr 2023	3.1	5.4
Jun 2023	-3.3	1.8
Aug 2023	2.0	2.7
Oct 2023	1.1	2.2

Food prices decreased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 1.3 percent, with lower prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 0.9 percent. Prices for food at home declined 2.2 percent since a year ago, with lower prices in all six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 7.2 percent.

The energy index increased 1.4 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (3.8 percent). Prices for gasoline increased 0.8 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices declined 7.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-13.3 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 7.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 2.7 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (0.8 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-7.0 percent) and education and communication (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (18.9 percent) and shelter (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-6.7 percent) and education and communication (-2.8 percent).

The December 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on January 11, 2024.

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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

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

Urban Alaska (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Aug. 2023	Sep. 2023	Oct. 2023	Oct. 2022	Aug. 2023	Sep. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		263.407	-	263.984	1.1	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)		703.070	-	704.610	-	-	-
Food and beverages		260.443	-	258.871	1.0	-0.6	-
Food		270.611	-	268.558	0.9	-0.8	-
Food at home		259.973	258.471	256.489	-2.2	-1.3	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products		268.085	256.038	261.763	-3.5	-2.4	2.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		232.264	233.636	235.105	-3.7	1.2	0.6
Dairy and related products		248.064	249.840	246.040	-3.7	-0.8	-1.5
Fruits and vegetables		404.058	408.473	398.781	-0.3	-1.3	-2.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		189.226	185.405	179.988	-4.8	-4.9	-2.9
Other food at home		218.980	217.728	217.034	-0.2	-0.9	-0.3
Food away from home		288.567	-	289.614	7.2	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		163.726	-	166.451	2.3	1.7	-
Housing		231.932	-	232.810	1.9	0.4	-
Shelter		236.612	236.503	237.454	2.4	0.4	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)		230.390	233.278	235.048	6.3	2.0	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		235.107	236.618	237.760	1.5	1.1	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		235.107	236.618	237.760	1.5	1.1	0.5
Fuels and utilities		359.351	-	364.264	3.6	1.4	-
Household energy		363.852	370.815	370.106	4.3	1.7	-0.2
Energy services		404.165	413.351	412.285	5.0	2.0	-0.3
Electricity		338.252	352.693	351.017	7.1	3.8	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service		491.615	491.615	491.615	2.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		140.237	-	139.582	-3.3	-0.5	-
Apparel		158.116	-	159.830	4.9	1.1	-
Transportation		298.093	-	302.156	-0.2	1.4	-
Private transportation		306.668	-	305.684	-1.1	-0.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.375	-	129.532	-3.6	-2.9	-
New vehicles(1)		277.630	-	275.618	0.1	-0.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		374.797	-	348.607	-6.7	-7.0	-
Motor fuel		370.941	384.337	375.274	-13.1	1.2	-2.4
Gasoline (all types)		373.117	385.578	376.019	-13.3	0.8	-2.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		360.401	372.453	362.579	-13.5	0.6	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		357.718	370.182	363.065	-13.0	1.5	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		377.206	389.694	382.566	-12.3	1.4	-1.8
Medical care		734.072	-	731.304	4.0	-0.4	-
Recreation(3)		138.800	-	139.854	0.3	0.8	-
Education and communication(3)		113.959	-	112.790	-2.8	-1.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		790.891	-	789.187	1.9	-0.2	-
Other goods and services		493.715	-	495.860	18.9	0.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items		263.407	-	263.984	1.1	0.2	-
Commodities		215.883	-	215.122	-2.4	-0.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages		193.384	-	193.161	-4.2	-0.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		253.200	-	254.299	-5.1	0.4	-
Durables		144.046	-	142.948	-4.2	-0.8	-
Services		304.220	-	306.256	3.7	0.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		247.186	-	247.846	0.9	0.3	-
All items less shelter		274.613	-	275.051	0.5	0.2	-
Commodities less food		192.348	-	192.321	-3.9	0.0	-
Nondurables		256.624	-	256.045	-2.2	-0.2	-
Nondurables less food		245.672	-	247.043	-4.8	0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		415.877	-	420.199	5.3	1.0	-
Services less medical care services		278.454	-	280.607	3.6	0.8	-
Energy		367.041	377.366	372.280	-7.0	1.4	-1.3
All items less energy		257.791	-	258.112	1.9	0.1	-
All items less food and energy		256.121	-	257.063	2.2	0.4	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 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) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.