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News Release Information

23-997-SAN
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — April 2023

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past two months, up 6.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in April 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the April increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and recreation. (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 advanced 6.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 8.0 percent, while energy prices were unchanged.  The index for all items less food and energy rose 7.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.1 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.8 percent, led by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-4.3 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 1.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 8.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.7 percent, with higher prices in four of the six subcategories. Prices for food away from home increased 15.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.0 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.4 percent). Prices for electricity rose 1.4 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

The energy index was unchanged over the year. Prices rose for natural gas service (18.1 percent) and electricity (7.2 percent), but prices declined for gasoline (-4.7 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (3.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (1.8 percent), and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 7.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (12.0 percent) and shelter (9.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-7.9 percent) and medical care (-0.2 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20192020202120222023
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.72.71.02.51.21.71.78.11.48.0

April

0.52.4-0.61.31.13.42.19.11.06.9

June

0.72.30.20.92.25.53.210.1

August

0.63.21.41.61.15.20.09.0

October

-0.62.2-0.12.11.16.51.08.9

December

-0.32.2-0.41.40.67.60.18.4

The June 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on July 12, 2023.


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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023
Apr.
2023
Apr.
2022
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0
334.987-338.4876.91.0-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DAA0
1,021.172-1,031.840---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF
355.033-356.2068.00.3-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF1
359.537-359.8568.00.1-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF11
320.613320.629317.9573.7-0.8-0.8

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF111
377.476-369.4439.3-2.1-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF112
294.298-281.785-3.6-4.3-

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEFJ
295.374-297.06411.60.6-

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF113
484.436-487.2910.00.6-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF114
411.131-414.3977.10.8-

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF115
249.030-248.7335.9-0.1-

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEFV
421.081-428.29615.11.7-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF116
301.460-309.9347.12.8-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH
399.950-401.4758.40.4-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH1
456.994458.342459.7319.10.60.3

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHA
462.371464.440464.5189.80.50.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHC
478.695480.252480.7339.80.40.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHC01
478.695480.252480.7339.80.40.1

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH2
322.319-325.1506.80.9-

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH21
292.154292.311294.6918.30.90.8

Energy services(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHF
342.564342.863346.1989.81.11.0

Electricity(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHF01
358.495358.906363.6537.21.41.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHF02
222.311222.336222.33618.10.00.0

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH3
229.626-226.5845.6-1.3-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAA
130.382-134.6903.03.3-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAT
287.302-293.0473.82.0-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAT1
299.920-304.9255.71.7-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA
124.409-126.6480.61.8-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA01
222.984-224.3454.70.6-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA02
421.222-442.808-7.95.1-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETB
476.176486.706505.396-4.96.13.8

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETB01
483.782494.754514.512-4.76.44.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47014
524.462536.302557.879-4.86.44.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47015
382.790391.710407.643-4.56.54.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47016
447.338457.648475.343-4.46.33.9

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAM
432.231-430.594-0.2-0.4-

Recreation(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAR
118.367-122.86512.03.8-

Education and communication(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAE
148.628-147.5380.8-0.7-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEEB
------

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAG
484.378-----

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0
334.987-338.4876.91.0-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAC
241.835-244.7604.71.2-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSACL11
189.013-192.2762.51.7-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSANL11
222.166-228.7812.63.0-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAD
154.807-155.8822.60.7-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAS
420.780-424.7058.30.9-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L5
330.867-334.5897.41.1-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L2
287.833-291.6155.71.3-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSACL1
193.414-196.8582.71.8-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAN
285.948-290.1845.81.5-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSANL1
228.872-235.6483.03.0-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSASL2RS
386.687-392.4577.21.5-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSASL5
415.928-420.1709.11.0-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0E
393.429398.686409.1650.04.02.6

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0LE
335.602-338.6417.40.9-

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L1E
331.830-335.2867.31.0-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023