Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in January 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the January 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 3.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 4.5 percent. Energy prices fell 6.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Hawaii, January 2021–January 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2021	1.4	1.4
Mar 2021	1.8	0.9
May 2021	3.8	3.3
Jul 2021	4.6	3.8
Sep 2021	5.0	4.1
Nov 2021	5.4	3.4
Jan 2022	6.0	3.9
Mar 2022	7.5	5.3
May 2022	7.0	4.3
Jul 2022	6.8	3.9
Sep 2022	6.6	4.1
Nov 2022	5.8	3.6
Jan 2023	5.2	3.7
Mar 2023	3.3	3.0
May 2023	2.0	2.5
Jul 2023	2.1	3.3
Sep 2023	2.2	3.0
Nov 2023	3.6	4.8
Jan 2024	3.9	4.7

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.5 percent, influenced by higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (4.3 percent) and other food at home (2.4 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.5 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 1.6 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for other food at home (4.7 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (2.8 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 8.5 percent.

The energy index fell 0.9 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.5 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 6.7 percent, while prices for electricity advanced 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 6.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity decreased 3.9 percent, and prices for natural gas service fell 1.5 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (2.5 percent) and shelter (1.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.8 percent) and medical care (-2.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (8.1 percent) and other goods and services (8.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-4.7 percent) and education and communication education and communication (-1.9 percent).

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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 Hawaii area covered in this release consists of Honolulu in the State of Hawaii.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

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

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2023	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		331.428	-	333.172	3.9	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)		912.411	-	917.214	-	-	-
Food and beverages		359.459	-	361.686	4.2	0.6	-
Food		363.610	-	366.034	4.5	0.7	-
Food at home		346.298	346.725	347.976	1.6	0.5	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		408.836	394.535	395.720	1.9	-3.2	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		334.312	333.270	322.865	2.8	-3.4	-3.1
Dairy and related products		283.107	284.529	289.320	0.7	2.2	1.7
Fruits and vegetables		397.161	404.200	407.129	-2.7	2.5	0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		410.363	406.839	428.038	0.0	4.3	5.2
Other food at home		342.777	347.683	350.889	4.7	2.4	0.9
Food away from home		378.059	-	381.486	8.5	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages		289.235	-	286.528	-2.3	-0.9	-
Housing		357.189	-	362.002	6.6	1.3	-
Shelter		386.997	387.953	392.584	8.1	1.4	1.2
Rent of primary residence(2)		391.502	392.865	395.080	9.7	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		397.707	398.798	403.658	7.5	1.5	1.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		397.707	398.798	403.658	7.5	1.5	1.2
Fuels and utilities		464.486	-	463.982	-2.7	-0.1	-
Household energy		397.222	389.760	397.108	-4.1	0.0	1.9
Energy services		390.528	383.080	390.515	-3.8	0.0	1.9
Electricity		388.783	382.609	390.313	-3.9	0.4	2.0
Utility (piped) gas service		352.210	325.759	328.572	-1.5	-6.7	0.9
Household furnishings and operations		165.760	-	169.849	4.4	2.5	-
Apparel		122.509	-	126.701	2.1	3.4	-
Transportation		268.762	-	265.135	-2.2	-1.3	-
Private transportation		278.306	-	275.140	-2.5	-1.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		124.004	-	121.004	-4.7	-2.4	-
New vehicles(1)		187.276	-	188.256	-2.0	0.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		320.238	-	308.181	-3.5	-3.8	-
Motor fuel		366.596	361.876	360.907	-7.7	-1.6	-0.3
Gasoline (all types)		376.153	371.383	370.381	-7.8	-1.5	-0.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		390.212	385.332	384.400	-7.9	-1.5	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		312.921	309.385	308.091	-7.7	-1.5	-0.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		353.764	348.984	347.720	-7.5	-1.7	-0.4
Medical care		518.571	-	507.812	-	-2.1	-
Recreation(3)		149.740	-	149.924	1.8	0.1	-
Education and communication(3)		154.010	-	153.765	-1.9	-0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,007.393	-	2,007.393	4.4	0.0	-
Other goods and services		622.587	-	637.126	8.0	2.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items		331.428	-	333.172	3.9	0.5	-
Commodities		250.134	-	250.973	-0.1	0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		185.458	-	185.602	-3.6	0.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		242.777	-	243.724	-3.4	0.4	-
Durables		127.241	-	127.015	-3.7	-0.2	-
Services		402.548	-	405.056	5.9	0.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		321.418	-	323.806	4.2	0.7	-
All items less shelter		307.940	-	307.581	0.9	-0.1	-
Commodities less food		189.603	-	189.701	-3.5	0.1	-
Nondurables		303.342	-	304.917	1.1	0.5	-
Nondurables less food		245.712	-	246.511	-3.3	0.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		420.024	-	416.949	2.1	-0.7	-
Services less medical care services		391.976	-	395.511	6.0	0.9	-
Energy		380.624	374.488	377.077	-6.0	-0.9	0.7
All items less energy		330.516	-	332.645	4.7	0.6	-
All items less food and energy		326.612	-	328.691	4.7	0.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=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.