Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The January increase was influenced by higher prices for 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 advanced 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 2.9 percent. Energy prices fell 0.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2021	1.4	1.3
Feb 2021	1.6	1.2
Mar 2021	2.4	1.5
Apr 2021	3.9	2.7
May 2021	4.7	3.3
Jun 2021	5.1	4.1
Jul 2021	5.2	3.9
Aug 2021	5.0	3.8
Sep 2021	5.3	4.0
Oct 2021	6.0	4.5
Nov 2021	6.5	4.8
Dec 2021	7.1	5.5
Jan 2022	7.7	6.2
Feb 2022	8.1	6.7
Mar 2022	8.7	6.8
Apr 2022	8.3	6.4
May 2022	8.3	6.2
Jun 2022	8.8	6.2
Jul 2022	8.3	6.3
Aug 2022	8.1	6.7
Sep 2022	8.3	6.8
Oct 2022	8.1	6.4
Nov 2022	7.1	6.0
Dec 2022	6.2	5.7
Jan 2023	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.0	5.3
Mar 2023	5.1	5.5
Apr 2023	4.9	5.4
May 2023	4.5	5.3
Jun 2023	3.5	4.7
Jul 2023	3.5	4.3
Aug 2023	3.9	4.1
Sep 2023	3.9	3.9
Oct 2023	3.3	3.7
Nov 2023	3.3	3.7
Dec 2023	3.6	3.7
Jan 2024	3.3	3.7

Food prices advanced 0.8 percent for the month of January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.8 percent, led by higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (2.5 percent) and fruits and vegetables (2.4 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.9 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 1.6 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 5.3 percent.

The energy index fell 0.3 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.7 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 4.9 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 1.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 0.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for natural gas service (-25.8 percent). Prices paid for gasoline fell 0.7 percent, while prices for electricity rose 11.3 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.7 percent in January. Higher prices for recreation (1.2 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.9 percent) and medical care (4.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-3.6 percent) and apparel (-0.3 percent).

The February 2024 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on March 12, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for the West Region is published monthly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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, 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	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2023	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023
Expenditure category
All Items		326.299	325.932	328.053	3.3	0.5	0.7
All items (December 1977=100)		527.444	526.851	530.280	-	-	-
Food and beverages		335.363	336.099	338.646	2.8	1.0	0.8
Food		337.657	338.478	341.068	2.9	1.0	0.8
Food at home		316.867	316.944	319.595	1.6	0.9	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		332.976	332.779	331.333	1.4	-0.5	-0.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		342.927	344.486	343.304	0.4	0.1	-0.3
Dairy and related products		280.532	283.943	283.177	-1.9	0.9	-0.3
Fruits and vegetables		395.785	393.629	403.229	2.1	1.9	2.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		224.183	221.911	227.536	2.4	1.5	2.5
Other food at home		274.282	274.641	277.074	3.1	1.0	0.9
Food away from home		366.415	368.744	371.193	5.3	1.3	0.7
Alcoholic beverages		300.099	299.663	301.567	2.0	0.5	0.6
Housing		364.859	365.434	368.627	4.2	1.0	0.9
Shelter		419.200	420.452	422.948	4.9	0.9	0.6
Rent of primary residence(1)		448.966	450.336	451.299	5.3	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		442.812	444.763	446.985	5.2	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		442.599	444.556	446.778	5.2	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities		411.251	410.166	424.202	1.7	3.1	3.4
Household energy		361.707	360.040	374.501	-0.3	3.5	4.0
Energy services(1)		364.567	362.837	377.989	-0.1	3.7	4.2
Electricity(1)		397.880	397.308	416.928	11.3	4.8	4.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		307.628	302.884	307.590	-25.8	0.0	1.6
Household furnishings and operations		157.691	156.869	158.462	1.3	0.5	1.0
Apparel		123.079	120.719	123.555	-0.3	0.4	2.3
Transportation		275.724	271.388	269.967	1.8	-2.1	-0.5
Private transportation		274.738	270.826	268.437	1.9	-2.3	-0.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)		123.871	123.366	122.166	-1.7	-1.4	-1.0
New vehicles		176.246	175.712	176.123	0.1	-0.1	0.2
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		175.617	174.694	175.287	-0.1	-0.2	0.3
Used cars and trucks		178.979	179.115	172.443	-3.6	-3.7	-3.7
Motor fuel		363.616	337.053	324.445	-1.1	-10.8	-3.7
Gasoline (all types)		360.984	334.565	322.269	-0.7	-10.7	-3.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		356.870	330.231	317.806	-0.9	-10.9	-3.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		345.099	320.846	309.601	-0.2	-10.3	-3.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		354.576	330.653	319.526	0.2	-9.9	-3.4
Medical Care		594.011	598.854	599.698	4.1	1.0	0.1
Medical care commodities		460.946	461.457	462.342	4.1	0.3	0.2
Medical care services		635.226	641.361	642.190	4.1	1.1	0.1
Professional services		414.332	420.718	420.967	5.3	1.6	0.1
Recreation(3)		129.894	130.609	132.189	3.4	1.8	1.2
Education and communication(3)		142.182	142.559	143.688	-0.2	1.1	0.8
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,648.584	1,650.569	1,655.928	1.6	0.4	0.3
Other goods and services		549.509	547.520	553.901	8.0	0.8	1.2
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		326.299	325.932	328.053	3.3	0.5	0.7
Commodities		226.762	224.793	225.376	0.7	-0.6	0.3
Commodities less food & beverages		175.125	172.490	172.341	-0.6	-1.6	-0.1
Nondurables less food & beverages		234.318	227.825	226.246	0.5	-3.4	-0.7
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		312.291	302.904	298.333	0.8	-4.5	-1.5
Durables		123.923	123.523	124.230	-1.4	0.2	0.6
Services		418.580	419.994	423.617	4.9	1.2	0.9
Rent of shelter(2)		447.013	448.326	450.979	4.9	0.9	0.6
Transportation services		384.817	385.594	391.805	7.4	1.8	1.6
Other services		407.481	409.393	412.587	3.9	1.3	0.8
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		313.959	313.376	315.543	3.3	0.5	0.7
All items less food		324.626	324.090	326.141	3.4	0.5	0.6
All items less shelter		289.673	288.635	290.616	2.4	0.3	0.7
Commodities less food		179.800	177.180	177.073	-0.5	-1.5	-0.1
Nondurables		285.001	281.772	282.155	1.8	-1.0	0.1
Nondurables less food		239.499	233.298	231.891	0.6	-3.2	-0.6
Nondurables less food and apparel		310.682	302.113	298.102	0.9	-4.0	-1.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)		429.311	431.036	436.415	4.9	1.7	1.2
Services less medical care services		403.360	404.452	408.246	5.0	1.2	0.9
Energy		369.686	353.908	352.784	-0.9	-4.6	-0.3
All items less energy		326.202	326.774	329.111	3.6	0.9	0.7
All items less food and energy		325.113	325.647	327.948	3.7	0.9	0.7
Commodities less food and energy commodities		160.543	159.826	160.886	-0.3	0.2	0.7
Energy commodities		370.205	343.570	330.784	-1.3	-10.6	-3.7
Services less energy services		423.386	424.978	428.035	5.2	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.