Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline. (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 3.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 2.7 percent. Energy prices advanced 7.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)  

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Feb 2024	3.2	3.6
Mar 2024	3.6	3.8
Apr 2024	3.7	3.6

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.1 percent, led by higher prices for dairy and related products (1.2 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.7 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.7 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 4.3 percent.

The energy index rose 3.8 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.2 percent). Prices for electricity were unchanged, while prices for natural gas service decreased 6.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 7.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (6.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 10.0 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 2.3 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in April. Higher prices for medical care (0.4 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.8 percent) and medical care (4.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-2.6 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent), and apparel (-0.4 percent).

The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on June 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	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	Apr. 2023	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024
Expenditure category
All Items		329.339	332.202	334.050	3.7	1.4	0.6
All items (December 1977=100)		532.359	536.985	539.974	-	-	-
Food and beverages		338.829	339.395	340.325	2.6	0.4	0.3
Food		341.219	341.817	342.695	2.7	0.4	0.3
Food at home		319.779	319.813	320.076	1.7	0.1	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		334.583	332.141	331.987	-0.2	-0.8	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		344.564	345.699	344.964	2.4	0.1	-0.2
Dairy and related products		282.035	281.995	285.323	-1.3	1.2	1.2
Fruits and vegetables		400.201	402.686	403.472	3.4	0.8	0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		226.248	227.413	225.817	1.2	-0.2	-0.7
Other food at home		278.131	276.701	277.448	2.2	-0.2	0.3
Food away from home		371.290	372.804	374.678	4.3	0.9	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		302.220	302.306	304.043	2.1	0.6	0.6
Housing		370.012	372.494	372.998	4.4	0.8	0.1
Shelter		424.770	427.898	429.234	4.8	1.1	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)		452.449	453.744	455.275	4.7	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		448.415	449.733	450.645	4.7	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		448.205	449.520	450.426	4.8	0.5	0.2
Fuels and utilities		426.412	428.399	424.330	7.6	-0.5	-0.9
Household energy		375.840	378.042	372.663	8.1	-0.8	-1.4
Energy services(1)		379.307	381.722	376.143	8.4	-0.8	-1.5
Electricity(1)		417.893	423.507	423.523	10.0	1.3	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		309.948	304.173	283.454	2.3	-8.5	-6.8
Household furnishings and operations		158.131	158.610	158.001	-0.4	-0.1	-0.4
Apparel		124.638	126.490	127.308	-0.4	2.1	0.6
Transportation		274.032	283.470	290.292	5.5	5.9	2.4
Private transportation		271.009	281.561	287.904	5.6	6.2	2.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		123.013	123.292	123.480	-2.6	0.4	0.2
New vehicles		176.172	175.886	175.725	-1.0	-0.3	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		175.062	174.219	173.450	-1.7	-0.9	-0.4
Used cars and trucks		172.957	173.451	172.840	-6.7	-0.1	-0.4
Motor fuel		329.490	352.928	380.778	5.8	15.6	7.9
Gasoline (all types)		327.367	351.399	380.052	6.2	16.1	8.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		322.947	347.261	376.087	6.1	16.5	8.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		314.318	336.200	362.517	6.3	15.3	7.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		324.173	345.824	372.242	6.4	14.8	7.6
Medical Care		601.871	601.396	603.789	4.5	0.3	0.4
Medical care commodities		462.333	462.859	466.995	3.8	1.0	0.9
Medical care services		645.057	644.263	646.090	4.6	0.2	0.3
Professional services		420.783	419.662	421.019	5.8	0.1	0.3
Recreation(3)		131.600	131.678	132.093	1.0	0.4	0.3
Education and communication(3)		144.544	144.061	144.366	0.4	-0.1	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,662.215	1,661.627	1,667.367	1.3	0.3	0.3
Other goods and services		540.202	540.609	543.066	1.8	0.5	0.5
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		329.339	332.202	334.050	3.7	1.4	0.6
Commodities		225.653	227.316	229.448	0.7	1.7	0.9
Commodities less food & beverages		172.637	174.595	177.034	-0.3	2.5	1.4
Nondurables less food & beverages		227.669	233.372	239.535	1.9	5.2	2.6
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		300.005	308.373	318.213	2.6	6.1	3.2
Durables		123.833	123.402	123.417	-2.7	-0.3	0.0
Services		425.891	429.895	431.410	5.5	1.3	0.4
Rent of shelter(2)		452.940	456.298	457.718	4.8	1.1	0.3
Transportation services		402.704	420.768	426.880	13.8	6.0	1.5
Other services		411.200	412.604	414.136	2.2	0.7	0.4
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		316.788	319.781	321.601	3.6	1.5	0.6
All items less food		327.598	330.802	332.797	3.8	1.6	0.6
All items less shelter		291.686	294.462	296.549	3.1	1.7	0.7
Commodities less food		177.380	179.320	181.771	-0.2	2.5	1.4
Nondurables		282.997	286.292	290.006	2.3	2.5	1.3
Nondurables less food		233.284	238.733	244.708	2.0	4.9	2.5
Nondurables less food and apparel		299.683	307.333	316.467	2.6	5.6	3.0
Services less rent of shelter(2)		439.388	444.748	446.574	6.4	1.6	0.4
Services less medical care services		410.475	414.778	416.270	5.5	1.4	0.4
Energy		356.324	371.030	385.035	7.0	8.1	3.8
All items less energy		330.269	332.425	333.541	3.5	1.0	0.3
All items less food and energy		329.273	331.689	332.846	3.6	1.1	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities		160.749	160.697	160.780	-1.5	0.0	0.1
Energy commodities		335.880	359.238	387.135	5.5	15.3	7.8
Services less energy services		430.369	434.473	436.356	5.3	1.4	0.4
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.