Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in August 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and gasoline. (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 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 2.6 percent. Energy prices declined 4.6 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2020	-1.5	-2.0
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

Food prices increased 1.5 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.4 percent, led by higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (4.4 percent) and fruits and vegetables (3.0 percent). Overall, prices rose in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 1.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.6 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 1.3 percent since a year ago, influenced by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-6.5 percent). Overall, prices declined in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 11.1 percent.

The energy index advanced 6.4 percent for the two months ending in August. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (11.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 2.7 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 4.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-8.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 4.4 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 3.1 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (10.0 percent) and shelter (2.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (20.4 percent) and shelter (2.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-6.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-2.8 percent).

The October 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on November 14, 2023.

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	Jun. 2023	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023	Aug. 2022	Jun. 2023	Jul. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		259.930	-	263.407	2.0	1.3	-
All items (1967=100)		693.790	-	703.070	-	-	-
Food and beverages		257.076	-	260.443	2.7	1.3	-
Food		266.733	-	270.611	2.6	1.5	-
Food at home		256.261	258.442	259.973	-1.3	1.4	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		266.738	263.925	268.085	-2.1	0.5	1.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		231.095	231.980	232.264	-6.5	0.5	0.1
Dairy and related products		252.444	247.903	248.064	-3.2	-1.7	0.1
Fruits and vegetables		392.278	404.139	404.058	1.9	3.0	0.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		181.178	182.727	189.226	1.5	4.4	3.6
Other food at home		217.226	219.535	218.980	-0.1	0.8	-0.3
Food away from home		284.402	-	288.567	11.1	1.5	-
Alcoholic beverages		164.969	-	163.726	2.7	-0.8	-
Housing		227.832	-	231.932	2.1	1.8	-
Shelter		231.340	233.013	236.612	2.7	2.3	1.5
Rent of primary residence(2)		226.298	228.793	230.390	5.5	1.8	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		231.398	233.743	235.107	2.4	1.6	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		231.398	233.743	235.107	2.4	1.6	0.6
Fuels and utilities		354.693	-	359.351	3.0	1.3	-
Household energy		357.636	363.454	363.852	3.5	1.7	0.1
Energy services		398.125	404.165	404.165	3.7	1.5	0.0
Electricity		336.551	338.252	338.252	4.4	0.5	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		478.719	491.615	491.615	3.1	2.7	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		141.738	-	140.237	-2.8	-1.1	-
Apparel		158.217	-	158.116	0.2	-0.1	-
Transportation		292.705	-	298.093	2.1	1.8	-
Private transportation		297.033	-	306.668	0.8	3.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		136.733	-	133.375	-1.7	-2.5	-
New vehicles(1)		280.280	-	277.630	1.2	-0.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		377.449	-	374.797	-6.2	-0.7	-
Motor fuel		334.230	353.683	370.941	-9.0	11.0	4.9
Gasoline (all types)		335.278	355.544	373.117	-8.4	11.3	4.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		323.399	342.975	360.401	-8.4	11.4	5.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		322.629	342.238	357.718	-8.3	10.9	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		340.768	361.240	377.206	-8.0	10.7	4.4
Medical care		733.136	-	734.072	-	0.1	-
Recreation(3)		140.543	-	138.800	1.1	-1.2	-
Education and communication(3)		114.736	-	113.959	-1.3	-0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		786.787	-	790.891	3.1	0.5	-
Other goods and services		448.774	-	493.715	20.4	10.0	-
Commodity and service group
All items		259.930	-	263.407	2.0	1.3	-
Commodities		213.766	-	215.883	-1.3	1.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages		192.057	-	193.384	-3.5	0.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		246.257	-	253.200	-3.5	2.8	-
Durables		146.541	-	144.046	-4.2	-1.7	-
Services		299.392	-	304.220	4.4	1.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		243.685	-	247.186	1.9	1.4	-
All items less shelter		272.075	-	274.613	1.7	0.9	-
Commodities less food		191.186	-	192.348	-3.3	0.6	-
Nondurables		251.952	-	256.624	-0.5	1.9	-
Nondurables less food		239.801	-	245.672	-3.3	2.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		412.458	-	415.877	6.5	0.8	-
Services less medical care services		273.554	-	278.454	4.5	1.8	-
Energy		344.850	357.807	367.041	-4.6	6.4	2.6
All items less energy		255.341	-	257.791	2.7	1.0	-
All items less food and energy		254.028	-	256.121	2.7	0.8	-
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.