News United States 

Department 

of Labor 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

 FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: 

Patrick C. Jackman (202) 691-7000 USDL-06-1814 

CPI QUICKLINE: (202) 691-6994 TRANSMISSION OF 

FOR CURRENT AND HISTORICAL MATERIAL IN THIS 

INFORMATION: (202) 691-5200 RELEASE IS EMBARGOED 

MEDIA CONTACT: (202) 691-5902 UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EDT) 

INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ Wednesday, October 18, 2006 

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: SEPTEMBER 2006 

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.5 percent in September, before 

seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The September 

level of 202.9 (1982-84=100) was 2.1 percent higher than in September 2005. 

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) decreased 0.6 percent in 

September, prior to seasonal adjustment. The September level of 198.4 (1982-84=100) was 1.7 percent higher than 

in September 2005. 

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) decreased 0.3 percent in September 

on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The September level of 117.6 (December 1999=100) was 2.2 percent higher than 

in September 2005. Please note that the indexes for the post-2004 period are subject to revision. 

CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U declined 0.5 percent in September, following an increase of 0.2 

percent in August. Energy prices, which rose 0.3 percent in August, declined 7.2 percent in (cont.) 

Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) 

 Seasonally adjusted Un-

 Compound adjusted

Expenditure Changes from preceding month annual rate 12-mos. 

Category 2006 3-mos. ended ended

 Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Sep.’06 Sep.’06

All Items .4 .6 .4 .2 .4 .2 -.5 0.8 2.1

 Food and beverages .1 .0 .2 .3 .2 .3 .4 3.3 2.6 

 Housing .2 .1 .3 .2 .3 .2 .3 3.8 4.1 

 Apparel 1.0 .6 .2 .0 -1.2 .9 .6 1.3 1.0 

 Transportation .9 2.4 1.5 -.2 1.6 .2 -4.1 -9.2 -3.2 

 Medical care .4 .4 .3 .3 .2 .4 .3 3.7 4.2 

 Recreation .4 .3 .2 .1 .3 -.1 .0 .7 1.3 

 Education and 

 communication .2 .3 .0 .3 .3 .3 .1 3.1 2.7 

 Other goods and 

 services .2 .0 .1 .6 -.2 .3 .5 2.6 2.6 

 Special Indexes 

 Energy 1.3 3.9 2.4 -.9 2.9 .3 -7.2 -15.6 -4.3 

 Food .1 .0 .1 .3 .2 .4 .3 3.5 2.5 

 All Items less 

 food and energy .3 .3 .3 .3 .2 .2 .2 2.7 2.9 

Effective with release of the January 2007 CPI, BLS will publish index levels to three decimal places. 

Percent changes based on these more precise indexes will continue to be published to one decimal place. 

See page 5 for more details. 
 

September. Within energy, the index for petroleum based energy decreased 12.9 percent, while the index for 

energy services rose 1.2 percent. The food index increased 0.3 percent in September. The index for all items 

less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in September, the same as in August. Increases in the shelter and apparel 

components accounted for over 80 percent of the September advance. 

 Consumer prices increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 0.8 percent in the third 

quarter of 2006, following increases in the first and second quarters at annual rates of 4.3 and 5.1 percent, 

respectively. This brings the year-to-date annual rate to 3.4 percent, the same as for all of 2005. The index for 

energy, which advanced at annual rates of 21.8 and 23.8 percent in the first two quarters, declined at a 15.6 

percent rate in the third quarter of 2006. Thus far this year, energy costs have risen at an 8.3 percent SAAR 

after increasing 17.1 percent in all of 2005. In the first nine months of 2006, petroleum-based energy costs 

increased at a 16.3 percent rate while charges for energy services decreased at a 0.1 percent rate. The food 

index rose at a 2.6 percent SAAR in the first nine months of 2006. The index for grocery store food prices 

increased at a 2.2 percent rate. Among the six major grocery store food groups, the index for fruits and 

vegetables registered the largest increase during this span--up at a 7.9 percent rate. The index for dairy 

products recorded the largest decline--down at a 2.0 percent annual rate. 

 The CPI-U excluding food and energy advanced at a 2.7 percent SAAR in the third quarter, following 

increases at rates of 2.8 and 3.6 percent in the first two quarters of 2006. The advance at a 3.0 percent SAAR 

for the first nine months of 2006 compares with a 2.2 percent rise in all of 2005. Almost 80 percent of the 

overall acceleration was accounted for by the larger increase in the index for shelter. Shelter costs, which rose 

2.6 percent in all of 2005, have risen at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the first nine months of 2006. An upturn in 

the index for apparel accounted for about 18 percent of the acceleration thus far in 2006. The annual rates for 

selected groups for the last seven and three-quarter years are shown below. 

 Percentage change 12 months SAAR 9 

 ended in December mos. ended

 in Sep. 

 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

All items 2.7 3.4 1.6 2.4 1.9 3.3 3.4 3.4

 Food and beverages 2.0 2.8 2.8 1.5 3.5 2.6 2.3 2.6

 Housing 2.2 4.3 2.9 2.4 2.2 3.0 4.0 3.4

 Apparel -.5 -1.8 -3.2 -1.8 -2.1 -.2 -1.1 1.9

 Transportation 5.4 4.1 -3.8 3.8 .3 6.5 4.8 5.2

 Medical care 3.7 4.2 4.7 5.0 3.7 4.2 4.3 3.9

 Recreation .8 1.7 1.5 1.1 1.1 .7 1.1 1.6

 Education and 

 communication 1.6 1.3 3.2 2.2 1.6 1.5 2.4 2.9

 Other goods and services 5.1 4.2 4.5 3.3 1.5 2.5 3.1 2.5

 

Special indexes 

 Energy 13.4 14.2 -13.0 10.7 6.9 16.6 17.1 8.3

 Energy commodities 29.5 15.7 -24.5 23.7 6.9 26.7 16.7 16.3

 Energy services 1.2 12.7 -1.5 .4 6.9 6.8 17.6 -.1

 All items less energy 2.0 2.6 2.8 1.8 1.5 2.2 2.2 2.9

 Food 1.9 2.8 2.8 1.5 3.6 2.7 2.3 2.6

 All items less 

 food and energy 1.9 2.6 2.7 1.9 1.1 2.2 2.2 3.0

 
The food and beverages index increased 0.4 percent in September. The index for food at home rose 0.5 

percent in September, following a 0.4 percent increase in August. A 3.0 percent increase in the index for fruits 

and vegetables accounted for about 90 percent of the September advance in grocery store food prices. The 

indexes for fresh vegetables, for fresh fruits and for processed fruits and vegetables increased 6.6, 0.8, and 0.2 

percent, respectively. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 0.5 percent in September. Beef 

prices, which increased 1.4 percent in August, fell 0.2 percent in September. This decline was more than offset 

by increases in the prices for pork, other meats, poultry, fish and seafood, and eggs. The index for nonalcoholic 

beverages rose 0.2 percent in September after increasing 0.8 percent in August, reflecting declines in the 

indexes for carbonated drinks and for coffee. The index for cereal and bakery products increased 0.1 percent in 

September, while the indexes for dairy products and other food at home were unchanged and declined 0.5 

percent, respectively. The other two components of the food and beverages index--food away from home and 

alcoholic beverages--each increased 0.1 percent. 

The index for housing increased 0.3 percent in September. The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent, 

following a 0.2 percent rise in August. Within shelter, the indexes for rent and owners' equivalent rent 

increased 0.4 and 0.3 percent, respectively, the same as in August. The index for lodging away from home, 

which fell 0.4 percent in August, rose 0.7 percent in September. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, the index for 

lodging away from home declined 4.3 percent.) The index for fuels and utilities--up 0.7 percent in September--

increased for the third consecutive month after registering declines in each of the preceding five months. The 

index for natural gas increased for the second consecutive month--up 2.9 percent in September. The index for 

electricity increased 0.5 percent. The index for fuel oil registered its first decline in six months--down 6.1 

percent in September. During the last 12 months, the index for electricity increased 11.8 percent while the 

indexes for natural gas and for fuel oil have decreased 6.1 and 1.9 percent, respectively. The index for 

household furnishings and operations, which rose 0.2 percent in August, increased 0.1 percent in September. 

The transportation index declined 4.1 percent in September, reflecting price decreases for gasoline, for 

new and used motor vehicles, and for airline fares. The index for gasoline declined 13.5 percent, accounting for 

about 98 percent of the decline in the overall transportation group. The index for new vehicles declined 0.1 

percent in September. (About 25 percent of the new car sample in September was represented by 2007 

models.) New vehicle prices are 0.4 percent higher than in September 2005. The index for used cars and trucks 

decreased 1.0 percent in September and was 0.4 percent lower than in September 2005. The index for public 

transportation declined 0.7 percent, reflecting a 2.3 percent drop in airline fares. Airline fares have declined 4.1 

percent in the last two months after advancing 12.6 percent in the first seven months of the year. 

The index for apparel, which increased 0.9 percent in August, rose 0.6 percent in September to a level 

1.0 percent higher than in September 2005. (Reflecting price increases associated with the introduction of fallwinter wear, apparel prices advanced 4.8 percent in September, prior to seasonal adjustment; prices for 

women’s and girls’ clothing increased 8.4 percent.) 

Medical care costs rose 0.3 percent in September and were 4.2 percent higher than a year ago. The 

index for medical care commodities--prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies--increased 

0.2 percent. The index for medical care services rose 0.4 percent in August. The indexes for professional 

services and for hospital and related services each increased 0.3 percent. 

 

The index for recreation was unchanged in September. A 1.6 percent decline in the index for sporting 

goods was largely offset by increases of 1.0 percent in the index for toys, and 0.5 percent in the indexes for 

admissions, and for pets, pet products and services. 

The index for education and communication increased 0.1 percent in September. Educational costs rose 

0.2 percent, while the index for communication declined 0.1 percent. Within the former group, the index for 

college textbooks rose 0.8 percent while the index for college tuition was virtually unchanged. (Prior to 

seasonal adjustment, charges for college tuition and fees rose 1.9 percent in September and were 6.5 percent 

higher than a year ago.) Within the communication group, the index for telephone services rose 0.2 percent, 

reflecting increases in charges for local and long distance land-line telephone services and for wireless 

telephone services--up 0.5, 0.1, and 0.2 percent--respectively. This advance was more than offset by a 1.6 

percent decline in the index for information technology, hardware, and services. The index for personal 

computers and peripheral equipment declined 0.9 percent. 
The index for other goods and services rose 0.5 percent in September. Increases in the indexes for 

personal care products and for financial services--up 1.0 and 2.7 percent, respectively--more than offset a 0.1 

percent decline in the index for tobacco and smoking products. 

CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers declined 0.7 

percent in September. 

Table B. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

 Seasonally adjusted Un-

 Compound adjusted

Expenditure Changes from preceding month annual rate 12-mos. 

Category 2006 3-mos. ended ended

 Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Sep.’06 Sep.’06

All Items .5 .6 .5 .2 .5 .4 -.7 0.6 1.7

 Food and beverages .1 -.1 .2 .3 .2 .4 .3 3.3 2.5 

 Housing .2 .1 .3 .3 .3 .4 .3 3.7 3.9 

 Apparel 1.1 .7 .1 -.2 -1.2 1.2 .8 3.4 1.5 

 Transportation 1.1 2.6 1.5 -.2 1.8 .2 -4.4 -9.8 -3.4 

 Medical care .5 .4 .3 .2 .3 .4 .3 4.2 4.3 

 Recreation .4 .3 .2 .2 .2 -.2 .0 .0 1.2 

 Education and 

 communication .2 .3 .0 .2 .3 .4 .1 3.2 2.4 

 Other goods and 

 services .3 -.1 .0 .6 -.1 .2 .3 1.9 2.4 

 Special Indexes 

 Energy 1.4 4.2 2.5 -.9 3.1 .3 -7.5 -16.5 -5.1 

 Food .1 -.1 .1 .3 .2 .4 .4 3.6 2.5 

 All Items less 

 food and energy .4 .2 .3 .3 .2 .3 .1 2.6 2.7 

Consumer Price Index data for October are scheduled for release on Thursday, November 16, 2006, at 

8:30 A.M. (EST). 
Consumer Price Index Levels to be Published to Three Decimal Places 

Effective with the release of the January 2007 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics will display CPI index values to three decimal places in all paper and electronic publications. This 

change will apply to the All Items Consumer Price Index and all component indexes for the CPI-U, CPI-W, and 

C-CPI-U, for the U.S. City Average and for all other published areas. In addition, percent changes will be 

computed based upon the three decimal place indexes rather than the current one decimal place indexes. 

Percent changes will continue to be rounded to one decimal place. 

This change in procedure addresses a rounding issue that has resulted in published percent changes that 

are 0.1 percentage point higher or lower than the same percent changes based on unrounded index values (i.e., 

indexes to three or more decimal places). These differences can be particularly important when percent 

changes are very small. Publishing the index values to three decimal places, and using these values to compute 

percent changes, will essentially eliminate the rounding differences. This change will only affect the 

presentation of the index data. The index values will continue to be calculated from underlying price data in the 

same manner as in the past, and no systematic upward or downward effect on the data will be introduced. The 

levels of future indexes will be affected only in that they will be published to three decimal places rather than 

one. Official CPI data previously published will not be revised. 

For more information contact Patrick Jackman or Ken Stewart either by telephone at (202) 691-6952 and (202) 

691-6966, respectively, or by electronic mail at Jackman.Patrick@bls.gov or Stewart.Ken@bls.gov
Facilities for Sensory Impaired 

 Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339. For a recorded message of Summary CPI 

data, call (202) 691-5200.

Brief Explanation of the CPI 

 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and 

services purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: 

(1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers households of wage earners 

and clerical workers that comprise approximately 32 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All 

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which cover 

approximately 87 percent of the total population and include in addition to wage earners and clerical worker 

households, 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 CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ 

and dentists’ services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are 

collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. 

Prices of fuels and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other 

commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month 

in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits or telephone calls of the 

Bureau’s trained representatives. 

 In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with 

weights, which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are 

then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. For the CPI-U and CPI-W separate indexes are also published by 

size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 

local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the 

average change in prices for each area since the base period. For the C-CPI-U data are issued only at the 

national level. It is important to note that the CPI-U and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the CCPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to two annual revisions. 

 The index measures price change from a designed reference date. For the CPI-U and the CPI-W the 

reference base is 1982-84 equals 100.0. The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100. 

An increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be 

expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period market basket of goods and services in the CPI has 

risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. 

 For further details visit the CPI home page on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI 

Information and Analysis Section on (202) 691-7000. 
Calculating Index Changes 

 Movements of the indexes from one month to another are usually expressed as percent 

changes rather than changes in index points, because index point changes are affected by 

the level of the index in relation to its base period while percent changes are not. The 

example below illustrates the computation of index point and percent changes. 

 Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods are expressed as annual rates and 

are computed according to the standard formula for compound growth rates. These data 

indicate what the percent change would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12- 

month period. 

Index Point Change

CPI 115.7 

Less previous index 111.2 

Equals index point change 4.5 

Percent Change

Index point difference 4.5 

Divided by the previous index 111.2 

Equals 0.040 

Results multiplied by one hundred 0.040x100 

Equals percent change 4.0

Regions Defined 

The states in the four regions shown in Tables 3 and 6 are listed below. 

The Northeast--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and 

Vermont. 

The Midwest--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 

Wisconsin. 

The South--Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma,

South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. 

The West--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and 

Wyoming. 
A Note on Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data 

Because price data are used for different purposes by different groups, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

publishes seasonally adjusted as well as unadjusted changes each month. 

For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted changes are usually preferred since 

they eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude 

every year--such as price movements resulting from changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model 

changeovers, holidays, and sales. 

The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay. 

Unadjusted data also are used extensively for escalation purposes. Many collective bargaining contract 

agreements and pension plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer Price Index unadjusted 

for seasonal variation. 

Seasonal factors used in computing the seasonally adjusted indexes are derived by the X-12-ARIMA 

Seasonal Adjustment Method. Seasonally adjusted indexes and seasonal factors are computed annually. Each 

year, the last 5 years of seasonally adjusted data are revised. Data from January 2001 through December 2005 

were replaced in January 2006. Exceptions to the usual revision schedule were: the updated seasonal data at the 

end of 1977 replaced data from 1967 through 1977; and, in January 2002, dependently seasonally adjusted 

series were revised for January 1987-December 2001 as a result of a change in the aggregation weights for 

dependently adjusted series. For further information, please see “Aggregation of Dependently Adjusted 

Seasonally Adjusted Series,” in the October 2001 issue of the CPI Detailed Report.

The seasonal movement of All items and 54 other aggregations is derived by combining the seasonal 

movement of 73 selected components. Each year the seasonal status of every series is reevaluated based upon 

certain statistical criteria. If any of the 73 components change their seasonal adjustment status from seasonally 

adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not seasonally adjusted data will be used for the last 5 years, but the 

seasonally adjusted indexes will be used before that period. Note: 43 of the 73 components are seasonally 

adjusted for 2006. 

Seasonally adjusted data, including the All items index levels, are subject to revision for up to five years 

after their original release. For this reason, BLS advises against the use of these data in escalation agreements. 

 Effective with the calculation of the seasonal factors for 1990, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has used an 

enhanced seasonal adjustment procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some CPI series. 

Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for better estimates of seasonally adjusted data. Extreme 

values and/or sharp movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are estimated and removed from the 

data prior to calculation of seasonal factors. Beginning with the calculation of seasonal factors for 1996, X-12-

ARIMA software was used for Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment. 

 For the Fuel oil, Utility (piped) gas, Motor fuels, and Educational books and supplies indexes, this 

procedure was used to offset the effects that extreme price volatility would otherwise have had on the estimates 

of seasonally adjusted data for those series. For the Nonalcoholic beverages index, the procedure was used to 

offset the effects of sharp rises in the price of coffee futures. The procedure was used to account for unusual 

butter fat supply reductions, changes in milk supply, and large swings in soybean oil inventories affecting the 

Fats and oils series. For Dairy products, it mitigated the effects of significant changes in milk, butter and 

cheese production levels. For Fresh vegetable series, the method was used to account for the effects of 

hurricane-related disruptions. For Electricity, it was used to offset an increase in demand due to warmer than 
expected weather, increased rates to conserve supplies, and declining natural gas inventories. For New vehicle 

series, the procedure was used to offset the effects of a model changeover combined with financing incentives. 

 For additional information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI, please write to the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes, Washington, DC 20212 or contact Daniel Chow on 

(202) 691-6968 by e-mail at Chow.Daniel@bls.gov. If you have general questions about the CPI, please call 

our information staff at (202) 691-7000. 
Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and

service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Relative

importance,

December

2005

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Sep. 2006 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

Aug.

2006

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Aug. to

Sep.

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 203.9 202.9 2.1 -0.5 0.4 0.2 -0.5 

All items (1967=100) .................................................................. -

 610.9 607.9 - - - - -

Food and beverages ................................................................ 15.051 196.0 196.7 2.6 .4 .2 .3 .4 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.942 195.5 196.2 2.5 .4 .2 .4 .3 

Food at home ....................................................................... 7.988 193.1 194.1 2.2 .5 .2 .4 .5 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................. 1.098 214.6 213.6 2.5 -.5 .9 .0 .1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ............................................ 2.133 187.1 188.0 1.5 .5 -.6 1.0 .5 

Dairy and related products ................................................. .852 180.0 179.9 -1.0 -.1 .1 -.8 .0 

Fruits and vegetables ......................................................... 1.219 249.2 258.2 7.2 3.6 .9 1.0 3.0 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .............. .910 146.9 147.5 1.6 .4 -.5 .8 .2 

Other food at home ............................................................ 1.777 170.6 169.8 1.3 -.5 .5 -.2 -.5 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................. .302 173.5 172.1 3.8 -.8 .7 .2 -.6 

Fats and oils ..................................................................... .231 167.5 167.9 -.9 .2 -.5 .1 -.2 

Other foods 1 .................................................................... 1.244 186.1 185.0 1.0 -.6 .7 -.4 -.6 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... .328 113.8 114.2 2.4 .4 .5 -1.0 .4 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 5.953 200.2 200.5 3.0 .1 .3 .3 .1 

Other food away from home 2 ............................................ .277 137.3 137.6 3.3 .2 .4 .4 .1 

Alcoholic beverages 1 ............................................................ 1.109 201.2 201.4 2.4 .1 -.1 .0 .1 

Housing .................................................................................... 42.380 205.1 205.0 4.1 .0 .3 .2 .3 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.260 234.2 233.9 4.2 -.1 .4 .2 .3 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 5.832 226.2 227.1 3.9 .4 .4 .4 .4 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................. 2.611 141.1 135.0 8.3 -4.3 .6 -.4 .7 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 23.442 239.7 240.4 4.0 .3 .4 .3 .3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. .375 116.2 116.4 -.2 .2 .0 -.2 .2 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 5.371 199.0 199.6 5.7 .3 .4 .3 .7 

Fuels ..................................................................................... 4.494 181.5 182.0 5.8 .3 .3 .3 .7 

Fuel oil and other fuels ....................................................... .339 245.3 237.1 .5 -3.3 3.1 1.7 -4.9 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 4.155 186.4 187.4 6.2 .5 .1 .2 1.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. .877 137.8 138.2 5.2 .3 .6 .2 .4 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 4.749 127.1 127.1 1.1 .0 .0 .2 .1 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... .779 137.0 137.4 4.9 .3 .2 .3 .3 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 3.786 116.1 121.7 1.0 4.8 -1.2 .9 .6 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ........................................................ .915 110.8 114.4 .4 3.2 -.4 .9 1.0 

Women’s and girls’ apparel .................................................... 1.612 105.7 114.6 2.0 8.4 -2.1 1.6 1.0 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................. .183 115.6 116.5 .9 .8 1.5 -.2 -1.9 

Footwear ................................................................................ .759 120.6 124.2 -1.4 3.0 -1.1 -.1 .0 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.415 188.5 180.6 -3.2 -4.2 1.6 .2 -4.1 

Private transportation ............................................................. 16.329 184.5 176.5 -3.6 -4.3 1.7 .2 -4.3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 7.858 95.5 95.3 -.1 -.2 .2 .0 -.3 

New vehicles ...................................................................... 5.155 136.4 136.3 .4 -.1 .1 -.1 -.1 

Used cars and trucks 1 ....................................................... 1.799 142.4 141.0 -.4 -1.0 .4 .2 -1.0 

Motor fuel ............................................................................. 4.191 254.4 220.1 -11.8 -13.5 5.1 .3 -13.4 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................. 4.148 253.2 219.0 -11.9 -13.5 5.3 .2 -13.5 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... .362 118.2 118.7 5.3 .4 .8 .3 .4 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................. 1.131 216.2 217.0 4.0 .4 .6 -.1 .2 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.087 234.3 229.5 4.0 -2.0 .4 .3 -.7 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.220 337.7 338.3 4.2 .2 .2 .4 .3 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.457 287.6 288.1 3.7 .2 .3 .3 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.764 352.1 352.7 4.4 .2 .2 .4 .4 

Professional services ........................................................... 2.815 290.2 290.6 2.7 .1 .2 .3 .3 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 1.576 471.1 472.0 7.3 .2 .2 .8 .3 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and

service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Relative

importance,

December

2005

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Sep. 2006 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

Aug.

2006

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Aug. to

Sep.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 5.637 111.3 111.1 1.3 -0.2 0.3 -0.1 0.0 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 1.783 104.7 104.5 .1 -.2 -.1 -.2 -.1 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 6.047 117.5 118.4 2.7 .8 .3 .3 .1 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 2.967 163.9 166.6 6.0 1.6 .6 .7 .2 

Educational books and supplies ........................................... .196 391.3 393.9 5.8 .7 .3 1.2 -.1 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare .............................. 2.771 473.4 481.7 6.1 1.8 .6 .7 .2 

Communication 2 .................................................................... 3.080 84.3 84.2 -.5 -.1 .0 .0 -.1 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 2.895 81.8 81.7 -.8 -.1 .1 -.1 -.1 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 2.245 95.9 96.1 1.1 .2 .2 .3 .2 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ........... .650 12.5 12.3 -7.5 -1.6 .0 -1.6 -1.6 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... .236 10.6 10.5 -14.6 -.9 -.9 .0 -.9 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.463 321.7 323.3 2.6 .5 -.2 .3 .5 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... .710 521.1 520.8 2.1 -.1 .0 -.1 -.1 

Personal care ......................................................................... 2.752 190.1 191.3 2.8 .6 -.2 .4 .6 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... .710 154.9 156.4 1.0 1.0 -.1 -.1 1.0 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... .675 210.1 210.7 3.0 .3 .2 .3 .3 

Miscellaneous personal services .......................................... 1.172 314.4 316.4 3.8 .6 -.1 .6 .7 

Commodity and service group

Commodities .............................................................................. 40.790 166.6 164.4 -.7 -1.3 .7 .2 -1.7

Food and beverages ................................................................ 15.051 196.0 196.7 2.6 .4 .2 .3 .4 

Commodities less food and beverages .................................... 25.739 149.4 146.0 -2.6 -2.3 .9 .2 -2.9 

Nondurables less food and beverages ................................... 14.163 184.5 177.7 -3.6 -3.7 1.2 -.4 -5.8 

Apparel ................................................................................. 3.786 116.1 121.7 1.0 4.8 -1.2 .9 .6 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................. 10.377 231.2 216.6 -5.0 -6.3 2.3 .4 -6.9 

Durables ................................................................................. 11.576 114.3 113.8 -.7 -.4 .3 .0 -.5 

Services ...................................................................................... 59.210 240.9 241.1 4.1 .1 .3 .3 .4 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 31.884 244.1 243.8 4.3 -.1 .5 .2 .3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... .375 116.2 116.4 -.2 .2 .0 -.2 .2 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 4.155 186.4 187.4 6.2 .5 .1 .2 1.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... .877 137.8 138.2 5.2 .3 .6 .2 .4 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... .779 137.0 137.4 4.9 .3 .2 .3 .3 

Transportation services ............................................................ 5.707 232.2 231.7 2.1 -.2 .2 .3 .1 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.764 352.1 352.7 4.4 .2 .2 .4 .4 

Other services .......................................................................... 10.669 279.1 280.8 3.5 .6 .3 .3 .2 

Special indexes

All items less food ...................................................................... 86.058 205.4 204.1 2.1 -.6 .5 .2 -.6 

All items less shelter ................................................................... 67.740 194.4 193.1 1.1 -.7 .5 .3 -.9 

All items less medical care ......................................................... 93.780 197.1 196.0 1.9 -.6 .5 .3 -.6 

Commodities less food ............................................................... 26.848 151.4 148.0 -2.5 -2.2 .9 .3 -2.8 

Nondurables less food ................................................................ 15.272 185.5 179.1 -3.3 -3.5 1.1 -.3 -5.4 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................ 11.486 227.3 214.2 -4.5 -5.8 2.1 .4 -6.2 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 29.214 191.0 187.8 -.6 -1.7 .7 .0 -2.7 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 27.325 255.4 256.2 3.8 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Services less medical care services ........................................... 54.446 231.6 231.8 4.0 .1 .3 .3 .3 

Energy ........................................................................................ 8.685 214.7 199.1 -4.3 -7.3 2.9 .3 -7.2 

All items less energy .................................................................. 91.315 204.4 204.9 2.9 .2 .2 .2 .2 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 77.373 206.7 207.2 2.9 .2 .2 .2 .2 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ................... 22.319 139.9 140.9 .5 .7 -.1 .2 -.1 

Energy commodities ............................................................. 4.530 255.0 222.3 -11.0 -12.8 5.0 .4 -12.9 

Services less energy services ................................................ 55.055 246.5 246.6 3.9 .0 .4 .2 .3 

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) ...... -

 $ .490 $ .493 - - - - -

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ........... -

 $ .164 $ .165 - - - - -

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.

4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Mar.

2006

Sep.

2006

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 202.3 203.2 203.7 202.7 -1.8 4.3 5.1 0.8 1.2 2.9 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 195.3 195.7 196.2 196.9 2.3 2.7 1.9 3.3 2.5 2.6 

Food ....................................................................................... 194.7 195.1 195.8 196.4 2.5 2.5 1.7 3.5 2.5 2.6 

Food at home ....................................................................... 192.5 192.8 193.5 194.5 2.3 1.7 .6 4.2 2.0 2.4 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................. 211.9 213.8 213.8 214.1 2.3 1.9 1.9 4.2 2.1 3.1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ............................................ 186.0 184.9 186.8 187.7 2.0 .4 .2 3.7 1.2 1.9 

Dairy and related products ................................................. 181.2 181.3 179.8 179.8 2.0 1.5 -4.3 -3.1 1.8 -3.7 

Fruits and vegetables ......................................................... 249.5 251.7 254.1 261.7 5.5 2.6 1.1 21.0 4.1 10.6

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .............. 147.1 146.3 147.5 147.8 1.4 3.0 -.3 1.9 2.2 .8 

Other food at home ............................................................ 170.1 171.0 170.6 169.7 1.2 2.2 2.6 -.9 1.7 .8 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................. 171.5 172.7 173.1 172.1 7.9 1.7 4.3 1.4 4.8 2.8 

Fats and oils ..................................................................... 168.2 167.4 167.5 167.1 -3.5 1.0 1.7 -2.6 -1.3 -.5 

Other foods 1 .................................................................... 185.6 186.9 186.1 185.0 .4 2.6 2.4 -1.3 1.5 .5 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... 114.4 115.0 113.8 114.2 3.3 2.2 5.0 -.7 2.7 2.1 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 199.2 199.7 200.2 200.5 2.9 3.3 3.3 2.6 3.1 3.0 

Other food away from home 2 ............................................ 136.3 136.8 137.3 137.5 2.7 3.9 3.3 3.6 3.3 3.4 

Alcoholic beverages 1 ............................................................ 201.6 201.3 201.2 201.4 -.4 7.8 3.0 -.4 3.6 1.3 

Housing .................................................................................... 202.8 203.5 204.0 204.7 6.0 3.2 3.0 3.8 4.6 3.4 

Shelter .................................................................................... 232.0 232.9 233.4 234.2 4.5 3.6 5.0 3.8 4.0 4.4 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 224.6 225.4 226.2 227.1 3.3 3.5 4.2 4.5 3.4 4.4 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................. 135.8 136.6 136.1 137.1 21.5 7.7 1.5 3.9 14.4 2.7 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 238.1 239.0 239.7 240.4 2.6 3.8 5.6 3.9 3.2 4.7 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. 116.4 116.4 116.2 116.4 -1.7 .3 .7 .0 -.7 .3 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 192.6 193.3 193.9 195.2 18.9 5.5 -7.0 5.5 12.0 -.9 

Fuels ..................................................................................... 174.9 175.4 176.0 177.2 22.1 5.3 -9.1 5.4 13.4 -2.1 

Fuel oil and other fuels ....................................................... 241.5 248.9 253.2 240.9 -14.2 -13.6 39.0 -1.0 -13.9 17.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 179.3 179.4 179.7 181.9 25.9 7.0 -12.1 5.9 16.1 -3.5 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. 136.4 137.2 137.5 138.1 5.3 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.2 5.0 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 127.1 127.1 127.4 127.5 2.6 -.9 1.9 1.3 .8 1.6 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... 136.3 136.6 137.0 137.4 7.2 4.9 4.2 3.3 6.0 3.7 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 120.0 118.6 119.7 120.4 -2.0 1.4 3.1 1.3 -.3 2.2 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ........................................................ 113.7 113.3 114.3 115.4 -1.4 -1.4 -1.7 6.1 -1.4 2.1 

Women’s and girls’ apparel .................................................... 111.8 109.4 111.1 112.2 .7 1.1 4.8 1.4 .9 3.1 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................. 116.4 118.2 118.0 115.8 .0 7.2 -1.4 -2.0 3.5 -1.7 

Footwear ................................................................................ 123.8 122.4 122.3 122.3 -6.0 7.4 -1.9 -4.8 .5 -3.3 

Transportation .......................................................................... 185.2 188.2 188.5 180.8 -24.2 10.5 15.9 -9.2 -8.5 2.6 

Private transportation ............................................................. 181.3 184.4 184.7 176.8 -25.5 10.7 16.3 -9.6 -9.2 2.5 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 95.9 96.1 96.1 95.8 -2.1 1.3 .8 -.4 -.4 .2 

New vehicles ...................................................................... 137.6 137.8 137.7 137.5 1.2 2.3 -1.7 -.3 1.8 -1.0 

Used cars and trucks 1 ....................................................... 141.5 142.1 142.4 141.0 -6.3 2.3 4.4 -1.4 -2.1 1.4 

Motor fuel ............................................................................. 239.3 251.6 252.3 218.4 -62.1 41.5 63.3 -30.6 -26.8 6.4 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................. 238.0 250.6 251.2 217.3 -62.4 41.8 63.1 -30.5 -26.9 6.5 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... 117.0 117.9 118.2 118.7 4.7 5.0 5.7 5.9 4.8 5.8 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................. 215.7 216.9 216.6 217.0 3.1 5.8 4.4 2.4 4.5 3.4 

Public transportation ............................................................... 229.5 230.5 231.1 229.5 2.7 2.9 10.4 .0 2.8 5.1 

Medical care ............................................................................. 336.0 336.6 338.0 339.1 5.3 4.2 3.9 3.7 4.7 3.8 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 286.0 286.8 287.6 288.1 5.1 4.6 2.4 3.0 4.9 2.7 

Medical care services ............................................................. 350.3 350.9 352.4 353.8 5.3 4.0 4.3 4.1 4.7 4.2 

Professional services ........................................................... 288.6 289.3 290.2 291.2 4.0 1.0 2.2 3.7 2.5 2.9

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 468.5 469.3 473.0 474.4 7.2 10.0 7.1 5.1 8.5 6.1 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Mar.

2006

Sep.

2006

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 111.1 111.4 111.3 111.3 0.7 1.8 2.2 0.7 1.3 1.5 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 105.2 105.1 104.9 104.8 -1.1 1.9 1.1 -1.5 .4 -.2 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 116.6 117.0 117.4 117.5 2.5 3.2 2.4 3.1 2.8 2.8 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 161.5 162.4 163.6 164.0 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.3 5.9 6.3 

Educational books and supplies ........................................... 387.1 388.2 392.9 392.4 6.7 4.6 6.3 5.6 5.7 6.0 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare .............................. 466.3 469.0 472.5 473.6 5.8 6.1 6.1 6.4 6.0 6.2 

Communication 2 .................................................................... 84.3 84.3 84.3 84.2 -1.4 .5 -.5 -.5 -.5 -.5 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 81.8 81.9 81.8 81.7 -1.0 -1.5 -.5 -.5 -1.2 -.5 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 95.4 95.6 95.9 96.1 .4 -.8 1.7 3.0 -.2 2.3 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ........... 12.7 12.7 12.5 12.3 -5.9 -3.0 -8.9 -12.0 -4.5 -10.5 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... 10.7 10.6 10.6 10.5 -18.1 -9.9 -22.4 -7.3 -14.1 -15.2 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 321.5 321.0 322.0 323.6 3.2 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 521.5 521.5 521.1 520.8 2.4 4.7 1.9 -.5 3.5 .7 

Personal care ......................................................................... 189.9 189.5 190.3 191.5 3.5 1.7 2.6 3.4 2.6 3.0 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... 155.2 155.0 154.9 156.4 1.6 -.5 .0 3.1 .5 1.6 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... 209.1 209.5 210.1 210.7 4.0 3.7 1.2 3.1 3.8 2.1 

Miscellaneous personal services .......................................... 313.0 312.6 314.4 316.7 3.6 3.6 3.5 4.8 3.6 4.2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities .............................................................................. 165.7 166.9 167.3 164.4 -11.1 5.3 7.3 -3.1 -3.2 2.0 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 195.3 195.7 196.2 196.9 2.3 2.7 1.9 3.3 2.5 2.6 

Commodities less food and beverages .................................... 148.5 149.9 150.2 145.9 -18.4 6.9 10.9 -6.8 -6.6 1.7 

Nondurables less food and beverages ................................... 183.5 185.7 185.0 174.2 -21.8 5.0 29.2 -18.8 -9.4 2.5 

Apparel ................................................................................. 120.0 118.6 119.7 120.4 -2.0 1.4 3.1 1.3 -.3 2.2 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................. 225.3 230.4 231.4 215.5 -35.4 17.1 28.5 -16.3 -13.0 3.7 

Durables ................................................................................. 114.6 114.9 114.9 114.3 -1.4 .0 -.7 -1.0 -.7 -.9 

Services ...................................................................................... 238.5 239.2 239.9 240.8 5.3 3.6 3.4 3.9 4.5 3.7 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 241.5 242.7 243.3 244.0 4.3 3.4 5.0 4.2 3.9 4.6 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... 116.4 116.4 116.2 116.4 -1.7 .3 .7 .0 -.7 .3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 179.3 179.4 179.7 181.9 25.9 7.0 -12.1 5.9 16.1 -3.5 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... 136.4 137.2 137.5 138.1 5.3 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.2 5.0 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... 136.3 136.6 137.0 137.4 7.2 4.9 4.2 3.3 6.0 3.7 

Transportation services ............................................................ 231.0 231.5 232.2 232.5 .9 .9 3.9 2.6 .9 3.3

Medical care services ............................................................... 350.3 350.9 352.4 353.8 5.3 4.0 4.3 4.1 4.7 4.2 

Other services .......................................................................... 277.4 278.2 279.1 279.7 3.3 3.4 4.0 3.4 3.4 3.7 

Special indexes

All items less food ...................................................................... 203.5 204.6 205.1 203.8 -2.4 4.5 5.5 .6 1.0 3.0 

All items less shelter ................................................................... 192.9 193.9 194.4 192.7 -4.5 4.8 4.9 -.4 .0 2.2 

All items less medical care ......................................................... 195.4 196.4 196.9 195.8 -2.1 4.3 5.1 .8 1.0 2.9 

Commodities less food ............................................................... 150.5 151.8 152.2 147.9 -17.7 6.8 10.5 -6.7 -6.2 1.5 

Nondurables less food ................................................................ 184.5 186.6 186.0 176.0 -20.8 5.2 27.0 -17.2 -8.7 2.5 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................ 222.0 226.7 227.5 213.4 -33.0 15.9 25.8 -14.6 -11.9 3.7 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 190.0 191.4 191.4 186.3 -11.2 4.7 13.9 -7.6 -3.6 2.6 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 253.4 253.8 254.4 255.2 6.2 3.1 3.2 2.9 4.6 3.0 

Services less medical care services ........................................... 229.5 230.1 230.7 231.4 5.3 3.1 4.3 3.4 4.2 3.8 

Energy ........................................................................................ 204.2 210.2 210.8 195.7 -34.7 21.8 23.8 -15.6 -10.8 2.2 

All items less energy .................................................................. 203.7 204.1 204.6 205.1 2.8 2.6 3.4 2.8 2.7 3.1 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 206.0 206.4 206.9 207.4 2.6 2.8 3.6 2.7 2.7 3.2 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ................... 141.0 140.8 141.1 141.0 -.3 1.4 .9 .0 .6 .4 

Energy commodities ............................................................. 240.6 252.7 253.6 220.9 -60.0 36.9 61.6 -28.9 -26.0 7.2 

Services less energy services ................................................ 244.5 245.4 246.0 246.8 3.9 3.4 4.5 3.8 3.7 4.2 

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.

4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 3. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Selected areas, all items index 

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

All items 

Pricing

schedule 1

Indexes Percent change to

Sep.2006 from—

Percent change to

Aug.2006 from—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Aug.

2005

June

2006

July

2006

U.S. city average ............................................ M 202.9 203.5 203.9 202.9 2.1 -0.3 -0.5 3.8 0.5 0.2 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 216.7 217.5 218.1 216.3 2.6 -.6 -.8 4.5 .6 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 219.3 220.1 220.7 219.1 2.8 -.5 -.7 4.5 .6 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 127.7 128.2 128.5 127.2 2.2 -.8 -1.0 4.5 .6 .2 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 194.1 194.6 195.1 193.7 .6 -.5 -.7 2.8 .5 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 195.6 196.3 196.9 195.7 1.0 -.3 -.6 2.8 .7 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 124.0 124.1 124.1 123.2 .1 -.7 -.7 2.6 .1 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 189.3 190.1 190.9 189.1 1.0 -.5 -.9 3.4 .8 .4 

South urban .................................................... M 196.3 197.0 197.1 195.8 2.0 -.6 -.7 4.1 .4 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 198.2 198.9 199.2 198.3 2.3 -.3 -.5 4.3 .5 .2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 125.0 125.5 125.4 124.4 1.7 -.9 -.8 3.7 .3 -.1 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 196.7 198.0 198.3 197.1 2.7 -.5 -.6 5.1 .8 .2 

West urban ..................................................... M 206.4 206.7 207.5 207.8 3.0 .5 .1 4.0 .5 .4 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 209.5 210.0 210.7 211.3 3.3 .6 .3 4.1 .6 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 125.6 125.6 126.2 125.9 2.3 .2 -.2 3.4 .5 .5 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 185.6 186.2 186.7 186.1 2.4 -.1 -.3 4.0 .6 .3 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 125.3 125.6 125.7 124.8 1.5 -.6 -.7 3.6 .3 .1 

D ................................................................. M 195.3 196.0 196.6 195.6 2.1 -.2 -.5 4.2 .7 .3 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 199.0 199.3 200.4 199.6 .7 .2 -.4 2.3 .7 .6 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 211.1 211.4 211.9 212.9 3.4 .7 .5 4.3 .4 .2 

New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 222.6 223.1 224.1 222.9 3.3 -.1 -.5 4.7 .7 .4 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT ..... 1 -

 225.1 - 224.5 2.0 -.3 - - - -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 193.1 - 190.7 -.5 -1.2 - - - -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 -

 191.7 - 192.0 1.6 .2 - - - -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 130.7 - 130.2 2.8 -.4 - - - -

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 196.0 -

 197.3 - - - - 4.1 .7 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 196.8 -

 198.6 - - - - 3.3 .9 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 182.4 - 182.5 - - - - 4.0 .1 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 203.8 -

 205.6 - - - - 5.1 .9 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 213.9 -

 216.4 - - - - 4.7 1.2 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 209.1 -

 210.7 - - - - 3.8 .8 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 208.2 - 209.6 - - - - 4.9 .7 -

1 Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; 

 most other goods and services priced as indicated: 

 M - Every month. 

 1 - January, March, May, July, September, and November. 

 2 - February, April, June, August, October, and December. 2 Regions defined as the four Census regions. See technical notes. 3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base. 4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base. 5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually

and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the January and July issues of the CPI

Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN;

Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS;

Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ;

Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA;

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base. - Data not available.

 

NOTE: Local area indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. 

Each local index has a smaller sample size than the national index and is,

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national

index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2005

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Sep. 2006 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

Aug.

2006

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Aug. to

Sep.

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 199.6 198.4 1.7 -0.6 0.5 0.4 -0.7 

All items (1967=100) .................................................................. -

 594.6 591.0 - - - - -

Food and beverages ................................................................ 16.537 195.2 195.9 2.5 .4 .2 .4 .3 

Food ....................................................................................... 15.519 194.7 195.5 2.5 .4 .2 .4 .4 

Food at home ....................................................................... 9.347 192.2 193.3 2.2 .6 .1 .5 .5 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................. 1.275 214.8 214.1 2.9 -.3 .7 .1 .2 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ............................................ 2.653 186.7 187.5 1.3 .4 -.5 1.1 .4 

Dairy and related products ................................................. .965 179.4 179.4 -1.3 .0 -.1 -.9 .0 

Fruits and vegetables ......................................................... 1.338 247.9 257.3 7.7 3.8 .8 1.4 3.0 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .............. 1.087 146.3 146.8 1.5 .3 -.6 .9 .1 

Other food at home ............................................................ 2.030 170.0 169.3 1.3 -.4 .5 -.2 -.5 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................. .337 172.5 171.3 3.8 -.7 .8 .2 -.7 

Fats and oils ..................................................................... .287 168.2 168.6 -.5 .2 -.2 -.1 -.1 

Other foods 1 .................................................................... 1.406 186.2 185.3 1.1 -.5 .6 -.4 -.5 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... .370 114.2 114.5 2.3 .3 .2 -.9 .3 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 6.172 199.9 200.2 3.0 .2 .3 .3 .2 

Other food away from home 2 ............................................ .275 136.7 137.1 3.1 .3 .2 .3 .1 

Alcoholic beverages 1 ............................................................ 1.018 200.7 200.9 2.5 .1 -.1 .0 .1 

Housing .................................................................................... 40.161 200.3 200.4 3.9 .0 .3 .4 .3 

Shelter .................................................................................... 30.069 226.5 226.6 4.0 .0 .4 .4 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 7.880 225.3 226.2 3.9 .4 .4 .4 .4 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................. 1.412 141.1 134.0 7.6 -5.0 .4 .1 -.3 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 20.429 217.3 218.0 4.0 .3 .4 .4 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. .348 116.6 116.8 -.1 .2 .0 -.1 .2 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 5.900 197.2 197.7 5.3 .3 .3 .3 .7 

Fuels ..................................................................................... 4.984 178.6 179.0 5.4 .2 .3 .2 .8 

Fuel oil and other fuels ....................................................... .347 244.6 235.8 .2 -3.6 3.3 1.6 -4.9 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 4.637 184.3 185.3 5.8 .5 .0 .2 1.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. .916 138.2 138.5 5.2 .2 .5 .2 .5 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 4.193 122.7 122.7 1.1 .0 .1 .1 .2 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... .363 139.7 139.8 4.7 .1 .2 .3 .1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 4.090 115.7 121.4 1.5 4.9 -1.2 1.2 .8 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ........................................................ .982 110.9 114.5 1.1 3.2 .0 .9 1.3 

Women’s and girls’ apparel .................................................... 1.689 105.4 114.3 2.9 8.4 -2.5 2.5 1.2 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................. .242 117.7 118.5 .8 .7 1.3 .4 -1.8 

Footwear ................................................................................ .964 120.3 123.9 -.8 3.0 -.9 -.2 .4 

Transportation .......................................................................... 19.669 188.6 180.1 -3.4 -4.5 1.8 .2 -4.4 

Private transportation ............................................................. 18.931 185.8 177.1 -3.7 -4.7 1.8 .2 -4.6 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 8.944 94.8 94.5 -.2 -.3 .2 .0 -.3 

New vehicles ...................................................................... 5.380 137.4 137.4 .4 .0 .1 -.1 -.1 

Used cars and trucks 1 ....................................................... 2.801 143.2 141.9 -.4 -.9 .4 .1 -.9 

Motor fuel ............................................................................. 5.244 255.1 220.8 -11.8 -13.4 5.2 .2 -13.4 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................. 5.193 254.1 219.7 -11.9 -13.5 5.2 .2 -13.4 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... .434 117.8 118.4 5.4 .5 .8 .3 .5 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................. 1.130 218.6 219.4 3.9 .4 .4 -.1 .1 

Public transportation ............................................................... .738 231.4 227.8 4.1 -1.6 .1 .2 -.2 

Medical care ............................................................................. 5.171 337.3 337.8 4.3 .1 .3 .4 .3 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.140 280.6 281.1 4.0 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.030 352.5 353.1 4.3 .2 .3 .5 .4 

Professional services ........................................................... 2.336 292.5 292.8 2.5 .1 .3 .2 .3 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 1.332 466.7 467.5 7.3 .2 .3 .7 .3 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2005

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Sep. 2006 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

Aug.

2006

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Aug. to

Sep.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 5.097 108.5 108.3 1.2 -0.2 0.2 -0.2 0.0 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 1.928 104.1 103.9 .2 -.2 -.1 -.2 .0 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 5.635 114.5 115.3 2.4 .7 .3 .4 .1 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 2.243 161.7 164.7 6.2 1.9 .5 .9 .4 

Educational books and supplies ........................................... .199 393.0 395.4 5.8 .6 .3 1.3 -.2 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare .............................. 2.044 457.7 466.6 6.3 1.9 .5 .8 .4 

Communication 2 .................................................................... 3.392 86.2 86.2 -.1 .0 .1 .0 .0 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 3.244 84.5 84.4 -.5 -.1 .1 .0 -.1 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 2.653 96.0 96.2 .9 .2 .2 .3 .2 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ........... .590 13.1 12.9 -7.2 -1.5 .0 -1.5 -1.5 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... .208 10.5 10.3 -14.9 -1.9 -1.0 1.0 -1.9 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.640 331.0 332.2 2.4 .4 -.1 .2 .3 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 1.137 522.9 522.4 2.0 -.1 .0 -.1 -.1 

Personal care ......................................................................... 2.504 188.2 189.2 2.6 .5 -.1 .4 .5 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... .774 155.0 156.3 .8 .8 -.1 .0 .8 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... .616 210.2 210.8 2.9 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Miscellaneous personal services .......................................... .949 315.1 316.8 3.8 .5 .0 .5 .5 

Commodity and service group

Commodities .............................................................................. 44.601 168.8 166.1 -.8 -1.6 .8 .2 -1.9

Food and beverages ................................................................ 16.537 195.2 195.9 2.5 .4 .2 .4 .3 

Commodities less food and beverages .................................... 28.064 153.0 148.9 -2.7 -2.7 1.1 .3 -3.2 

Nondurables less food and beverages ................................... 15.599 191.8 183.6 -3.9 -4.3 1.2 -.3 -6.5 

Apparel ................................................................................. 4.090 115.7 121.4 1.5 4.9 -1.2 1.2 .8 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................. 11.509 243.4 226.2 -5.5 -7.1 2.8 .3 -7.7 

Durables ................................................................................. 12.465 114.5 114.0 -.7 -.4 .2 .0 -.5 

Services ...................................................................................... 55.399 235.9 236.3 3.9 .2 .3 .3 .3 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 29.721 218.3 218.4 4.0 .0 .4 .3 .3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... .348 116.6 116.8 -.1 .2 .0 -.1 .2 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 4.637 184.3 185.3 5.8 .5 .0 .2 1.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... .916 138.2 138.5 5.2 .2 .5 .2 .5 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... .363 139.7 139.8 4.7 .1 .2 .3 .1 

Transportation services ............................................................ 5.659 231.1 231.3 1.9 .1 .1 .3 .3 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.030 352.5 353.1 4.3 .2 .3 .5 .4 

Other services .......................................................................... 9.726 269.6 271.0 3.3 .5 .3 .3 .2 

Special indexes

All items less food ...................................................................... 84.481 200.4 198.8 1.6 -.8 .6 .3 -.8 

All items less shelter ................................................................... 69.931 192.0 190.3 .8 -.9 .6 .3 -1.1 

All items less medical care ......................................................... 94.829 193.8 192.5 1.6 -.7 .5 .3 -.7 

Commodities less food ............................................................... 29.082 154.8 150.8 -2.5 -2.6 1.0 .3 -3.1 

Nondurables less food ................................................................ 16.617 192.5 184.7 -3.6 -4.1 1.3 -.4 -6.1 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................ 12.527 238.7 223.1 -4.9 -6.5 2.5 .4 -7.1 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 32.136 194.4 190.5 -.7 -2.0 .8 .1 -3.2 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 25.679 226.3 227.2 3.6 .4 .1 .2 .4 

Services less medical care services ........................................... 51.369 227.0 227.4 3.8 .2 .3 .3 .3 

Energy ........................................................................................ 10.228 215.3 198.7 -5.1 -7.7 3.1 .3 -7.5 

All items less energy .................................................................. 89.772 198.6 199.2 2.6 .3 .2 .4 .2 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 74.253 199.8 200.4 2.7 .3 .2 .3 .1 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ................... 23.491 140.4 141.4 .6 .7 -.1 .2 .0 

Energy commodities ............................................................. 5.591 255.4 222.3 -11.3 -13.0 5.1 .3 -12.9 

Services less energy services ................................................ 50.762 241.4 241.7 3.7 .1 .3 .4 .2 

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) ...... -

 $ .501 $ .504 - - - - -

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ........... -

 $ .168 $ .169 - - - - -

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.

4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by

expenditure category and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Mar.

2006

Sep.

2006

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 197.9 198.9 199.6 198.2 -3.0 4.6 5.0 0.6 0.7 2.8 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 194.4 194.7 195.4 196.0 2.7 2.5 1.5 3.3 2.6 2.4 

Food ....................................................................................... 193.9 194.2 194.9 195.6 2.8 2.3 1.5 3.6 2.5 2.5 

Food at home ....................................................................... 191.5 191.7 192.6 193.5 2.6 1.5 .4 4.2 2.0 2.3 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................. 212.3 213.8 214.0 214.5 2.7 2.3 2.3 4.2 2.5 3.2 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ............................................ 185.4 184.4 186.4 187.1 1.7 .4 -.9 3.7 1.1 1.4 

Dairy and related products ................................................. 180.9 180.8 179.2 179.2 1.8 1.1 -4.1 -3.7 1.4 -3.9 

Fruits and vegetables ......................................................... 247.1 249.2 252.6 260.1 6.8 1.5 1.5 22.8 4.1 11.6

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .............. 146.5 145.6 146.9 147.1 1.7 3.1 -.3 1.6 2.4 .7 

Other food at home ............................................................ 169.5 170.4 170.0 169.1 1.4 2.2 2.4 -.9 1.8 .7 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................. 170.6 172.0 172.3 171.1 7.7 1.4 4.6 1.2 4.5 2.9 

Fats and oils ..................................................................... 168.5 168.2 168.0 167.9 -3.3 2.4 .2 -1.4 -.5 -.6 

Other foods 1 .................................................................... 185.9 187.0 186.2 185.3 1.1 2.4 2.4 -1.3 1.8 .5 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... 115.0 115.2 114.2 114.5 3.6 1.8 5.8 -1.7 2.7 1.9 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 198.9 199.4 199.9 200.2 2.9 3.3 3.1 2.6 3.1 2.9 

Other food away from home 2 ............................................ 136.0 136.3 136.7 136.9 2.7 3.9 3.0 2.7 3.3 2.8 

Alcoholic beverages 1 ............................................................ 201.0 200.8 200.7 200.9 .6 8.8 1.0 -.2 4.6 .4 

Housing .................................................................................... 198.1 198.7 199.4 199.9 5.7 3.3 2.7 3.7 4.5 3.2 

Shelter .................................................................................... 224.6 225.5 226.3 226.8 3.9 3.5 4.8 4.0 3.7 4.4 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 223.7 224.5 225.3 226.2 3.5 3.3 4.2 4.5 3.4 4.4 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................. 135.4 135.9 136.1 135.7 22.7 10.3 -1.2 .9 16.3 -.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 215.9 216.7 217.6 218.0 2.5 3.8 5.6 3.9 3.2 4.7 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. 116.7 116.7 116.6 116.8 -1.7 .3 .7 .3 -.7 .5 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 190.9 191.5 192.0 193.3 19.1 5.3 -7.6 5.1 12.0 -1.4 

Fuels ..................................................................................... 172.2 172.7 173.1 174.4 22.1 4.9 -9.6 5.2 13.2 -2.5 

Fuel oil and other fuels ....................................................... 240.7 248.7 252.6 240.2 -14.8 -14.7 39.7 -.8 -14.8 17.7 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 177.4 177.4 177.7 179.8 25.6 6.6 -12.5 5.5 15.7 -3.9 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. 136.8 137.5 137.8 138.5 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.1 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 122.7 122.8 122.9 123.1 1.3 .0 1.6 1.3 .7 1.5 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... 139.0 139.3 139.7 139.8 7.7 3.9 5.0 2.3 5.8 3.7 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 119.4 118.0 119.4 120.4 -1.7 1.7 2.4 3.4 .0 2.9 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ........................................................ 113.4 113.4 114.4 115.9 -1.0 -2.4 -.4 9.1 -1.7 4.3 

Women’s and girls’ apparel .................................................... 111.1 108.3 111.0 112.3 1.5 .0 5.6 4.4 .7 5.0 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................. 118.1 119.6 120.1 117.9 1.0 7.4 -4.3 -.7 4.1 -2.5 

Footwear ................................................................................ 123.3 122.2 121.9 122.4 -5.7 8.8 -2.6 -2.9 1.3 -2.7 

Transportation .......................................................................... 185.0 188.3 188.6 180.3 -25.6 11.1 17.2 -9.8 -9.1 2.8 

Private transportation ............................................................. 182.2 185.5 185.8 177.3 -26.6 11.5 17.5 -10.3 -9.5 2.6 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 95.1 95.3 95.3 95.0 -2.9 1.7 .8 -.4 -.6 .2 

New vehicles ...................................................................... 138.7 138.9 138.8 138.7 .9 2.6 -1.7 .0 1.7 -.9 

Used cars and trucks 1 ....................................................... 142.4 143.0 143.2 141.9 -6.6 2.3 4.6 -1.4 -2.2 1.6 

Motor fuel ............................................................................. 239.7 252.2 252.8 219.0 -61.9 40.2 62.5 -30.3 -26.9 6.4 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................. 238.7 251.2 251.8 218.0 -62.0 40.4 62.9 -30.4 -26.9 6.4 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... 116.6 117.5 117.8 118.4 4.7 4.7 6.1 6.3 4.7 6.2 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................. 218.4 219.3 219.1 219.4 3.3 5.6 4.9 1.8 4.4 3.4 

Public transportation ............................................................... 227.7 228.0 228.5 228.0 3.3 3.5 9.3 .5 3.4 4.8 

Medical care ............................................................................. 335.1 336.2 337.5 338.6 5.7 3.7 3.5 4.2 4.7 3.9 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 279.1 280.0 280.6 281.1 6.1 4.6 2.6 2.9 5.3 2.8 

Medical care services ............................................................. 350.2 351.3 352.9 354.2 5.5 3.4 3.9 4.6 4.5 4.3 

Professional services ........................................................... 290.9 291.8 292.5 293.4 3.7 .8 2.2 3.5 2.2 2.9 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 463.7 465.3 468.6 469.9 7.9 8.7 7.3 5.5 8.3 6.4 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by

expenditure category and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Mar.

2006

Sep.

2006

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 108.5 108.7 108.5 108.5 0.4 1.9 2.6 0.0 1.1 1.3 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 104.5 104.4 104.2 104.2 -1.5 1.9 1.5 -1.1 .2 .2 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 113.7 114.0 114.5 114.6 1.8 2.9 1.8 3.2 2.3 2.5 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 159.5 160.3 161.7 162.3 5.9 6.1 5.7 7.2 6.0 6.5 

Educational books and supplies ........................................... 388.5 389.5 394.5 393.9 6.3 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.8 5.8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare .............................. 451.1 453.5 457.2 459.2 5.8 6.2 5.7 7.4 6.0 6.5 

Communication 2 .................................................................... 86.1 86.2 86.2 86.2 -.9 .0 -.5 .5 -.5 .0 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 84.4 84.5 84.5 84.4 -.9 -.5 -.5 .0 -.7 -.2 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 95.5 95.7 96.0 96.2 .0 -.4 1.3 3.0 -.2 2.1 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ........... 13.3 13.3 13.1 12.9 -8.4 .0 -8.5 -11.5 -4.3 -10.0 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... 10.5 10.4 10.5 10.3 -15.5 -10.0 -25.5 -7.4 -12.8 -16.9 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 330.8 330.5 331.3 332.4 2.7 3.0 2.0 1.9 2.9 2.0

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 523.5 523.3 522.9 522.4 2.2 4.7 2.0 -.8 3.4 .6 

Personal care ......................................................................... 187.9 187.7 188.4 189.4 3.1 2.2 1.9 3.2 2.6 2.6 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... 155.1 155.0 155.0 156.3 1.0 -.5 -.3 3.1 .3 1.4 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... 209.2 209.7 210.2 210.8 4.2 3.1 1.3 3.1 3.6 2.2 

Miscellaneous personal services .......................................... 313.5 313.6 315.1 316.8 3.7 3.7 3.5 4.3 3.7 3.9 

Commodity and service group

Commodities .............................................................................. 167.6 168.9 169.3 166.0 -12.3 6.1 8.3 -3.8 -3.6 2.1 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 194.4 194.7 195.4 196.0 2.7 2.5 1.5 3.3 2.6 2.4 

Commodities less food and beverages .................................... 151.6 153.3 153.7 148.8 -20.0 8.0 12.2 -7.2 -7.1 2.0 

Nondurables less food and beverages ................................... 190.5 192.8 192.2 179.8 -23.5 5.8 33.0 -20.6 -10.0 2.7 

Apparel ................................................................................. 119.4 118.0 119.4 120.4 -1.7 1.7 2.4 3.4 .0 2.9 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................. 235.9 242.6 243.4 224.7 -37.4 18.6 30.5 -17.7 -13.9 3.7 

Durables ................................................................................. 114.8 115.0 115.0 114.4 -1.4 .7 -.7 -1.4 -.3 -1.0 

Services ...................................................................................... 233.6 234.3 235.1 235.8 5.2 3.5 2.8 3.8 4.4 3.3 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 216.3 217.2 217.9 218.6 3.9 3.4 4.6 4.3 3.7 4.4 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... 116.7 116.7 116.6 116.8 -1.7 .3 .7 .3 -.7 .5 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 177.4 177.4 177.7 179.8 25.6 6.6 -12.5 5.5 15.7 -3.9 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... 136.8 137.5 137.8 138.5 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.1 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... 139.0 139.3 139.7 139.8 7.7 3.9 5.0 2.3 5.8 3.7 

Transportation services ............................................................ 230.5 230.8 231.5 232.2 1.4 .7 2.8 3.0 1.1 2.9 

Medical care services ............................................................... 350.2 351.3 352.9 354.2 5.5 3.4 3.9 4.6 4.5 4.3 

Other services .......................................................................... 268.1 268.8 269.6 270.2 3.1 3.2 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.4 

Special indexes

All items less food ...................................................................... 198.5 199.6 200.2 198.5 -4.2 5.1 5.8 .0 .3 2.9 

All items less shelter ................................................................... 190.3 191.4 192.0 189.9 -5.8 5.0 5.2 -.8 -.5 2.1 

All items less medical care ......................................................... 192.1 193.1 193.7 192.3 -3.5 4.8 5.2 .4 .5 2.8 

Commodities less food ............................................................... 153.5 155.1 155.5 150.7 -19.2 8.2 11.7 -7.1 -6.5 1.9 

Nondurables less food ................................................................ 191.1 193.6 192.9 181.1 -22.2 6.3 29.9 -19.3 -9.1 2.4 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................ 232.2 238.1 239.0 222.0 -35.5 17.5 29.2 -16.4 -12.9 3.9 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 193.2 194.7 194.8 188.6 -11.9 4.9 15.7 -9.2 -3.9 2.5 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 224.6 224.9 225.4 226.2 6.4 2.9 2.3 2.9 4.6 2.6 

Services less medical care services ........................................... 225.1 225.7 226.4 227.0 5.0 2.9 3.8 3.4 4.0 3.6 

Energy ........................................................................................ 204.5 210.8 211.4 195.5 -36.9 22.1 25.3 -16.5 -12.2 2.3 

All items less energy .................................................................. 198.0 198.3 199.0 199.4 2.3 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.5 2.9 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 199.2 199.6 200.2 200.5 2.3 2.9 3.1 2.6 2.6 2.9 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ................... 141.4 141.3 141.6 141.6 -.8 1.7 .9 .6 .4 .7 

Energy commodities ............................................................. 240.5 252.8 253.6 220.8 -60.2 36.0 61.3 -29.0 -26.4 7.1 

Services less energy services ................................................ 239.7 240.4 241.3 241.9 3.7 3.3 4.3 3.7 3.5 4.0 

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.

4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 6. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Selected areas, all items index 

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

All items 

Pricing

schedule 1

Indexes Percent change to

Sep.2006 from—

Percent change to

Aug.2006 from—

June

2006

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Sep.

2006

Sep.

2005

July

2006

Aug.

2006

Aug.

2005

June

2006

July

2006

U.S. city average ............................................ M 198.6 199.2 199.6 198.4 1.7 -0.4 -0.6 3.9 0.5 0.2 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 213.0 213.5 214.2 212.7 2.3 -.4 -.7 4.6 .6 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 214.0 214.3 215.1 214.0 2.4 -.1 -.5 4.4 .5 .4 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 128.1 128.6 128.9 127.5 2.2 -.9 -1.1 4.9 .6 .2 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 189.5 190.0 190.4 188.7 .3 -.7 -.9 2.9 .5 .2 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 190.1 190.7 191.3 189.8 .6 -.5 -.8 2.8 .6 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 123.6 123.8 123.8 122.5 -.3 -1.1 -1.1 2.7 .2 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 187.6 188.6 189.3 187.3 .9 -.7 -1.1 3.7 .9 .4 

South urban .................................................... M 193.5 194.3 194.5 192.9 1.6 -.7 -.8 4.2 .5 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 196.3 197.1 197.5 196.4 2.0 -.4 -.6 4.4 .6 .2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 123.7 124.2 124.2 122.9 1.3 -1.0 -1.0 3.9 .4 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 196.9 198.1 198.5 196.9 2.2 -.6 -.8 5.1 .8 .2 

West urban ..................................................... M 201.5 201.7 202.5 202.4 2.7 .3 .0 3.9 .5 .4 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 203.0 203.3 204.0 204.3 3.0 .5 .1 4.0 .5 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 125.4 125.5 126.0 125.6 2.3 .1 -.3 3.6 .5 .4 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 184.0 184.5 185.1 184.3 2.0 -.1 -.4 3.9 .6 .3 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 124.6 125.0 125.1 124.0 1.3 -.8 -.9 3.8 .4 .1 

D ................................................................. M 194.1 194.8 195.4 194.1 1.8 -.4 -.7 4.3 .7 .3 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 192.4 192.8 193.8 192.8 .3 .0 -.5 2.4 .7 .5 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 204.2 204.5 205.0 205.3 3.2 .4 .1 4.4 .4 .2 

New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 216.7 216.8 217.8 216.9 2.8 .0 -.4 4.6 .5 .5 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT ..... 1 -

 223.9 - 224.3 1.9 .2 - - - -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 184.3 - 181.7 -.8 -1.4 - - - -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 -

 193.9 - 193.7 1.5 -.1 - - - -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 129.8 - 129.9 2.1 .1 - - - -

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 194.4 -

 195.8 - - - - 4.0 .7 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 192.0 -

 194.0 - - - - 3.4 1.0 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 181.4 - 182.0 - - - - 4.4 .3 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 202.5 -

 204.6 - - - - 5.6 1.0 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 213.2 -

 215.8 - - - - 4.8 1.2 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 205.2 -

 206.7 - - - - 3.6 .7 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 203.8 - 205.1 - - - - 5.0 .6 -

1 Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; 

 most other goods and services priced as indicated: 

 M - Every month. 

 1 - January, March, May, July, September, and November. 

 2 - February, April, June, August, October, and December. 2 Regions defined as the four Census regions. See technical notes. 3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base. 4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base. 5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually

and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the January and July issues of the CPI

Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN;

Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS;

Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ;

Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA;

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base. - Data not available.

 

NOTE: Local area indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. 

Each local index has a smaller sample size than the national index and is,

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national

index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 7. Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure

category and commodity and service group

(December 1999=100, unless otherwise noted)

C-CPI-U Relative

importance,

2003-2004

 Unadjusted

 indexes

 Unadjusted

 percent change to

 Sep. 2006 from—

 Aug.

 2006

 Sep.

 2006

 Sep.

 2005

 Aug.

 2006

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 117.9 117.6 2.2 -0.3 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 15.072 115.7 116.1 2.5 .3 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.943 115.7 116.1 2.5 .3 

Food at home ....................................................................... 8.029 112.6 113.2 2.1 .5 

Food away from home .......................................................... 5.914 120.0 120.2 3.0 .2 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................................... 1.130 115.8 115.9 2.4 .1 

Housing .................................................................................... 42.173 123.1 123.1 3.9 .0 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.495 123.8 123.7 4.2 -.1 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 4.702 153.2 153.7 5.3 .3 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 4.977 96.9 96.8 .5 -.1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 4.076 86.8 90.8 .2 4.6 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.095 122.8 119.0 -1.7 -3.1 

Private transportation ............................................................. 15.988 123.4 119.5 -2.0 -3.2 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.107 115.3 112.8 3.8 -2.2 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.055 131.9 132.1 4.0 .2 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.458 121.7 121.8 3.6 .1 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.597 135.4 135.6 4.1 .1 

Recreation ................................................................................ 5.863 105.9 105.7 .8 -.2 

Education and communication ................................................. 6.190 103.9 104.6 1.9 .7 

Education ............................................................................... 2.751 152.1 154.7 6.1 1.7 

Communication ...................................................................... 3.439 75.9 75.7 -1.4 -.3 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.475 119.1 120.2 2.5 .9 

Commodity and service group

Services ...................................................................................... 58.763 125.6 125.7 3.9 .1 

Commodities .............................................................................. 41.237 108.4 107.5 -.2 -.8 

Durables ................................................................................... 12.340 87.1 86.6 -1.0 -.6 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 28.897 118.9 117.9 .3 -.8 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 78.707 113.3 113.6 2.7 .3 

Energy ........................................................................................ 7.351 184.8 172.9 -3.0 -6.4 

Indexes for 2006 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2005 are interim adjustments.

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