Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-10-0466

8:30 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, April 14, 2010 

Technical information: (202) 691-7000 • Reed.Steve@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cpi 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

(NOTE: This release was reissued on Friday, July 16, 2010, to correct errors in the January-March 

2010 data. Corrections have been made to Table 7. There were no changes made to the text of the 

release.) 

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – MARCH 2010 

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 

0.1 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the 

index increased 2.3 percent before seasonal adjustment. 

The seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index was mostly due to an increase in the fresh fruits 

and vegetables index, which rose 4.6 percent in March and accounted for over 60 percent of the all items 

increase. Other food at home indexes were mixed and the index for food away from home was 

unchanged. 

The index for energy and for all items less food and energy were both unchanged in March. Within 

energy, an increase in the electricity index was offset by declines in the indexes for gasoline and natural 

gas. Within all items less food and energy, the indexes for medical care, new vehicles, and used cars and 

trucks posted increases, while the indexes for shelter, household furnishings and operations, and apparel 

declined. 

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Mar'09 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar'10

Chart 1. One-month percent change in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), seasonally adjusted, Mar. 2009 - Mar. 2010

Percent change

 -0.1

 0.1 0.1

 0.7

 0.1

 0.4

 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

 0.0

 0.1
- 2 -

Chart 2. 12-month percent change in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), not seasonally adjusted, Mar. 2009 - Mar. 2010

Percent change

All items All items less food and energy

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

Mar'09 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar'10
- 3 -

Consumer Price Index Data for March 2010 

Food 

The food index rose 0.2 percent in March after rising 0.1 percent in February. The index for food away 

from home, which had increased every month since January 2003, was unchanged in March. In contrast, 

the index for food at home rose 0.5 percent, its largest increase since September 2008. The index for 

fruits and vegetables rose 3.4 percent due to the sharp rise in the fresh fruits and vegetables index. Other 

grocery store food groups registered only small changes in March. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs 

index increased 0.2 percent, while the indexes for dairy and related products and for nonalcoholic 

beverages were unchanged and the indexes for cereals and bakery products and for other food at home 

declined slightly. The food index has risen 0.2 percent over the last 12 months, with the food at home 

index still down 0.7 percent over that period despite the March increase. 

Energy 

The energy index, which fell 0.5 percent in February, was unchanged in March. The gasoline index 

declined for the second straight month, falling 0.8 percent. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices 

rose 4.5 percent in March and have increased 41.4 percent over the past 12 months.) The index for 

household energy rose in March, increasing 1.3 percent mostly because of a 2.1 percent rise in the 

electricity index. The fuel oil index rose 0.7 percent, but the index for natural gas declined 0.7 percent. 

Over the last 12 months the energy index has risen 18.3 percent. 

All items less food and energy 

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in March after rising 0.1 percent in 

February. The shelter index declined in March, falling 0.1 percent due to a 0.1 percent decline in 

owners’ equivalent rent. The index for household furnishings and operations fell 0.4 percent in March, 

its ninth decline in the past 10 months. The index for apparel fell 0.4 percent and the recreation index 

declined 0.1 percent. In contrast to these declines, the medical care index rose 0.3 percent in March with 

the index for hospital services increasing 1.1 percent. The index for used cars and trucks continued to 

rise, increasing 0.5 percent, and the new vehicles index rose 0.1 percent. Over the last 12 months the 

index for all items less food and energy has risen 1.1 percent, its smallest increase since January 2004. 

This is largely explained by the continued deceleration of the shelter index, which has now fallen 0.6 

percent over the last 12 months. 

Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures 

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.3 percent over the last 12 

months to an index level of 217.631 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index rose 0.4 percent prior to 

seasonal adjustment. 

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 3.0 

percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 213.525 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index 

rose 0.5 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. 

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 2.5 percent over the 

last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.4 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please 

note that the indexes for the post-2008 period are subject to revision. 
- 4 -

The Consumer Price Index for April 2010 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 19, 

2010, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). 
- 5 -

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. 

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-CPIU), 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 each month in 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing 

units and approximately 25,000 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 C-CPI-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. 
- 6 -

Note on Sampling Error in the Consumer Price Index 

The CPI is a statistical estimate that is subject to sampling error because it is based upon a sample of 

retail prices and not the complete universe of all prices. BLS calculates and publishes estimates of the 

1-month, 2-month, 6-month and 12-month percent change standard errors annually, for the CPI-U. 

These standard error estimates can be used to construct confidence intervals for hypothesis testing. For 

example, the estimated standard error of the 1 month percent change is 0.04 percent for the U.S. All 

Items Consumer Price Index. This means that if we repeatedly sample from the universe of all retail 

prices using the same methodology, and estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95% of 

these estimates would be within 0.08 percent of the 1 month percentage change based on all retail prices. 

For example, for a 1-month change of 0.2 percent in the All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers, we are 

95 percent confident that the actual percent change based on all retail prices would fall between 0.12 and 

0.28 percent. For the latest data, including information on how to use the estimates of standard error, 

see “Variance Estimates for Price Changes in the Consumer Price Index, January-December 2008”. 

These data are available on the CPI home page (http://www.bls.gov/cpi), or by using the following link 

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpivar2008.pdf 

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 202.416 

Less previous index 201.800 

Equals index point change .616 

Percent Change

Index point difference .616 

Divided by the previous index 201.800 

Equals 0.003 

Results multiplied by one hundred 0.003x100 

Equals percent change 0.3
- 7 -

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 

before adjustment 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 2005 through 

December 2009 were replaced in January 2010. 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 in the 

aggregation of the dependent series for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes will be used 

before that period. Note: 46 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for 2010. 

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. 
- 8 -

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 seasonal factors introduced in January 2010, BLS adjusted 30 series using Intervention Analysis 

Seasonal Adjustment, including selected food and beverage items, motor fuels, electricity and vehicles. 

For example, this procedure was used for the Motor fuel series to offset the effects of events such as 

damage to oil refineries from Hurricane Katrina. 

For a complete list of Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment series and explanations, please refer to 

the article “Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment”, located on our website at 

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpisapage.htm. 

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 David 

Levin at (202) 691-6968, or by e-mail at Levin.David@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

2009

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Mar. 2010 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Feb.

2010

Dec. to

Jan.

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 216.741 217.631 2.3 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.1 

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

 649.259 651.925 - - - - -

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.795 219.140 219.378 .3 .1 .2 .0 .2 

Food ......................................................................................... 13.738 218.778 219.032 .2 .1 .2 .1 .2 

Food at home ......................................................................... 7.801 215.118 215.623 -.7 .2 .4 .1 .5 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.108 251.361 250.930 -1.1 -.2 -.5 .0 -.1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 1.745 202.343 202.812 -1.7 .2 .4 .4 .2 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .820 198.800 198.814 -.4 .0 2.1 -.1 .0 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.153 274.963 280.431 2.1 2.0 1.3 -.1 3.4 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ .952 162.775 162.666 -1.8 -.1 .2 -.4 .0 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.023 191.572 190.991 -.6 -.3 -.3 .2 -.2 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .295 201.942 199.917 1.4 -1.0 -.3 1.4 -1.1 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .232 200.919 198.567 -3.0 -1.2 .2 -.1 -.5 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.496 205.008 204.952 -.7 .0 -.3 .0 .0 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .439 121.172 122.318 -.1 .9 -.7 -.3 .9 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 5.937 225.081 224.991 1.2 .0 .1 .1 .0 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .326 158.569 158.657 2.7 .1 .3 .7 .1 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.056 222.496 222.521 1.1 .0 -.1 -.2 .0 

Housing ...................................................................................... 41.960 215.841 216.023 -.6 .1 -.3 .0 .0 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 32.289 248.001 248.052 -.6 .0 -.5 .0 -.1 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 5.966 249.017 249.089 .2 .0 .0 .0 .1 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... .769 128.991 133.075 -3.4 3.2 -2.1 .1 .3 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .............................. 25.206 256.483 256.272 .0 -.1 -.1 .0 -.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................ 23.593 256.479 256.266 .0 -.1 -.1 .0 -.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .347 124.439 124.416 3.0 .0 .4 .1 .0 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.081 210.819 212.295 .9 .7 .5 .5 1.1 

Household energy .................................................................. 4.028 186.345 187.864 -.5 .8 .5 .4 1.3 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ...................................................... .276 277.284 276.027 19.6 -.5 6.9 -1.3 -.5 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 3.752 189.549 191.280 -1.8 .9 .0 .5 1.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... 1.052 168.078 168.521 6.6 .3 .8 .7 .5 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 4.590 126.945 126.750 -2.3 -.2 -.1 -.4 -.4 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .781 149.707 149.999 -.6 .2 -.4 .1 .2 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.695 118.869 122.073 -.4 2.7 -.1 -.7 -.4 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .903 111.351 113.104 -3.9 1.6 .2 -.5 -.7 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.580 106.818 111.730 .6 4.6 .1 -.9 -.5 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .196 114.318 115.920 .3 1.4 1.0 -1.1 .4 

Footwear .................................................................................. .721 127.737 128.525 1.4 .6 .3 -.5 -1.0 

Transportation ............................................................................ 16.685 189.577 192.130 13.3 1.3 1.3 -.1 -.1 

Private transportation ............................................................... 15.497 185.274 187.796 13.8 1.4 1.6 -.1 -.1 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 6.386 97.020 97.032 5.3 .0 .2 .4 .2 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 3.573 138.851 138.600 3.0 -.2 -.5 .1 .1 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 2.012 140.218 140.797 16.3 .4 1.5 .7 .5 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 4.525 227.674 237.671 41.1 4.4 4.8 -1.3 -1.1 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 4.337 227.198 237.356 41.4 4.5 4.4 -1.4 -.8 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .401 135.649 135.523 .8 -.1 .4 .3 -.1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.167 245.969 246.624 1.9 .3 .1 .2 .3 

Public transportation ................................................................ 1.187 241.967 244.766 6.1 1.2 -1.8 -.1 .5 

Medical care ............................................................................... 6.513 385.907 387.142 3.7 .3 .5 .5 .3 

Medical care commodities 1 ..................................................... 1.611 312.864 314.023 3.7 .4 .7 .8 .4 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.902 408.447 409.687 3.8 .3 .5 .4 .3 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.796 325.969 326.206 2.8 .1 .5 .2 .0 

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

2009

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Mar. 2010 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Feb.

2010

Dec. to

Jan.

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.619 598.549 603.850 7.6 0.9 0.4 1.1 1.0 

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 6.437 113.345 113.339 -1.1 .0 -.1 -.1 -.1 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.894 99.532 99.915 -2.0 .4 -.2 -.7 .1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.434 129.105 129.236 2.4 .1 .3 .2 .3 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 3.035 196.137 196.470 4.9 .2 .3 .5 .6 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .200 502.812 502.273 6.4 -.1 .4 .7 .0 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.835 563.544 564.613 4.8 .2 .3 .5 .6 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.399 84.905 84.940 .0 .0 .2 -.1 .0 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 3.225 81.743 81.776 -.3 .0 .1 -.1 .0 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.392 102.288 102.298 .3 .0 .0 -.4 .0 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .833 9.540 9.552 -3.2 .1 .4 .9 .1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ............... .246 77.961 78.385 -9.1 .5 -.6 -.5 .0 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.483 377.992 378.808 4.9 .2 .1 .1 .1 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ .871 785.714 787.268 15.9 .2 .4 -.1 .2 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.612 206.137 206.594 1.2 .2 -.1 .1 .0 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .688 162.029 162.367 -.2 .2 -.4 .2 .2 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .642 228.107 228.429 .2 .1 .1 -.2 .1 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.048 350.780 352.028 3.1 .4 .1 .3 .3 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 39.816 173.419 174.798 4.9 .8 .8 -.2 -.1 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.795 219.140 219.378 .3 .1 .2 .0 .2 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 25.021 149.162 150.953 7.9 1.2 1.1 -.3 -.2 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 15.044 186.882 190.674 12.0 2.0 1.6 -.3 -.8 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.695 118.869 122.073 -.4 2.7 -.1 -.7 -.4 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 11.349 233.447 237.683 16.8 1.8 2.3 -.3 -.6 

Durables ................................................................................... 9.978 111.753 111.694 2.2 -.1 .0 .0 -.1 

Services ....................................................................................... 60.184 259.792 260.196 .6 .2 -.2 .1 .2 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 31.942 258.435 258.489 -.7 .0 -.3 -.3 -.3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .347 124.439 124.416 3.0 .0 .4 .1 .0 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 3.752 189.549 191.280 -1.8 .9 .0 .5 1.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... 1.052 168.078 168.521 6.6 .3 .8 .7 .5 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .781 149.707 149.999 -.6 .2 -.4 .1 .2 

Transportation services .............................................................. 6.060 256.365 257.337 3.8 .4 -.3 .4 .4 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.902 408.447 409.687 3.8 .3 .5 .4 .3 

Other services ............................................................................ 11.347 307.171 307.451 1.8 .1 .2 .1 .1 

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 86.262 216.440 217.430 2.7 .5 .2 .0 .0 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 67.711 206.948 208.181 3.8 .6 .5 .0 .1 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 93.487 208.432 209.301 2.2 .4 .1 .0 .0 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 26.078 151.767 153.516 7.6 1.2 1.1 -.3 -.2 

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 16.100 189.015 192.601 11.2 1.9 1.6 -.3 -.6 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 12.405 231.353 235.198 15.2 1.7 2.1 -.3 -.5 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 29.838 203.219 205.409 5.8 1.1 .9 -.2 -.1 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 28.243 281.432 282.297 2.1 .3 .1 .3 .4 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 55.282 248.178 248.531 .3 .1 -.2 -.1 .0 

Energy .......................................................................................... 8.553 204.455 209.999 18.3 2.7 2.8 -.5 .0 

All items less energy .................................................................... 91.447 219.708 220.133 1.0 .2 -.1 .1 .1 

All items less food and energy ................................................... 77.708 220.602 221.059 1.1 .2 -.1 .1 .0 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 21.276 143.711 144.399 1.9 .5 .1 -.1 -.1 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 4.801 231.735 241.239 39.6 4.1 4.9 -1.3 -1.0 

Services less energy services .................................................. 56.432 266.967 267.248 .8 .1 -.2 .1 .1 

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

 $ .461 $ .459 - - - - -

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

 $ .154 $ .153 - - - - -

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. 6 Indexes on a December 2007=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—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

June

2009

Sep.

2009

Dec.

2009

Mar.

2010 Sep.

2009

Mar.

2010

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 217.224 217.587 217.591 217.729 3.7 2.5 2.5 0.9 3.1 1.7 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 218.253 218.731 218.838 219.338 -1.1 -.9 1.1 2.0 -1.0 1.5 

Food ................................................................................ 217.801 218.339 218.494 219.032 -1.3 -1.1 1.0 2.3 -1.2 1.6 

Food at home ................................................................ 213.655 214.479 214.628 215.622 -3.7 -3.3 .7 3.7 -3.5 2.2 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 252.805 251.452 251.354 250.990 -2.8 -.2 1.6 -2.8 -1.5 -.6 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 200.779 201.682 202.506 202.823 -3.4 -7.0 -.2 4.1 -5.2 1.9 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 194.792 198.949 198.800 198.814 -10.6 -1.7 3.0 8.5 -6.2 5.7 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 269.428 272.854 272.571 281.805 -1.3 -8.4 .3 19.7 -4.9 9.6 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 162.202 162.499 161.872 161.908 -4.4 -.6 -1.5 -.7 -2.5 -1.1 

Other food at home ..................................................... 191.326 190.812 191.211 190.831 -2.3 -.4 1.2 -1.0 -1.4 .1 

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 199.524 198.862 201.656 199.463 .4 .9 4.5 -.1 .7 2.2 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 199.004 199.460 199.352 198.373 -5.7 -4.4 -.6 -1.3 -5.1 -.9 

Other foods ............................................................... 205.455 204.762 204.793 204.843 -2.3 .0 .8 -1.2 -1.2 -.2 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 122.422 121.564 121.172 122.318 -.6 -.4 1.1 -.3 -.5 .4 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 224.789 224.916 225.081 224.991 1.7 1.5 1.4 .4 1.6 .9 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 156.990 157.517 158.569 158.657 3.7 3.8 -.8 4.3 3.8 1.7 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 222.792 222.488 221.954 221.946 1.7 2.4 2.0 -1.5 2.1 .2 

Housing ............................................................................. 216.880 216.185 216.181 216.280 -.9 -.4 .3 -1.1 -.6 -.4 

Shelter ............................................................................. 249.216 248.029 247.976 247.812 1.2 -.3 -.5 -2.2 .5 -1.4 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 248.788 248.885 248.813 248.957 1.3 -.3 -.6 .3 .5 -.1 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 132.480 129.698 129.776 130.195 .3 -2.2 -3.1 -6.7 -1.0 -4.9 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .................... 256.708 256.509 256.449 256.170 1.2 -.1 -.4 -.8 .6 -.6 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ....... 256.708 256.507 256.445 256.163 1.2 -.1 -.4 -.8 .6 -.6 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 123.812 124.360 124.439 124.416 1.2 3.6 5.5 2.0 2.4 3.7 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 211.685 212.757 213.770 216.172 -13.2 .8 8.6 8.8 -6.5 8.7 

Household energy ......................................................... 188.120 188.982 189.753 192.188 -17.3 -.5 9.5 8.9 -9.3 9.2 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ............................................. 262.649 280.850 277.284 276.027 3.2 7.0 51.8 22.0 5.1 36.1 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 192.284 192.250 193.283 196.019 -18.5 -1.0 6.9 8.0 -10.2 7.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 165.138 166.463 167.696 168.543 6.9 6.4 4.8 8.5 6.6 6.6 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 127.577 127.392 126.879 126.389 -.2 -2.5 -2.5 -3.7 -1.4 -3.1 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 150.172 149.510 149.707 149.999 -2.4 1.2 -.7 -.5 -.6 -.6 

Apparel .............................................................................. 120.684 120.613 119.814 119.316 1.1 2.4 -.7 -4.5 1.8 -2.6 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 112.109 112.296 111.748 111.014 -5.9 -2.4 -3.6 -3.9 -4.2 -3.7 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 109.085 109.196 108.261 107.682 5.0 4.3 -1.6 -5.0 4.7 -3.4 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 113.668 114.757 113.551 114.027 7.5 1.1 -7.9 1.3 4.2 -3.4 

Footwear ......................................................................... 128.979 129.343 128.641 127.341 3.0 4.0 4.1 -5.0 3.5 -.6 

Transportation ................................................................... 191.018 193.593 193.332 193.195 23.3 14.2 12.4 4.6 18.6 8.5 

Private transportation ...................................................... 186.356 189.316 189.062 188.843 25.8 13.7 12.0 5.4 19.6 8.6 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 96.255 96.422 96.794 96.993 5.5 2.6 10.8 3.1 4.0 6.9 

New vehicles ............................................................... 138.214 137.470 137.648 137.793 7.1 -.8 7.0 -1.2 3.1 2.8 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 137.922 139.990 140.963 141.683 7.1 15.7 32.5 11.4 11.3 21.5 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 236.762 248.088 244.826 242.182 109.5 43.5 20.5 9.5 73.4 14.9 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 237.449 247.897 244.409 242.413 110.1 41.8 23.6 8.6 72.6 15.9 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 134.781 135.277 135.649 135.523 -.6 -2.5 4.2 2.2 -1.6 3.2 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 245.417 245.567 245.969 246.624 .9 3.0 1.5 2.0 2.0 1.8 

Public transportation ....................................................... 249.551 245.058 244.713 246.023 -6.8 20.9 19.0 -5.5 6.1 6.0 

Medical care ...................................................................... 380.732 382.737 384.703 386.007 3.3 3.5 2.5 5.7 3.4 4.1 

Medical care commodities 1 ............................................ 308.221 310.494 312.864 314.023 2.4 4.0 .7 7.7 3.2 4.2 

Medical care services ..................................................... 403.177 405.006 406.755 408.092 3.6 3.4 3.1 5.0 3.5 4.0 

Professional services .................................................... 323.045 324.784 325.373 325.393 3.3 2.6 2.2 2.9 2.9 2.6 

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—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

June

2009

Sep.

2009

Dec.

2009

Mar.

2010 Sep.

2009

Mar.

2010

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 585.044 587.561 593.869 599.951 6.3 7.1 6.6 10.6 6.7 8.6 

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 113.598 113.524 113.415 113.299 -.2 .1 -3.3 -1.0 .0 -2.2 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 100.440 100.255 99.571 99.650 -.3 -2.9 -1.9 -3.1 -1.6 -2.5 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 128.528 128.872 129.141 129.533 2.8 2.3 1.4 3.2 2.5 2.3 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 194.587 195.209 196.252 197.418 5.4 4.3 3.9 5.9 4.9 4.9 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 496.737 498.880 502.169 501.997 8.3 6.9 6.0 4.3 7.6 5.2 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 559.232 561.001 563.950 567.553 5.2 4.1 3.8 6.1 4.7 4.9 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 84.815 84.974 84.905 84.942 .2 .3 -1.0 .6 .3 -.2 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 81.728 81.817 81.743 81.776 -.5 .3 -1.2 .2 -.1 -.5 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 102.707 102.729 102.288 102.298 .8 3.1 -1.0 -1.6 1.9 -1.3 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 9.423 9.457 9.540 9.552 -5.6 -10.4 -1.8 5.6 -8.0 1.8 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ..... 78.356 77.925 77.518 77.541 -7.5 -21.3 -2.1 -4.1 -14.7 -3.1 

Other goods and services ................................................. 377.651 377.853 378.091 378.386 11.0 4.6 3.4 .8 7.8 2.1 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 783.794 786.857 785.714 787.268 45.9 14.0 6.8 1.8 28.9 4.2 

Personal care .................................................................. 206.065 205.935 206.209 206.287 .9 1.4 2.2 .4 1.1 1.3 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 162.275 161.627 162.029 162.367 -1.0 .2 -.2 .2 -.4 .0 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 228.343 228.629 228.107 228.429 -.7 1.3 .1 .2 .3 .1 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 349.935 350.113 351.082 352.109 2.0 1.7 6.0 2.5 1.9 4.3 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 173.830 175.196 174.878 174.762 9.3 4.2 4.4 2.2 6.7 3.3 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 218.253 218.731 218.838 219.338 -1.1 -.9 1.1 2.0 -1.0 1.5 

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 150.092 151.759 151.280 150.920 16.4 7.4 6.4 2.2 11.8 4.3 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 189.796 192.765 192.192 190.632 25.8 14.0 7.9 1.8 19.8 4.8 

Apparel .......................................................................... 120.684 120.613 119.814 119.316 1.1 2.4 -.7 -4.5 1.8 -2.6 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 236.606 241.982 241.214 239.779 34.3 20.4 9.0 5.5 27.2 7.2 

Durables .......................................................................... 111.607 111.565 111.514 111.430 3.4 -.5 6.8 -.6 1.4 3.0 

Services .............................................................................. 260.290 259.716 260.045 260.469 .0 1.3 1.1 .3 .7 .7 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 259.963 259.168 258.517 257.746 1.2 -.1 -.4 -3.4 .6 -1.9 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 123.812 124.360 124.439 124.416 1.2 3.6 5.5 2.0 2.4 3.7 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 192.284 192.250 193.283 196.019 -18.5 -1.0 6.9 8.0 -10.2 7.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 165.138 166.463 167.696 168.543 6.9 6.4 4.8 8.5 6.6 6.6 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 150.172 149.510 149.707 149.999 -2.4 1.2 -.7 -.5 -.6 -.6 

Transportation services ..................................................... 256.494 255.735 256.676 257.816 .3 7.3 5.5 2.1 3.8 3.8 

Medical care services ....................................................... 403.177 405.006 406.755 408.092 3.6 3.4 3.1 5.0 3.5 4.0 

Other services ................................................................... 306.521 306.985 307.265 307.678 2.0 2.7 .9 1.5 2.4 1.2 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 217.160 217.489 217.469 217.544 4.5 3.2 2.7 .7 3.8 1.7 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 207.147 208.128 208.155 208.414 4.9 3.9 3.9 2.5 4.4 3.2 

All items less medical care .................................................. 209.126 209.424 209.353 209.445 3.7 2.5 2.5 .6 3.1 1.5 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 152.681 154.302 153.820 153.468 15.7 7.2 6.2 2.1 11.4 4.1 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 191.439 194.517 193.959 192.716 22.7 14.4 6.1 2.7 18.5 4.4 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 234.233 239.081 238.287 237.059 30.5 18.7 8.3 4.9 24.5 6.6 

Nondurables ........................................................................ 204.280 206.144 205.792 205.619 8.8 7.5 4.4 2.6 8.2 3.5 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 281.171 281.417 282.121 283.215 -1.0 3.1 3.6 2.9 1.0 3.2 

Services less medical care services ................................... 249.198 248.690 248.541 248.658 -.2 1.1 1.3 -.9 .5 .2 

Energy ................................................................................. 209.699 215.536 214.379 214.376 29.2 20.4 15.3 9.2 24.7 12.2 

All items less energy ........................................................... 219.695 219.524 219.646 219.799 1.6 1.0 1.3 .2 1.3 .7 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 220.764 220.463 220.579 220.664 2.2 1.4 1.3 -.2 1.8 .6 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 143.702 143.863 143.761 143.666 4.0 1.2 2.9 -.1 2.6 1.4 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 239.662 251.449 248.149 245.556 100.3 41.1 22.1 10.2 68.1 16.0 

Services less energy services ......................................... 267.248 266.630 266.894 267.103 1.5 1.5 .7 -.2 1.5 .3 

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. 6 Indexes on a December 2007=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

Mar.2010 from—

Percent change to

Feb.2010 from—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Feb.

2009

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

U.S. city average ............................................ M 215.949 216.687 216.741 217.631 2.3 0.4 0.4 2.1 0.4 0.0 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 231.462 232.294 232.382 233.188 2.6 .4 .3 2.5 .4 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 233.475 234.109 234.183 235.060 2.3 .4 .4 2.1 .3 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 137.597 138.416 138.491 138.871 3.3 .3 .3 3.4 .6 .1 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 205.613 206.564 206.563 207.359 2.6 .4 .4 2.5 .5 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 206.399 207.325 207.329 207.975 2.3 .3 .3 2.3 .5 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 131.742 132.417 132.451 133.096 2.9 .5 .5 2.6 .5 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 202.738 203.490 203.274 204.204 3.5 .4 .5 3.5 .3 -.1 

South urban .................................................... M 209.476 210.056 210.020 211.216 2.5 .6 .6 2.3 .3 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 210.971 211.762 211.503 212.692 2.0 .4 .6 1.7 .3 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.252 133.517 133.575 134.363 2.7 .6 .6 2.5 .2 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 213.159 213.873 214.007 215.026 3.9 .5 .5 3.5 .4 .1 

West urban ..................................................... M 219.307 219.989 220.179 220.809 1.6 .4 .3 1.4 .4 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 223.058 223.852 223.989 224.636 1.6 .4 .3 1.4 .4 .1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.132 133.366 133.513 133.863 1.6 .4 .3 1.4 .3 .1 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 197.246 197.948 197.949 198.695 2.0 .4 .4 1.8 .4 .0 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 133.535 133.954 134.028 134.639 2.6 .5 .5 2.4 .4 .1 

D ................................................................. M 209.192 209.984 210.098 211.011 3.1 .5 .4 3.0 .4 .1 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 211.185 212.104 212.456 212.952 2.6 .4 .2 2.5 .6 .2 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 223.643 224.610 224.620 225.483 1.9 .4 .4 1.4 .4 .0 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 238.427 238.970 238.862 240.101 2.1 .5 .5 1.8 .2 .0 

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

 237.266 - 237.986 2.5 .3 - - - -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 203.037 - 203.577 2.1 .3 - - - -

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

 202.106 - 201.982 1.0 -.1 - - - -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 141.124 - 141.741 2.3 .4 - - - -

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 200.456 -

 202.646 - - - - 1.7 1.1 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 203.880 -

 203.380 - - - - .7 -.2 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 190.932 - 192.412 - - - - 2.4 .8 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 222.943 -

 222.505 - - - - .9 -.2 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 224.800 -

 226.529 - - - - 2.8 .8 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 224.239 -

 226.145 - - - - 1.8 .8 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 225.596 - 226.085 - - - - .6 .2 -

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

2009

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Mar. 2010 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Feb.

2010

Dec. to

Jan.

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 212.544 213.525 3.0 0.5 0.3 0.0 0.1 

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

 633.105 636.025 - - - - -

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.425 218.299 218.502 .2 .1 .2 .1 .2 

Food ......................................................................................... 15.333 217.837 218.066 .1 .1 .2 .1 .2 

Food at home ......................................................................... 8.900 213.839 214.291 -.8 .2 .4 .1 .4 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.257 251.757 251.493 -1.1 -.1 -.6 -.1 -.1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 2.144 202.139 202.540 -1.7 .2 .4 .6 .1 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .898 197.583 197.370 -.3 -.1 2.1 .0 -.1 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.223 271.974 277.347 2.1 2.0 1.2 -.1 3.4 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ 1.123 162.524 162.499 -1.8 .0 .2 -.3 .1 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.254 190.831 190.232 -.7 -.3 -.2 .1 -.3 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .321 200.880 198.720 1.4 -1.1 -.2 1.4 -1.1 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .259 201.356 198.808 -3.3 -1.3 .2 .0 -1.0 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.674 205.117 205.081 -.7 .0 -.3 -.1 .0 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .472 121.482 122.543 -.2 .9 -.6 -.5 .9 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.433 225.168 225.072 1.2 .0 .0 .1 .0 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .321 158.826 159.023 3.2 .1 .5 .7 .1 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.092 223.621 223.452 1.3 -.1 -.1 -.3 -.2 

Housing ...................................................................................... 39.753 212.401 212.604 -.3 .1 -.1 .0 .1 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 30.171 242.002 242.019 -.2 .0 -.3 .0 .0 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 8.476 247.448 247.555 .1 .0 .0 .0 .1 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... .432 130.571 134.632 -2.4 3.1 -2.0 .5 .4 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .............................. 20.959 232.354 232.179 .0 -.1 -.1 .0 -.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................ 20.218 232.353 232.180 .0 -.1 -.1 .0 -.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .303 125.367 125.374 3.5 .0 .7 .1 .0 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.632 209.171 210.775 .7 .8 .6 .2 1.1 

Household energy .................................................................. 4.517 183.918 185.557 -.7 .9 .6 .1 1.3 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ...................................................... .271 281.157 279.384 18.3 -.6 7.1 -1.0 -.6 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 4.246 187.730 189.595 -1.7 1.0 .2 .2 1.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... 1.114 168.774 169.229 6.8 .3 .8 .8 .5 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 3.950 123.097 122.859 -2.0 -.2 -.1 -.4 -.5 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .369 151.535 152.065 -.8 .3 -.6 .0 .3 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.788 118.607 121.347 -.7 2.3 .0 -.5 -.7 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .945 111.575 113.032 -4.8 1.3 .0 -.4 -1.1 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.568 106.496 110.885 .5 4.1 .1 -.5 -.8 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .285 117.789 119.644 1.4 1.6 1.6 -1.2 .5 

Footwear .................................................................................. .781 127.843 128.172 1.0 .3 .1 -.4 -1.2 

Transportation ............................................................................ 18.647 188.406 191.294 15.3 1.5 1.7 -.1 -.1 

Private transportation ............................................................... 17.881 185.268 188.146 15.7 1.6 1.8 -.1 -.1 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 6.952 95.819 95.900 7.2 .1 .3 .4 .2 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 3.385 139.905 139.653 2.9 -.2 -.5 .1 .1 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 2.944 141.079 141.657 16.4 .4 1.5 .7 .4 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 5.774 228.569 238.769 41.2 4.5 4.9 -1.2 -1.0 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 5.530 228.207 238.583 41.5 4.5 4.4 -1.5 -.8 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .472 135.694 135.573 .8 -.1 .4 .2 -.1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.180 248.479 249.127 1.8 .3 .1 .2 .3 

Public transportation ................................................................ .766 240.418 242.942 6.1 1.0 -1.8 -.2 .5 

Medical care ............................................................................... 5.261 386.919 388.330 4.0 .4 .5 .6 .4 

Medical care commodities 1 ..................................................... 1.301 304.320 305.532 3.7 .4 .7 .8 .4 

Medical care services ............................................................... 3.961 411.114 412.568 4.1 .4 .5 .5 .4 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.195 329.020 329.294 2.8 .1 .6 .1 .0 

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

2009

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Mar. 2010 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Feb.

2010

Dec. to

Jan.

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.339 598.149 604.070 8.4 1.0 0.4 1.3 1.1 

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 6.031 110.076 110.073 -1.2 .0 .0 .0 -.1 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 2.046 100.084 100.547 -1.6 .5 -.1 -.6 .1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.175 124.334 124.455 1.9 .1 .2 .2 .3 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 2.327 193.641 193.965 4.9 .2 .3 .6 .6 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .196 505.356 505.642 6.5 .1 .4 .6 .2 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.131 544.155 545.120 4.8 .2 .3 .6 .6 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.848 87.501 87.548 -.1 .1 .1 -.1 .1 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 3.715 85.314 85.362 -.3 .1 .0 -.1 .1 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.906 102.038 102.048 .1 .0 -.1 -.5 .0 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .809 10.077 10.099 -2.7 .2 .4 1.0 .2 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ............... .225 77.939 78.474 -8.8 .7 -.3 -.7 .2 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.919 404.722 405.641 6.7 .2 .1 .0 .1 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ 1.397 790.710 792.452 16.2 .2 .4 -.2 .2 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.522 203.824 204.294 1.1 .2 .0 .1 .0 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .733 162.073 162.417 -.1 .2 -.3 .2 .2 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .577 228.169 228.500 .1 .1 .1 -.3 .1 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.019 352.366 353.667 2.8 .4 .3 .2 .3 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 43.589 176.118 177.591 6.0 .8 .9 -.1 -.1 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.425 218.299 218.502 .2 .1 .2 .1 .2 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 27.164 153.444 155.417 9.7 1.3 1.3 -.3 -.3 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 16.703 195.059 199.133 13.9 2.1 1.9 -.4 -.9 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.788 118.607 121.347 -.7 2.3 .0 -.5 -.7 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 12.915 246.914 251.912 19.2 2.0 2.5 -.5 -.6 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.461 112.618 112.618 3.9 .0 .1 .1 .0 

Services ....................................................................................... 56.411 255.199 255.634 .8 .2 -.1 .1 .2 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 29.868 233.234 233.250 -.3 .0 -.2 -.2 -.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .303 125.367 125.374 3.5 .0 .7 .1 .0 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 4.246 187.730 189.595 -1.7 1.0 .2 .2 1.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... 1.114 168.774 169.229 6.8 .3 .8 .8 .5 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .369 151.535 152.065 -.8 .3 -.6 .0 .3 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.918 256.809 257.728 4.0 .4 -.2 .4 .5 

Medical care services ................................................................. 3.961 411.114 412.568 4.1 .4 .5 .5 .4 

Other services ............................................................................ 10.631 294.230 294.564 1.6 .1 .2 .1 .1 

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 84.667 211.423 212.535 3.6 .5 .4 .0 .0 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 69.829 204.101 205.441 4.5 .7 .6 .0 .1 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 94.739 205.461 206.420 3.0 .5 .3 .0 .0 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 28.256 155.820 157.742 9.4 1.2 1.3 -.3 -.3 

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 17.795 196.831 200.682 13.1 2.0 1.8 -.4 -.8 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 14.007 243.829 248.369 17.7 1.9 2.3 -.5 -.5 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 33.128 207.092 209.370 6.7 1.1 1.1 -.2 -.2 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 26.543 248.586 249.464 2.1 .4 .1 .3 .4 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 52.450 244.205 244.586 .6 .2 -.1 .0 .1 

Energy .......................................................................................... 10.291 204.494 210.425 19.6 2.9 3.1 -.6 .0 

All items less energy .................................................................... 89.709 214.472 214.857 1.4 .2 .0 .1 .1 

All items less food and energy ................................................... 74.376 214.172 214.589 1.6 .2 .0 .1 .0 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 22.211 145.722 146.319 3.0 .4 .2 .0 -.1 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 6.045 231.808 241.599 40.0 4.2 5.0 -1.2 -.9 

Services less energy services .................................................. 52.165 262.559 262.830 1.0 .1 -.1 .1 .1 

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

 $ .470 $ .468 - - - - -

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

 $ .158 $ .157 - - - - -

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. 6 Indexes on a December 2007=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—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

June

2009

Sep.

2009

Dec.

2009

Mar.

2010 Sep.

2009

Mar.

2010

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 212.920 213.638 213.644 213.775 4.4 3.4 3.0 1.6 3.9 2.3 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 217.426 217.876 218.037 218.460 -1.3 -1.1 1.2 1.9 -1.2 1.6 

Food ................................................................................ 216.887 217.376 217.593 218.080 -1.5 -1.3 1.1 2.2 -1.4 1.6 

Food at home ................................................................ 212.400 213.166 213.428 214.314 -3.7 -3.5 .8 3.7 -3.6 2.2 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 253.427 251.835 251.687 251.556 -2.9 -.4 1.7 -2.9 -1.7 -.6 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 200.365 201.172 202.401 202.550 -3.8 -7.3 .3 4.4 -5.6 2.3 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 193.546 197.663 197.583 197.370 -10.0 -1.8 3.2 8.1 -6.0 5.6 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 267.011 270.176 270.020 279.327 -1.3 -8.4 .2 19.8 -4.9 9.6 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 161.738 162.068 161.550 161.684 -4.6 -1.0 -1.3 -.1 -2.8 -.7 

Other food at home ..................................................... 190.619 190.215 190.493 190.002 -2.3 -.4 1.2 -1.3 -1.3 -.1 

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 198.163 197.745 200.465 198.278 .3 1.2 3.9 .2 .7 2.0 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 199.828 200.194 200.243 198.210 -5.1 -4.9 .0 -3.2 -5.0 -1.6 

Other foods ............................................................... 205.590 205.030 204.886 204.931 -2.3 .0 .9 -1.3 -1.1 -.2 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 122.796 122.051 121.482 122.543 -1.0 -.1 1.0 -.8 -.6 .1 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 224.940 225.015 225.168 225.072 1.5 1.7 1.5 .2 1.6 .9 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 156.830 157.670 158.826 159.023 2.7 5.4 -.8 5.7 4.0 2.4 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 223.876 223.748 223.101 222.599 2.3 2.2 3.2 -2.3 2.3 .4 

Housing ............................................................................. 213.065 212.818 212.780 212.977 -1.0 -.1 .4 -.2 -.6 .1 

Shelter ............................................................................. 242.592 241.969 241.916 241.831 1.2 -.1 -.6 -1.2 .5 -.9 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 247.237 247.305 247.213 247.433 1.2 -.3 -.7 .3 .4 -.2 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 133.606 130.907 131.519 132.046 .3 -.8 -3.3 -4.6 -.3 -4.0 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .................... 232.585 232.351 232.286 232.065 1.3 -.1 -.4 -.9 .6 -.7 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ....... 232.585 232.351 232.286 232.066 1.3 -.1 -.4 -.9 .6 -.7 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 124.415 125.299 125.367 125.374 1.4 3.7 5.9 3.1 2.6 4.5 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 210.281 211.617 212.146 214.560 -13.1 1.3 7.4 8.4 -6.2 7.9 

Household energy ......................................................... 185.937 187.075 187.283 189.703 -16.9 .1 8.0 8.4 -8.8 8.2 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ............................................. 265.130 284.061 281.157 279.384 -.6 3.7 54.0 23.3 1.5 37.8 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 190.655 191.039 191.397 194.113 -17.7 -.1 5.7 7.5 -9.3 6.6 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 165.662 167.045 168.416 169.271 6.9 6.3 5.0 9.0 6.6 7.0 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 123.744 123.590 123.126 122.564 .4 -2.2 -2.3 -3.8 -.9 -3.0 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 152.486 151.499 151.535 152.065 -1.5 2.6 -3.0 -1.1 .5 -2.0 

Apparel .............................................................................. 120.151 120.099 119.483 118.685 1.3 2.8 -2.1 -4.8 2.0 -3.4 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 112.285 112.252 111.820 110.643 -5.9 -1.4 -6.1 -5.7 -3.7 -5.9 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 108.442 108.554 107.988 107.167 3.8 5.9 -2.9 -4.6 4.9 -3.8 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 116.548 118.441 117.058 117.615 9.6 1.0 -7.7 3.7 5.2 -2.2 

Footwear ......................................................................... 129.173 129.256 128.706 127.183 3.7 3.1 3.7 -6.0 3.4 -1.3 

Transportation ................................................................... 189.949 193.144 192.920 192.779 25.3 17.2 14.1 6.1 21.2 10.0 

Private transportation ...................................................... 186.609 190.031 189.821 189.636 26.8 17.1 13.9 6.6 21.8 10.2 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 95.030 95.343 95.710 95.930 5.8 5.0 15.0 3.8 5.4 9.3 

New vehicles ............................................................... 139.358 138.596 138.749 138.848 6.8 -.7 7.2 -1.5 3.0 2.8 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 138.813 140.866 141.875 142.513 7.5 15.8 32.8 11.1 11.6 21.5 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 237.946 249.602 246.705 244.355 100.9 48.4 20.0 11.2 72.6 15.5 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 238.841 249.318 245.597 243.680 109.6 40.8 25.5 8.4 71.8 16.6 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 134.892 135.383 135.694 135.573 -.6 -2.3 4.2 2.0 -1.5 3.1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 247.812 247.975 248.479 249.127 .8 2.8 1.6 2.1 1.8 1.9 

Public transportation ....................................................... 247.857 243.274 242.675 243.933 -5.7 20.4 18.9 -6.2 6.5 5.6 

Medical care ...................................................................... 381.504 383.504 385.728 387.193 3.4 3.6 2.7 6.1 3.5 4.4 

Medical care commodities 1 ............................................ 299.777 301.890 304.320 305.532 2.2 3.7 .9 7.9 3.0 4.3 

Medical care services ..................................................... 405.483 407.372 409.435 410.965 3.8 3.6 3.3 5.5 3.7 4.4 

Professional services .................................................... 325.933 327.911 328.390 328.391 3.3 2.7 2.3 3.1 3.0 2.7 

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—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

June

2009

Sep.

2009

Dec.

2009

Mar.

2010 Sep.

2009

Mar.

2010

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 583.389 585.929 593.708 600.485 6.8 7.7 7.1 12.2 7.2 9.6 

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 110.221 110.176 110.176 110.035 -.2 -.7 -3.2 -.7 -.5 -2.0

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 100.934 100.793 100.171 100.265 .2 -2.3 -1.6 -2.6 -1.1 -2.1 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 123.911 124.142 124.338 124.650 2.2 2.1 1.0 2.4 2.2 1.7 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 191.835 192.430 193.654 194.762 5.2 4.2 4.2 6.2 4.7 5.2 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 499.745 501.581 504.554 505.419 8.7 6.6 6.1 4.6 7.6 5.3 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 539.155 540.811 544.275 547.590 4.8 4.0 4.0 6.4 4.4 5.2 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 87.545 87.616 87.501 87.550 .2 .7 -1.2 .0 .4 -.6 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 85.404 85.433 85.314 85.362 -.3 .7 -1.3 -.2 .2 -.7 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 102.585 102.504 102.038 102.048 .7 2.9 -1.2 -2.1 1.8 -1.6 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 9.935 9.978 10.077 10.099 -5.3 -9.9 -1.6 6.8 -7.6 2.5 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ..... 78.163 77.929 77.391 77.573 -7.3 -20.5 -3.0 -3.0 -14.2 -3.0 

Other goods and services ................................................. 404.292 404.888 404.813 405.258 16.7 6.0 3.8 1.0 11.2 2.4 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 789.173 791.959 790.710 792.452 47.8 13.5 6.9 1.7 29.5 4.2 

Personal care .................................................................. 203.727 203.775 203.895 203.994 .7 1.3 1.8 .5 1.0 1.2 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 162.231 161.689 162.073 162.417 -.9 .4 -.2 .5 -.3 .1 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 228.614 228.793 228.169 228.500 -.7 1.2 .2 -.2 .2 .0 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 351.092 352.090 352.853 353.940 1.5 1.6 4.9 3.3 1.5 4.1 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 176.635 178.233 177.989 177.800 10.6 6.0 5.4 2.7 8.3 4.0 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 217.426 217.876 218.037 218.460 -1.3 -1.1 1.2 1.9 -1.2 1.6 

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 154.519 156.580 156.171 155.727 18.7 10.4 8.0 3.2 14.5 5.5 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 198.438 202.280 201.470 199.698 28.3 17.3 9.1 2.6 22.6 5.8 

Apparel .......................................................................... 120.151 120.099 119.483 118.685 1.3 2.8 -2.1 -4.8 2.0 -3.4 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 251.007 257.262 255.925 254.457 41.0 22.5 10.8 5.6 31.4 8.2 

Durables .......................................................................... 112.317 112.382 112.465 112.488 4.1 1.4 9.7 .6 2.7 5.1 

Services .............................................................................. 255.350 255.157 255.440 255.973 -.1 1.3 1.1 1.0 .6 1.0 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 234.082 233.607 233.241 232.894 1.0 .1 -.2 -2.0 .6 -1.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 124.415 125.299 125.367 125.374 1.4 3.7 5.9 3.1 2.6 4.5 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 190.655 191.039 191.397 194.113 -17.7 -.1 5.7 7.5 -9.3 6.6 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 165.662 167.045 168.416 169.271 6.9 6.3 5.0 9.0 6.6 7.0 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 152.486 151.499 151.535 152.065 -1.5 2.6 -3.0 -1.1 .5 -2.0 

Transportation services ..................................................... 256.122 255.588 256.694 258.012 1.4 6.4 5.0 3.0 3.9 4.0 

Medical care services ....................................................... 405.483 407.372 409.435 410.965 3.8 3.6 3.3 5.5 3.7 4.4 

Other services ................................................................... 293.681 294.133 294.301 294.699 1.6 2.4 .8 1.4 2.0 1.1 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 212.031 212.790 212.759 212.827 5.6 4.3 3.4 1.5 4.9 2.4 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 204.406 205.615 205.643 205.853 5.9 5.0 4.6 2.9 5.4 3.7 

All items less medical care .................................................. 206.007 206.680 206.620 206.710 4.5 3.4 3.0 1.4 3.9 2.2 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 156.879 158.886 158.469 158.022 18.1 10.1 7.8 2.9 14.0 5.3 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 200.048 203.681 202.891 201.191 26.3 16.4 8.7 2.3 21.2 5.5 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 247.582 253.287 252.038 250.660 37.0 20.8 10.2 5.1 28.7 7.6 

Nondurables ........................................................................ 208.232 210.553 210.177 209.771 11.0 8.6 4.4 3.0 9.8 3.7 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 248.380 248.589 249.271 250.360 -1.2 2.9 3.4 3.2 .8 3.3 

Services less medical care services ................................... 244.797 244.523 244.557 244.863 -.2 1.2 1.2 .1 .5 .6 

Energy ................................................................................. 210.195 216.617 215.259 215.253 30.5 24.4 14.7 10.0 27.4 12.3 

All items less energy ........................................................... 214.189 214.235 214.406 214.554 1.9 1.2 1.7 .7 1.6 1.2 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 214.023 213.979 214.141 214.221 2.7 1.7 1.8 .4 2.2 1.1 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 145.608 145.835 145.848 145.661 5.2 2.4 4.4 .1 3.8 2.3 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 240.247 252.253 249.339 246.999 94.2 46.1 21.3 11.7 68.5 16.4 

Services less energy services ......................................... 262.385 262.136 262.409 262.692 1.6 1.5 .7 .5 1.5 .6 

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. 6 Indexes on a December 2007=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

Mar.2010 from—

Percent change to

Feb.2010 from—

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Mar.

2010

Mar.

2009

Jan.

2010

Feb.

2010

Feb.

2009

Dec.

2009

Jan.

2010

U.S. city average ............................................ M 211.703 212.568 212.544 213.525 3.0 0.5 0.5 2.8 0.4 0.0 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 228.794 229.744 229.874 230.622 3.1 .4 .3 3.1 .5 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 229.180 229.919 230.099 230.819 2.8 .4 .3 2.7 .4 .1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 138.522 139.364 139.379 139.869 3.9 .4 .4 4.1 .6 .0 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 200.999 202.180 202.044 202.966 3.3 .4 .5 3.2 .5 -.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 200.820 201.957 201.758 202.639 2.9 .3 .4 2.9 .5 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 131.639 132.502 132.507 133.140 3.6 .5 .5 3.4 .7 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 200.471 201.414 201.118 202.072 4.0 .3 .5 3.9 .3 -.1 

South urban .................................................... M 206.716 207.405 207.325 208.621 3.4 .6 .6 3.1 .3 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 208.788 209.619 209.288 210.613 2.7 .5 .6 2.3 .2 -.2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 132.136 132.508 132.528 133.388 3.7 .7 .6 3.3 .3 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 213.184 213.984 214.172 215.205 4.6 .6 .5 4.3 .5 .1 

West urban ..................................................... M 213.919 214.664 214.710 215.457 2.3 .4 .3 2.0 .4 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 215.988 216.905 216.850 217.700 2.2 .4 .4 1.9 .4 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 132.983 133.238 133.325 133.675 2.3 .3 .3 2.0 .3 .1 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 195.779 196.606 196.516 197.377 2.6 .4 .4 2.4 .4 .0 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 133.072 133.589 133.619 134.274 3.4 .5 .5 3.2 .4 .0 

D ................................................................. M 207.417 208.297 208.368 209.326 3.9 .5 .5 3.8 .5 .0 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 204.196 205.529 205.627 206.381 3.1 .4 .4 2.8 .7 .0 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 216.233 217.290 217.090 218.157 2.4 .4 .5 1.8 .4 -.1 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 233.448 234.067 234.153 235.240 2.7 .5 .5 2.4 .3 .0 

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

 237.999 - 238.388 2.8 .2 - - - -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 194.529 - 194.852 2.5 .2 - - - -

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

 205.456 - 205.351 2.3 -.1 - - - -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 141.155 - 141.782 3.1 .4 - - - -

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 199.331 -

 201.407 - - - - 2.0 1.0 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 199.614 -

 198.913 - - - - 1.4 -.4 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 188.842 - 190.351 - - - - 2.9 .8 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 221.067 -

 221.074 - - - - 1.6 .0 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 224.732 -

 226.539 - - - - 3.3 .8 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 220.121 -

 222.049 - - - - 2.4 .9 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 220.905 - 221.215 - - - - 1.1 .1 -

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,

2007-2008

 Unadjusted

 indexes

 Unadjusted

 percent change to

 Mar. 2010 from—

 Feb.

 2010

 Mar.

 2010

 Mar.

 2009

 Feb.

 2010

Expenditure category

All items 1 ................................................................................... 100.000 R125.604 R126.162 2.5 0.4 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 14.519 127.923 128.059 .1 .1 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.493 127.895 128.042 .0 .1 

Food at home ....................................................................... 7.780 122.940 123.224 -.8 .2 

Food away from home .......................................................... 5.712 134.648 134.591 1.2 .0 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................................... 1.027 128.745 128.735 1.0 .0 

Housing 2 ................................................................................. 42.074 R128.240 R128.351 -.7 .1 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.119 130.840 130.877 -.6 .0 

Fuels and utilities 3 ................................................................. 5.231 R157.467 R158.501 .9 .7 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 4.724 94.268 94.131 -2.5 -.1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 3.772 88.474 90.965 -.7 2.8 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.199 129.375 131.306 15.4 1.5 

Private transportation ............................................................. 16.013 130.185 132.155 16.2 1.5 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.186 118.725 120.161 6.0 1.2 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.294 149.521 149.981 3.4 .3 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.570 131.864 132.364 3.4 .4 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.723 156.001 156.442 3.4 .3 

Recreation ................................................................................ 6.625 103.267 103.246 -2.8 .0 

Education and communication ................................................. 6.288 111.783 111.902 1.6 .1 

Education ............................................................................... 2.804 181.011 181.331 4.7 .2 

Communication ...................................................................... 3.484 73.285 73.321 -.9 .0 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.229 137.103 137.391 3.9 .2 

Commodity and service group

Services 4 ................................................................................... 59.383 R134.773 R134.980 .5 .2 

Commodities .............................................................................. 40.617 114.347 115.341 5.4 .9 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.376 81.503 81.460 1.3 -.1 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 30.241 131.435 132.997 6.8 1.2 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 76.901 119.518 119.777 .8 .2 

Energy 5 ..................................................................................... 9.606 R181.912 R186.931 20.9 2.8 

1 Revised index: Jan. 2010=125.628. 2 Revised index: Jan. 2010=128.296. 3 Revised index: Jan. 2010=157.973. 4 Revised index: Jan. 2010=134.619. 5 Revised index: Jan. 2010=185.213. R Revised.

Indexes for 2010 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2009 are interim adjustments.

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