Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006 

Response Rates for the Consumer 

Price Indexes, 2005

This article and the accompanying tables update articles 

previously published on response rates in the CPI Detailed 

Report for March 1991, and in the January issues of 1993 

through 2005. 

 In an effort to measure the outcome of data collection 

for the CPI, the BLS calculates response rates. Response 

rates measure the proportion of completed surveys to those 

issued and help measure the accuracy of the CPI. Failure of 

a data unit to respond at either the data collection stage or 

estimation stage represents a loss of statistical information 

which dilutes the accuracy of the sample. The BLS 

publishes response rates annually to assist the data user in 

judging the accuracy of CPI data. 

The BLS calculates response rates for the CPI-U at the 

data collection and data estimation phases for pricing. The 

response rate at the data collection phase is the number of 

responding sample units divided by the number of eligible 

sample units. A sample unit is eligible if it belongs to the 

defined target population and if it should provide 

information for one or more items. The response rate at 

estimation is defined as the number of sample units used in 

estimation divided by the number of eligible sample units. 

 Response rates for 2005 are presented in tables R-1 

through R-16. Table R-1 shows response rates for all data 

included in the CPI-U, U.S. city average, by major group, 

for all of 2005. Tables R-2 through R-16 show rates for 

current data collection in selected areas for which indexes 

are published monthly and bimonthly. 

The response rates in tables R-1 through R-16 are 

separated into commodities and services, and the shelter 

portion of housing. Commodities and services are further 

broken down into outlets and quotes. An "outlet" is a 

generic term that designates the place where prices are 

collected. A "quote" is a specific item to be priced in a 

specific outlet. There may be from 1 to more than 50 

quotes priced in each outlet. 

In table R-1, it is important to note the relatively low 

percentages of quotes reported, collected and used in 

estimation for apparel. Low rates for these items can be 

partially attributed to the design of the apparel sample. 

Because seasonal apparel items commonly are in stores only 

during certain times of the year, most of the apparel sample 

is doubled, with each half of the sample designated for 

pricing during part of the year. Thus, at any particular time 

of the year, a large number of apparel quotes, although 

eligible, are designated out of season and are not collected. 

The response rates at the data collection phase for 

shelter are separated into three categories. If useable 

information is obtained, the unit is designated data 

reported. If the assigned unit is located but is unoccupied, 

the unit is designated found vacant. In instances where the 

unit is eligible but no data are available (for example, 

refusals or no one at home) the unit is designated other. 

 For additional information on response rates, write to 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices 

and Price Indexes, Room 3615, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, 

NE., Washington, DC 20212-0001, or call Doris L. Johnson 

at (202) 691-7000, or email her at Johnson.Doris@bls.gov 
Table R-1. Response rates for the CPI-U, U.S. city average, by major group and shelter, 2005

 Quotes

Commodities and 

services

Outlets

Total Food

Housing 

(excluding 

shelter)

Apparel Transportation

Medical 

care

Recreation

Education and 

communication

Other 

goods and 

services

Eligible 317,852 1,080,730 409,106 166,777 139,693 128,205 47,067 81,059 62,845 45,978

Collected 

 Number 306,625 921,081 375,990 149,976 75,220 118,282 38,607 69,514 51,176 42,316

 Percent 96.5 85.2 91.9 89.9 53.8 92.3 82.0 85.8 81.4 92.0 

Used in estimation 

 Number 294,537 898,391 370,169 146,161 70,603 115,826 37,326 66,728 49,951 41,627

 Percent 92.7 83.1 90.5 87.6 50.5 90.3 79.3 82.3 79.5 90.5

Shelter All Units

Eligible

 Number 65,986

 Percent 100.0

Collected

 Data reported

 Number 48,443

 Percent 73.4

 Found vacant

 Number 6,689

 Percent 10.1

 Other

 Number 10,854

 Percent 16.4

Used in estimation

 Number 55,132

 Percent 83.6

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-2. Response rates for the CPI-U, Chicago-GaryKenosha, IL-IN-WI, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 16,974 47,445 Eligible

Collected Number 2,151

 Number 16,407 39,267 Percent 100.0

 Percent 96.7 82.8 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 15,760 38,457 Number 1,312

 Percent 92.8 81.1 Percent 61.0

Found vacant

 Number 241

 Percent 11.2

Other

 Number 598

 Percent 27.8

Used in estimation

 Number 1,553

 Percent 72.2

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-3. Response rates for the CPI-U, Los AngelesRiverside-Orange County, CA, 2005 

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 25,458 74,497 Eligible

Collected Number 4,387

 Number 24,750 61,201 Percent 100.0

 Percent 97.2 82.2 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 23,400 59,559 Number 3,320

 Percent 91.9 79.9 Percent 75.7

Found vacant

 Number 169

 Percent 3.9

Other

 Number 898

 Percent 20.5

Used in estimation

 Number 3,489

 Percent 79.5

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-4. Response rates for the CPI-U, NY-Northern NJ-Long

Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 32,986 103,903 Eligible

Collected Number 5,088

 Number 31,861 86,352 Percent 100.0

 Percent 96.6 83.1 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 30,641 84,607 Number 3,551

 Percent 92.9 81.4 Percent 69.8

Found vacant

 Number 269

 Percent 5.3

Other

 Number 1,268

 Percent 24.9

Used in estimation

 Number 3,820

 Percent 75.1

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-5. Response rates for the CPI-U, Phil.-WilmingtonTrenton, PA-NJ-KE-MD, 2005 

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 8,268 23,178 Eligible

Collected Number 1,571

 Number 8,077 20,090 Percent 100.0

 Percent 97.7 86.7 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 7,762 19,527 Number 1,196

 Percent 93.9 84.2 Percent 76.1

Found vacant

 Number 154

 Percent 9.8

Other

 Number 221

 Percent 14.1

Used in estimation

 Number 1,350

 Percent 85.9

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-6. Response rates for the CPI-U, San FranciscoOakland-San Jose, CA, 2005 

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 7,212 24,192 Eligible

Collected Number 3,005

 Number 7,046 20,819 Percent 100.0

 Percent 97.7 86.1 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 6,759 20,255 Number 2,223

 Percent 93.7 83.7 Percent 74.0

Found vacant

 Number 244

 Percent 8.1

Other

 Number 538

 Percent 17.9

Used in estimation

 Number 2,467

 Percent 82.1

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-7. Response rates for the CPI-U, WashingtonBaltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV, 2005 

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 8,019 26,635 Eligible

Collected Number 1,815

 Number 7,794 22,496 Percent 100.0

 Percent 97.2 84.5 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 7,506 21,821 Number 1,434

 Percent 93.6 81.9 Percent 79.0

Found vacant

 Number 148

 Percent 8.2

Other

 Number 233

 Percent 12.8

Used in estimation

 Number 1,582

 Percent 87.2

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-8. Response rates for the CPI-U, Boston-BrocktonNashua, MA-NH-ME-CT, 2005 

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 5,719 18,826 Eligible

Collected Number 1,554

 Number 5,513 15,414 Percent 100.0

 Percent 96.4 81.9 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 5,262 14,898 Number 1,064

 Percent 92.0 79.1 Percent 68.5

Found vacant

 Number 128

 Percent 8.2

Other

 Number 362

 Percent 23.3

Used in estimation

 Number 1,192

 Percent 76.7

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-9. Response rates for the CPI-U, ClevelandAkron, OH, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 3,920 13,549 Eligible

Collected Number 1,362

 Number 3,769 11,284 Percent 100.0

 Percent 96.1 83.3 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 3,616 10,910 Number 1,001

 Percent 92.2 80.5 Percent 73.5

Found vacant

 Number 192

 Percent 14.1

Other

 Number 169

 Percent 12.4

Used in estimation

 Number 1,193

 Percent 87.6

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-10. Response rates for the CPI-U, Miami-Fort

Lauderdale, FL, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 1,376 5,169 Eligible

Collected Number 993

 Number 1,350 4,838 Percent 100.0

 Percent 98.1 93.6 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 1,327 4,749 Number 804

 Percent 96.4 91.9 Percent 81.0

Found vacant

 Number 70

 Percent 7.0

Other

 Number 119

 Percent 12.0

Used in estimation

 Number 874

 Percent 88.0

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-11. Response rates for the CPI-U, St. Louis, 

MO-IL, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 1,335 5,069 Eligible

Collected Number 683

 Number 1,298 4,683 Percent 100.0

 Percent 97.2 92.4 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 1,289 4,634 Number 458

 Percent 96.6 91.4 Percent 67.1

Found vacant

 Number 86

 Percent 12.6

Other

 Number 139

 Percent 20.4

Used in estimation

 Number 544

 Percent 79.6

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-12. Response rates for the CPI-U, Dallas-Fort

Worth, TX, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 1,789 5,723 Eligible

Collected Number 1,255

 Number 1,765 5,400 Percent 100.0

 Percent 98.7 94.4 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 1,744 5,316 Number 950

 Percent 97.5 92.9 Percent 75.7

Found vacant

 Number 152

 Percent 12.1

Other

 Number 153

 Percent 12.2

Used in estimation

 Number 1,102

 Percent 87.8

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-13. Response rates for the CPI-U, Detroit-Ann 

Arbor-Flint, MI, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 4,862 15,995 Eligible

Collected Number 1,186

 Number 4,645 13,261 Percent 100.0

 Percent 95.5 82.9 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 4,436 12,825 Number 848

 Percent 91.2 80.2 Percent 71.5

Found vacant

 Number 152

 Percent 12.8

Other

 Number 186

 Percent 15.7

Used in estimation

 Number 1,000

 Percent 84.3

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-14. Response rates for the CPI-U, HoustonGalveston-Brazoria, TX, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 4,092 12,305 Eligible

Collected Number 1,167

 Number 3,871 10,350 Percent 100.0

 Percent 94.6 84.1 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 3,725 10,056 Number 758

 Percent 91.0 81.7 Percent 65.0

Found vacant

 Number 147

 Percent 12.6

Other

 Number 262

 Percent 22.5

Used in estimation

 Number 905

 Percent 77.5

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-15. Response rates for the CPI-U, 

Pittsburgh, PA, 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 3,517 11,786 Eligible

Collected Number 771

 Number 3,401 9,791 Percent 100.0

 Percent 96.7 83.1 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 3,278 9,519 Number 495

 Percent 93.2 80.8 Percent 64.2

Found vacant

 Number 141

 Percent 18.3

Other

 Number 135

 Percent 17.5

Used in estimation

 Number 636

 Percent 82.5

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006
Table R-16. Response rates for the CPI-U, 

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ., 2005

Commodities Total 

and services Outlets Quotes Shelter All Units

Eligible 3,435 12,687 Eligible

Collected Number 645

 Number 3,379 10,987 Percent 100.0

 Percent 98.4 86.6 Collected

Used in estimation Data reported

 Number 3,261 10,536 Number 535

 Percent 94.9 83.0 Percent 82.9

Found vacant

 Number 74

 Percent 11.5

Other

 Number 36

 Percent 5.6

Used in estimation

 Number 609

 Percent 94.4

Consumer Price Index Program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January, 2006