Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-11-1748

8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 16, 2011 

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

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

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – NOVEMBER 2011 

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in November on a 

seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, 

the all items index increased 3.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. 

The energy index declined for the second month in a row and offset increases in the indexes for food 

and all items less food and energy. As in October, the gasoline index fell sharply and the index for 

household energy declined as well. The food index rose slightly in November, though the index for food 

at home declined as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes fell. 

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in November following increases of 

0.1 percent in each of the prior two months. The indexes for shelter, medical care, apparel, and personal 

care all rose. These increases more than offset declines in the indexes for new vehicles and used cars and 

trucks. 

The all items index has risen 3.4 percent over the last 12 months. This is a slightly smaller increase than 

last month’s 3.5 percent figure, as the 12-month change in the energy index declined from 14.2 percent 

to 12.4 percent. The 12-month change in the food index also declined slightly, from 4.7 percent to 4.6 

percent. In contrast, the 12-month change in the index for all items less food and energy continued to 

rise, reaching 2.2 percent in November. 

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Nov'10 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov'11

Chart 1. One-month percent change in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), seasonally adjusted, Nov. 2010 - Nov. 2011

Percent change

 0.1

 0.4 0.4

 0.5 0.5

 0.4

 0.2

 -0.2

 0.5

 0.4

 0.3

 -0.1

 0.0
- 2 - 

Chart 2. 12-month percent change in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), not seasonally adjusted, Nov. 2010 - Nov. 2011

Percent change

All items All items less food and energy

0

1

2

3

4

Nov'10 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov'11
- 3 - 

Consumer Price Index Data for November 2011 

Food 

The food index rose 0.1 percent in November, the same increase as in October. The index for food at 

home, however, declined for the first time since June 2010, falling 0.1 percent. The fruits and vegetables 

index, which fell 1.7 percent in October, declined 0.6 percent in November, as both the fresh fruits and 

fresh vegetables indexes continued to decline. The index for dairy and related products fell 0.3 percent 

in November while the indexes for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs and for other food at home both 

decreased 0.1 percent. The only major grocery store food groups to post increases were cereal and 

bakery products, which rose 0.3 percent, and nonalcoholic beverages, which increased 0.2 percent. 

Despite the November decrease, the index for food at home has risen 5.9 percent over the past year with 

all six major grocery store food groups up at least 4.4 percent. The index for food away from home 

increased 0.3 percent in November after rising 0.2 percent in October and has risen 2.9 percent over the 

past year. 

 

Energy 

The energy index, which fell 2.0 percent in October, declined 1.6 percent in November as gasoline 

prices continued to fall. The gasoline index decreased 2.4 percent in November following a 3.1 percent 

decline in October. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices fell 1.1 percent in November.) The 

household energy index declined in November as well, falling 0.4 percent. A 4.4 percent decline in the 

index for natural gas more than offset a 2.7 percent increase in the fuel oil index and a 0.4 percent rise in 

the index for electricity. Energy indexes are still mostly up over the past year despite the November 

declines. The gasoline index has increased 19.7 percent, while the household energy index has risen 3.1 

percent with the fuel oil index up 25.0 percent, the electricity index up 2.7 percent, but the natural gas 

index down 1.3 percent. 

All items less food and energy 

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in November, the largest increase 

since August. As was the case last month, increases in the indexes for shelter, medical care, and apparel 

accounted for most of the increase. The shelter index rose 0.2 percent, the same increase as in October, 

as the rent index rose 0.2 percent and the index for owners’ equivalent rent increased 0.1 percent. The 

index for medical care, which rose 0.5 percent in October, rose 0.4 percent in November with the 

medical care services index repeating its October increase of 0.5 percent. The apparel index increased 

0.6 percent in November following a 0.4 percent increase in October and has now risen in seven of the 

last eight months. The index for personal care rose notably in November, increasing 0.6 percent, while 

the tobacco and recreation indexes both posted slight increases. In contrast, the new vehicles index fell 

0.3 percent and the index for used cars and trucks declined 0.1 percent. 

The index for all items less food and energy has increased 2.2 percent over the last 12 months, the 

largest such increase since 2008. The 12-month change in the shelter index has been steadily increasing 

and reached 1.8 percent in November. The 12-month change in the medical care index was 3.4 percent, 

its highest level in over a year, while the apparel index has risen 4.8 percent over the last 12 months, the 

largest figure since 1991. 
- 4 - 

Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures 

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 3.4 percent over the last 12 

months to an index level of 226.230 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index declined 0.1 percent prior 

to seasonal adjustment. 

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 3.8 

percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 222.813 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index 

declined 0.1 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. 

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 3.2 percent over the 

last 12 months. For the month, the index declined 0.1 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please 

note that the indexes for the post-2009 period are subject to revision.

The Consumer Price Index for December 2011 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 

19, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (EST). Releases for the remainder of 2012 are scheduled on the following 

dates: 

 Feb. 17 Aug. 15 

 Mar. 16 Sep. 14 

 Apr. 13 Oct. 16 

 May 15 Nov. 15 

 June 14 Dec. 14 

 July 17 
- 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 26,000 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. 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 116.500. 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 0.03 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 0.06 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 0.14 and 

0.26 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 2010”. 

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/cpivar2010.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 2006 through 

December 2010 were replaced in January 2011. 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. 

Effective with the publication of data from January 2006 through December 2010 in January 2011, the 

Video and audio series and the Information technology, hardware and services series were changed from 

independently adjusted to dependently adjusted. This resulted in an increase in the number of seasonal 

components used in deriving seasonal movement of the All items and 54 other lower level aggregations, 

from 73 for the publication of January 1998 through December 2005 data to 82 for the publication of 

seasonally adjusted data for January 2006 and later. Each year the seasonal status of every series is 

reevaluated based upon certain statistical criteria. If any of the 82 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 
- 8 - 

indexes before that period will not be changed. Note: 37 of the 82 components are not seasonally 

adjusted for 2011. 

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

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

agreements. 

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

enhanced seasonal adjustment procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some 

CPI series. Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for better estimates of seasonally 

adjusted data. Extreme values and/or sharp movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are 

estimated and removed from the data prior to calculation of seasonal factors. Beginning with the 

calculation of seasonal factors for 1996, X-12-ARIMA software was used for Intervention Analysis 

Seasonal Adjustment. 

For the seasonal factors introduced in January 2011, BLS adjusted 29 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

2010

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Nov. 2011 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Oct.

2011

Aug. to

Sep.

Sep. to

Oct.

Oct. to

Nov.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 226.421 226.230 3.4 -0.1 0.3 -0.1 0.0 

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

 678.258 677.684 - ----

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.792 230.885 230.656 4.4 -.1 .4 .1 .1 

Food ......................................................................................... 13.742 231.017 230.790 4.6 -.1 .4 .1 .1 

Food at home ......................................................................... 7.816 230.196 229.380 5.9 -.4 .6 .1 -.1 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.090 265.433 265.552 6.2 .0 .9 .4 .3 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 1.813 227.853 227.583 6.9 -.1 .4 .5 -.1 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .839 219.493 218.767 8.7 -.3 1.2 .1 -.3 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.152 284.269 282.605 4.7 -.6 .9 -1.7 -.6 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ .926 169.137 168.606 4.4 -.3 .0 .5 .2 

Other food at home .............................................................. 1.996 201.315 199.924 5.1 -.7 .6 .4 -.1 

Sugar and sweets 1 ............................................................ .297 213.602 210.039 4.7 -1.7 1.7 .1 -1.7 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .232 226.216 224.907 11.1 -.6 .5 .3 .8 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.466 212.737 211.649 4.3 -.5 .4 .4 .1 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .432 125.461 125.702 4.2 .2 -.1 .3 .2 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 5.926 233.459 234.046 2.9 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .329 163.978 164.120 2.3 .1 -.1 .4 .1 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.051 227.606 227.363 1.3 -.1 .0 .0 .0 

Housing ...................................................................................... 41.460 220.138 219.969 1.9 -.1 .2 .1 .1 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 31.955 253.101 253.312 1.8 .1 .1 .2 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 5.925 255.651 256.367 2.4 .3 .2 .4 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... .776 136.551 130.687 3.1 -4.3 -.7 -1.7 -.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .............................. 24.905 261.034 261.503 1.7 .2 .1 .2 .1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................ 23.310 261.011 261.479 1.7 .2 .1 .2 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .349 128.416 128.777 1.0 .3 .3 .4 .3 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.096 220.450 218.199 3.4 -1.0 .7 -.2 -.3

Household energy .................................................................. 4.000 193.058 190.444 3.1 -1.4 .7 -.3 -.4 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ...................................................... .309 335.148 342.823 19.7 2.3 -.4 .1 2.3 

Energy services 3 ................................................................. 3.691 193.843 190.572 1.7 -1.7 .7 -.4 -.7 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... 1.095 181.916 182.254 4.7 .2 .7 .2 .2 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 4.409 125.223 125.073 .8 -.1 .0 .1 .0 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .772 152.415 152.578 1.6 .1 -.1 .3 .1 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.601 127.590 127.285 4.8 -.2 -1.1 .4 .6 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .882 119.506 119.930 6.3 .4 -.2 .6 1.2 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.520 115.851 115.603 5.3 -.2 -2.2 .6 .9 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .192 118.048 118.775 3.2 .6 -.3 -.8 1.2 

Footwear .................................................................................. .700 130.886 130.293 .7 -.5 .1 -1.0 -.3

Transportation ............................................................................ 17.308 212.127 211.358 8.0 -.4 1.0 -1.1 -.8 

Private transportation ............................................................... 16.082 207.404 206.635 8.2 -.4 1.0 -1.2 -.9

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 6.333 100.540 100.021 3.2 -.5 -.2 -.4 -.3 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 3.513 142.535 142.736 3.3 .1 .0 -.3 -.3 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 2.055 151.494 149.230 4.9 -1.5 -.6 -.6 -.1 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 5.079 296.944 294.049 19.9 -1.0 2.9 -3.1 -2.4 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 4.865 295.877 292.486 19.7 -1.1 2.9 -3.1 -2.4

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .408 145.308 146.338 5.5 .7 .1 -.2 .7 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.172 255.774 255.663 2.3 .0 .8 .2 .0 

Public transportation ................................................................ 1.227 269.158 268.478 5.3 -.3 .8 .0 .1 

Medical care ............................................................................... 6.627 403.430 404.858 3.4 .4 .2 .5 .4

Medical care commodities 1 ..................................................... 1.633 325.962 326.624 3.1 .2 .2 .3 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.994 427.467 429.191 3.5 .4 .2 .5 .5 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.830 337.257 337.347 2.1 .0 .1 .3 .2 

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

2010

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Nov. 2011 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Oct.

2011

Aug. to

Sep.

Sep. to

Oct.

Oct. to

Nov.

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services ................................................. 1.703 649.496 654.117 5.5 0.7 0.1 0.6 0.7 

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 6.293 113.270 113.232 .3 .0 -.1 -.1 .1 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.816 98.572 98.315 .1 -.3 .4 .3 -.1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.421 132.755 132.750 1.4 .0 .1 .2 .2 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 3.107 212.680 212.751 4.7 .0 .2 .4 .5 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .204 540.431 541.618 6.2 .2 1.3 .4 .7 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.903 611.458 611.581 4.6 .0 .1 .4 .5 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.313 83.049 83.016 -1.7 .0 -.1 .0 .0 

Information and information processing 2 .............................. 3.138 79.659 79.625 -2.0 .0 -.1 .0 .0 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.334 101.257 101.259 -1.0 .0 .1 .2 .0 

Information technology, hardware and services 5 ................ .804 8.882 8.866 -4.8 -.2 -.5 -.4 -.1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ............... .228 65.511 65.849 -12.2 .5 -1.2 -.8 .7 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.497 389.119 390.761 1.9 .4 .3 .1 .5 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ .906 842.785 843.604 2.8 .1 .7 .0 .1 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.591 209.232 210.354 1.5 .5 .2 .1 .6 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .671 160.705 161.585 .7 .5 .7 .3 .5 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .638 231.238 232.216 1.1 .4 .1 .1 .4 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.055 365.905 367.157 2.8 .3 .1 .2 .5 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 40.012 185.236 184.791 5.3 -.2 .5 -.4 -.3 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.792 230.885 230.656 4.4 -.1 .4 .1 .1 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 25.219 160.608 160.091 5.9 -.3 .5 -.8 -.5 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 15.474 209.518 208.902 8.6 -.3 .8 -1.4 -.1 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.601 127.590 127.285 4.8 -.2 -1.1 .4 .6 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 11.873 265.302 264.478 9.9 -.3 1.5 -1.8 -.6 

Durables ................................................................................... 9.745 112.822 112.405 1.7 -.4 -.4 -.4 -.4 

Services ....................................................................................... 59.988 267.352 267.413 2.1 .0 .2 .2 .1 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 31.607 263.717 263.931 1.8 .1 .3 .2 .3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .349 128.416 128.777 1.0 .3 .3 .4 .3 

Energy services 3 ....................................................................... 3.691 193.843 190.572 1.7 -1.7 .7 -.4 -.7 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... 1.095 181.916 182.254 4.7 .2 .7 .2 .2 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .772 152.415 152.578 1.6 .1 -.1 .3 .1 

Transportation services .............................................................. 6.140 269.487 270.117 2.6 .2 .5 .1 .1 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.994 427.467 429.191 3.5 .4 .2 .5 .5 

Other services ............................................................................ 11.340 316.933 317.275 1.9 .1 .1 .2 .3

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 86.258 225.717 225.532 3.2 -.1 .3 -.1 .0 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 68.045 218.558 218.205 4.1 -.2 .4 -.2 -.1 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 93.373 217.730 217.479 3.4 -.1 .3 -.1 .0 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 26.270 163.084 162.572 5.7 -.3 .5 -.7 -.4

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 16.525 210.697 210.101 8.2 -.3 .8 -1.3 -.1

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 12.923 260.703 259.934 9.1 -.3 1.3 -1.7 -.5 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 30.266 221.035 220.592 6.5 -.2 .6 -.6 .1 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 28.382 292.365 292.242 2.4 .0 .3 .2 .1 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 54.994 255.009 254.978 2.0 .0 .3 .2 .3 

Energy .......................................................................................... 9.079 240.902 238.177 12.4 -1.1 2.0 -2.0 -1.6 

All items less energy .................................................................... 90.921 226.754 226.818 2.5 .0 .1 .1 .2

All items less food and energy ................................................... 77.179 226.743 226.859 2.2 .1 .1 .1 .2 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 20.882 147.068 146.811 2.2 -.2 -.2 -.1 .1 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 5.388 300.916 298.530 19.9 -.8 2.7 -2.9 -2.1 

Services less energy services .................................................. 56.297 274.851 275.224 2.1 .1 .2 .2 .2 

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

 $ .442 $ .442 - ----

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ............. - $ .147 $ .148 - ----

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—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Feb.

2011

May

2011

Aug.

2011

Nov.

2011 May

2011

Nov.

2011

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 226.268 226.955 226.763 226.720 5.6 4.6 2.6 0.8 5.1 1.7 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 229.589 230.542 230.795 230.917 4.7 6.1 4.4 2.3 5.4 3.4

Food ................................................................................ 229.643 230.673 230.948 231.073 4.9 6.4 4.7 2.5 5.6 3.6 

Food at home ................................................................ 228.508 229.911 230.077 229.869 7.2 8.7 5.6 2.4 7.9 4.0 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 262.369 264.757 265.757 266.605 5.0 7.0 6.3 6.6 6.0 6.5 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 225.514 226.323 227.379 227.206 7.4 15.5 2.0 3.0 11.4 2.5 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 216.720 219.381 219.493 218.767 4.5 16.3 10.6 3.8 10.2 7.2 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 287.215 289.690 284.749 283.020 22.9 -2.2 6.1 -5.7 9.7 .0

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 168.012 167.995 168.863 169.220 2.3 8.5 4.2 2.9 5.4 3.5 

Other food at home ..................................................... 199.249 200.393 201.118 200.969 3.3 7.1 6.7 3.5 5.2 5.1 

Sugar and sweets 1 .................................................. 209.780 213.330 213.602 210.039 7.3 2.2 9.1 .5 4.7 4.7 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 222.384 223.600 224.341 226.162 10.9 16.9 10.0 7.0 13.9 8.5 

Other foods ............................................................... 211.126 211.873 212.752 212.965 1.4 6.6 5.7 3.5 3.9 4.6

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 125.193 125.044 125.461 125.702 2.7 6.4 6.1 1.6 4.6 3.9 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 232.513 233.032 233.459 234.046 1.9 3.4 3.5 2.7 2.6 3.1 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 163.468 163.334 163.978 164.120 3.7 1.6 2.4 1.6 2.6 2.0 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 227.345 227.285 227.240 227.322 1.7 3.1 .4 .0 2.4 .2

Housing ............................................................................. 219.780 220.162 220.446 220.631 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.6 2.0 1.8 

Shelter ............................................................................. 252.420 252.726 253.214 253.601 1.4 1.4 2.8 1.9 1.4 2.3 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 254.265 254.857 255.853 256.398 2.0 1.3 3.0 3.4 1.6 3.2 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 140.659 139.636 137.306 137.157 -.2 15.2 8.9 -9.6 7.2 -.8 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .................... 260.230 260.548 261.086 261.466 1.3 .9 2.5 1.9 1.1 2.2 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ....... 260.211 260.522 261.064 261.443 1.3 .9 2.5 1.9 1.1 2.2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 127.581 127.922 128.416 128.777 -3.0 .8 2.6 3.8 -1.1 3.2 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 221.155 222.606 222.093 221.414 8.0 6.7 -1.2 .5 7.3 -.3 

Household energy ......................................................... 194.359 195.624 194.943 194.073 8.4 7.2 -2.3 -.6 7.8 -1.4

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ............................................. 335.995 334.735 335.148 342.823 69.9 26.9 -12.1 8.4 46.8 -2.4 

Energy services 3 ........................................................ 195.223 196.677 195.909 194.549 4.3 5.6 -1.3 -1.4 5.0 -1.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 180.159 181.374 181.744 182.124 6.5 4.8 3.1 4.4 5.6 3.7 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 125.275 125.249 125.369 125.428 .1 1.2 1.3 .5 .6 .9 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 152.066 151.967 152.415 152.578 3.2 1.0 .9 1.4 2.1 1.1 

Apparel .............................................................................. 124.934 123.529 124.021 124.802 .8 3.2 16.2 -.4 2.0 7.5 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 116.898 116.635 117.293 118.669 -.8 3.0 17.6 6.2 1.1 11.8

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 112.690 110.218 110.866 111.907 1.3 2.8 21.4 -2.8 2.0 8.6

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 116.559 116.253 115.333 116.712 -11.7 4.5 22.2 .5 -3.9 10.8

Footwear ......................................................................... 129.766 129.833 128.577 128.246 1.1 2.7 3.9 -4.6 1.9 -.5 

Transportation ................................................................... 215.052 217.280 214.819 213.076 22.7 14.2 1.1 -3.6 18.4 -1.3 

Private transportation ...................................................... 210.575 212.785 210.201 208.351 22.7 15.0 1.7 -4.2 18.8 -1.2 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 101.297 101.095 100.651 100.359 1.0 10.7 5.3 -3.7 5.7 .7 

New vehicles ............................................................... 143.572 143.509 143.020 142.605 2.8 10.7 2.6 -2.7 6.7 .0 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 153.211 152.354 151.440 151.235 -.9 12.9 14.0 -5.1 5.8 4.0

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 309.112 318.141 308.228 300.919 81.2 30.3 -2.4 -10.2 53.6 -6.4 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 308.398 317.446 307.494 300.146 79.0 30.8 -2.3 -10.3 53.0 -6.4 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 145.537 145.646 145.308 146.338 6.3 7.0 6.3 2.2 6.7 4.2 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 253.337 255.244 255.774 255.663 1.6 2.5 1.5 3.7 2.0 2.6 

Public transportation ....................................................... 267.455 269.718 269.679 270.023 22.2 4.2 -7.1 3.9 12.8 -1.7 

Medical care ...................................................................... 401.431 402.269 404.134 405.817 3.1 3.2 2.7 4.4 3.2 3.6 

Medical care commodities 1 ............................................ 324.395 325.130 325.962 326.624 5.7 4.1 .0 2.8 4.9 1.4 

Medical care services ..................................................... 425.328 426.192 428.457 430.539 2.3 2.9 3.6 5.0 2.6 4.3

Professional services .................................................... 336.426 336.855 337.940 338.505 2.2 1.0 2.5 2.5 1.6 2.5

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—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Feb.

2011

May

2011

Aug.

2011

Nov.

2011 May

2011

Nov.

2011

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services ........................................ 647.003 647.688 651.366 655.671 4.5 6.4 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.6 

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 113.461 113.379 113.299 113.381 .9 1.0 -.2 -.3 .9 -.2 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 98.047 98.421 98.742 98.676 -.7 .1 -1.5 2.6 -.3 .5 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 131.685 131.772 132.015 132.333 .8 1.3 1.6 2.0 1.0 1.8 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 209.073 209.477 210.224 211.311 5.4 4.2 5.0 4.4 4.8 4.7 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 528.860 535.859 537.994 541.856 7.1 5.7 1.7 10.2 6.4 5.9 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 601.281 601.966 604.094 607.131 5.3 4.1 5.2 3.9 4.7 4.6 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 83.112 83.064 83.078 83.052 -3.4 -1.4 -1.6 -.3 -2.4 -.9 

Information and information processing 2 ..................... 79.722 79.673 79.688 79.662 -4.4 -1.6 -1.7 -.3 -3.0 -1.0 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 101.006 101.084 101.257 101.259 -3.9 -.6 -.6 1.0 -2.3 .2 

Information technology, hardware and services 5 ....... 8.975 8.933 8.895 8.882 -5.8 -4.5 -4.7 -4.1 -5.2 -4.4 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ..... 67.192 66.391 65.874 66.318 -16.0 -9.1 -17.9 -5.1 -12.6 -11.7 

Other goods and services ................................................. 387.673 388.859 389.064 390.879 1.9 -.6 2.9 3.3 .6 3.1

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 837.427 843.141 842.785 843.604 4.3 -1.8 5.8 3.0 1.2 4.4 

Personal care .................................................................. 208.649 209.012 209.193 210.441 1.0 -.2 1.8 3.5 .4 2.7 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 159.017 160.162 160.705 161.585 2.3 -4.5 -1.2 6.6 -1.1 2.7 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 230.779 230.974 231.238 232.216 1.0 .6 .5 2.5 .8 1.5 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 364.537 364.789 365.594 367.300 1.9 2.4 3.9 3.1 2.2 3.5 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 185.783 186.622 185.783 185.276 11.2 8.4 3.4 -1.1 9.8 1.1 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 229.589 230.542 230.795 230.917 4.7 6.1 4.4 2.3 5.4 3.4

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 161.879 162.643 161.394 160.650 15.2 9.7 2.9 -3.0 12.4 -.1 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 211.198 212.876 209.810 209.529 25.4 12.9 1.4 -3.1 19.0 -.9 

Apparel .......................................................................... 124.934 123.529 124.021 124.802 .8 3.2 16.2 -.4 2.0 7.5 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 269.682 273.642 268.818 267.123 32.3 16.9 -2.2 -3.7 24.4 -3.0 

Durables .......................................................................... 114.000 113.488 113.001 112.495 1.3 6.7 4.2 -5.2 4.0 -.6 

Services .............................................................................. 266.471 267.015 267.482 267.869 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 262.558 263.256 263.905 264.781 .8 .9 2.2 3.4 .9 2.8 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 127.581 127.922 128.416 128.777 -3.0 .8 2.6 3.8 -1.1 3.2 

Energy services 3 .............................................................. 195.223 196.677 195.909 194.549 4.3 5.6 -1.3 -1.4 5.0 -1.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 180.159 181.374 181.744 182.124 6.5 4.8 3.1 4.4 5.6 3.7 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 152.066 151.967 152.415 152.578 3.2 1.0 .9 1.4 2.1 1.1 

Transportation services ..................................................... 267.867 269.113 269.469 269.605 5.1 3.6 -.8 2.6 4.4 .9 

Medical care services ....................................................... 425.328 426.192 428.457 430.539 2.3 2.9 3.6 5.0 2.6 4.3 

Other services ................................................................... 315.150 315.430 315.958 316.890 1.4 2.0 1.9 2.2 1.7 2.0 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 225.757 226.389 226.124 226.054 5.8 4.4 2.3 .5 5.1 1.4 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 218.612 219.458 218.994 218.781 7.7 6.2 2.6 .3 6.9 1.4 

All items less medical care .................................................. 217.649 218.324 218.055 217.947 5.8 4.7 2.6 .5 5.3 1.6 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 164.317 165.062 163.841 163.117 14.7 9.4 2.8 -2.9 12.0 -.1 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 212.073 213.675 210.929 210.810 23.4 12.6 .8 -2.4 17.9 -.8 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 264.643 268.178 263.695 262.297 29.6 16.1 -2.2 -3.5 22.6 -2.9

Nondurables ........................................................................ 221.179 222.435 221.009 221.167 14.3 10.7 1.9 .0 12.5 .9 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 291.055 291.867 292.461 292.863 3.1 3.0 .9 2.5 3.0 1.7 

Services less medical care services ................................... 253.904 254.668 255.055 255.717 1.7 1.9 1.4 2.9 1.8 2.2 

Energy ................................................................................. 247.367 252.319 247.248 243.319 45.1 20.3 -2.3 -6.4 32.1 -4.4 

All items less energy ........................................................... 225.930 226.190 226.491 226.841 2.2 3.0 3.2 1.6 2.6 2.4 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 226.014 226.137 226.444 226.836 1.8 2.5 2.9 1.5 2.1 2.2

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 146.897 146.533 146.428 146.573 1.2 3.9 4.8 -.9 2.5 1.9 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 312.602 321.179 311.714 305.104 80.6 30.1 -2.9 -9.3 53.3 -6.2 

Services less energy services ......................................... 273.755 274.216 274.800 275.351 2.0 1.9 2.2 2.4 1.9 2.3 

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

Nov.2011 from—

Percent change to

Oct.2011 from—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Oct.

2010

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

U.S. city average ............................................ M 226.545 226.889 226.421 226.230 3.4 -0.3 -0.1 3.5 -0.1 -0.2 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 243.033 243.323 243.014 242.652 3.2 -.3 -.1 3.6 .0 -.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 244.601 244.983 244.534 244.076 3.1 -.4 -.2 3.4 .0 -.2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 145.339 145.369 145.404 145.335 3.6 .0 .0 4.0 .0 .0 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 216.586 216.968 215.653 215.614 3.3 -.6 .0 3.3 -.4 -.6 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 216.870 217.360 216.130 216.097 3.2 -.6 .0 3.3 -.3 -.6 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 139.451 139.542 138.573 138.453 3.3 -.8 -.1 3.4 -.6 -.7 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 213.009 213.606 212.476 212.907 3.3 -.3 .2 3.4 -.3 -.5 

South urban .................................................... M 220.471 220.371 219.969 219.961 3.8 -.2 .0 3.7 -.2 -.2 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 221.685 221.242 220.515 220.654 3.4 -.3 .1 3.2 -.5 -.3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 140.378 140.471 140.303 140.218 3.9 -.2 -.1 4.0 -.1 -.1 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 224.613 224.462 224.574 224.714 4.2 .1 .1 4.3 .0 .0 

West urban ..................................................... M 228.222 229.147 229.195 228.771 3.2 -.2 -.2 3.4 .4 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 232.219 233.221 233.259 232.851 3.1 -.2 -.2 3.2 .4 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 138.171 138.564 138.696 138.411 3.3 -.1 -.2 3.7 .4 .1 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 206.524 206.883 206.393 206.201 3.2 -.3 -.1 3.3 -.1 -.2 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 140.440 140.584 140.355 140.225 3.6 -.3 -.1 3.8 -.1 -.2 

D ................................................................. M 219.856 220.391 219.959 220.020 3.7 -.2 .0 3.8 .0 -.2 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 219.688 220.027 219.592 219.181 2.9 -.4 -.2 2.9 .0 -.2 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 231.833 233.022 233.049 232.731 3.0 -.1 -.1 2.8 .5 .0 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 250.058 250.559 250.051 249.317 3.0 -.5 -.3 3.3 .0 -.2 

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

 245.310 - 245.030 2.9 -.1 ----

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 213.004 - 211.225 2.5 -.8 ----

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 - 209.255 - 209.283 4.0 .0 ----

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 147.658 - 147.565 3.3 -.1 ----

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 212.335 - 209.182 ---- 3.1 -1.5 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 213.924 - 212.927 ---- 3.5 -.5 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 202.445 - 201.398 ---- 3.2 -.5 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 232.749 - 232.141 ---- 3.8 -.3 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 236.196 - 235.440 ---- 3.0 -.3 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 234.608 - 235.331 ---- 3.2 .3 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 233.810 - 235.916 ---- 3.8 .9 -

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

2010

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Nov. 2011 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Oct.

2011

Aug. to

Sep.

Sep. to

Oct.

Oct. to

Nov.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 223.043 222.813 3.8 -0.1 0.4 -0.1 -0.1 

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

 664.376 663.692 - ----

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.401 230.420 230.186 4.5 -.1 .5 .1 .1 

Food ......................................................................................... 15.315 230.406 230.143 4.7 -.1 .5 .1 .1 

Food at home ......................................................................... 8.906 229.269 228.405 6.0 -.4 .6 .1 -.1 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.236 266.335 266.639 6.4 .1 1.0 .4 .4 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 2.227 228.019 227.643 7.0 -.2 .4 .5 -.1 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .917 218.451 217.557 8.7 -.4 1.2 .0 -.4 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.219 282.345 279.989 4.9 -.8 1.0 -1.5 -.7 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ 1.091 168.262 167.739 4.2 -.3 .0 .5 .2 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.217 200.430 199.146 5.2 -.6 .5 .3 .0 

Sugar and sweets 1 ............................................................ .324 212.276 209.091 4.8 -1.5 1.5 .3 -1.5 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .258 227.230 226.119 11.6 -.5 .5 .4 .8 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.635 212.673 211.618 4.3 -.5 .4 .3 .1 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .463 125.681 125.761 4.2 .1 -.1 .4 .1 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.409 233.622 234.240 2.9 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .326 165.008 165.228 2.4 .1 -.1 .4 .1 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.086 229.194 229.379 1.6 .1 .2 .0 .1 

Housing ...................................................................................... 39.228 216.843 216.723 2.0 -.1 .2 .1 .1 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 29.811 246.922 247.313 1.9 .2 .1 .2 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 8.396 253.727 254.446 2.4 .3 .2 .3 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... .436 137.128 131.860 2.8 -3.8 -1.0 -1.6 .2 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .............................. 20.672 236.407 236.869 1.6 .2 .1 .2 .2 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................ 19.942 236.397 236.859 1.6 .2 .1 .2 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .306 129.562 129.912 1.1 .3 .3 .4 .3 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.633 218.952 216.546 3.4 -1.1 .7 -.3 -.3

Household energy .................................................................. 4.476 190.976 188.244 3.1 -1.4 .7 -.4 -.4 

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ...................................................... .301 334.886 342.717 19.0 2.3 -.2 .2 2.3 

Energy services 3 ................................................................. 4.175 193.001 189.671 2.0 -1.7 .8 -.5 -.6 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... 1.157 182.337 182.664 4.6 .2 .7 .2 .2 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 3.784 121.642 121.459 1.0 -.2 .1 .1 .0 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .364 155.235 155.567 1.8 .2 -.1 .3 .2 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.668 126.966 126.764 5.1 -.2 -.6 .2 .6 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .921 120.512 120.739 7.0 .2 .3 1.2 .9 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.502 115.638 115.324 5.4 -.3 -1.6 .1 .8 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .280 121.409 122.228 3.7 .7 -.3 -.6 1.2 

Footwear .................................................................................. .750 130.799 130.676 1.9 -.1 -.1 -1.1 .2 

Transportation ............................................................................ 19.418 213.013 212.119 8.8 -.4 1.1 -1.2 -.9 

Private transportation ............................................................... 18.631 209.647 208.743 9.0 -.4 1.1 -1.3 -1.0

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 6.914 100.187 99.539 3.7 -.6 -.3 -.4 -.3 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 3.320 143.539 143.778 3.3 .2 -.1 -.3 -.3 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 3.003 152.569 150.310 5.0 -1.5 -.5 -.6 -.1 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 6.470 297.935 295.069 20.0 -1.0 2.8 -3.1 -2.4 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 6.193 296.999 293.628 19.7 -1.1 2.8 -3.2 -2.7

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .479 145.326 146.151 5.4 .6 .2 -.2 .6 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.184 258.440 258.342 2.3 .0 .8 .2 .0 

Public transportation ................................................................ .787 266.204 265.815 5.4 -.1 .6 .0 .1 

Medical care ............................................................................... 5.355 405.472 407.128 3.5 .4 .2 .5 .5

Medical care commodities 1 ..................................................... 1.318 317.901 318.671 3.4 .2 .2 .3 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.038 431.274 433.269 3.6 .5 .2 .6 .5 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.220 341.110 341.148 2.2 .0 .1 .4 .2 

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

2010

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Nov. 2011 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Oct.

2011

Aug. to

Sep.

Sep. to

Oct.

Oct. to

Nov.

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services ................................................. 1.414 652.231 657.707 5.7 0.8 0.0 0.6 0.8 

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 5.862 109.869 109.723 .6 -.1 -.1 .0 .0 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.959 99.339 99.095 .3 -.2 .3 .4 -.1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.118 126.415 126.392 .7 .0 .0 .2 .1 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 2.380 209.343 209.453 4.6 .1 .2 .5 .5 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .199 546.888 548.418 6.8 .3 1.3 .5 .7 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.181 588.222 588.409 4.4 .0 .1 .5 .4 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.738 85.543 85.486 -1.8 -.1 .0 .0 -.1 

Information and information processing 2 .............................. 3.605 83.196 83.139 -2.0 -.1 .0 .0 -.1 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.823 100.616 100.620 -1.3 .0 .1 .1 .0 

Information technology, hardware and services 5 ................ .782 9.440 9.408 -4.5 -.3 -.5 -.3 -.3 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ............... .208 65.342 65.613 -12.1 .4 -1.3 -.4 .5 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.950 419.067 420.462 2.0 .3 .4 .0 .4 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ 1.450 847.868 848.791 2.8 .1 .7 -.1 .1 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.500 206.887 207.847 1.5 .5 .2 .0 .5 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .717 160.970 161.716 .6 .5 .6 .2 .5 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .572 231.409 232.222 1.0 .4 .1 .1 .4 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.027 366.867 368.036 2.7 .3 .1 .1 .4 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 43.898 189.605 189.073 5.9 -.3 .6 -.5 -.3 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.401 230.420 230.186 4.5 -.1 .5 .1 .1 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 27.497 167.147 166.502 6.8 -.4 .6 -.9 -.6 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 17.244 220.916 220.183 9.5 -.3 1.0 -1.5 -.2 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.668 126.966 126.764 5.1 -.2 -.6 .2 .6

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 13.576 284.081 283.006 10.7 -.4 1.6 -1.8 -.9 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.253 114.872 114.319 2.2 -.5 -.5 -.4 -.5 

Services ....................................................................................... 56.102 262.427 262.535 2.1 .0 .2 .2 .1 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 29.504 237.944 238.318 1.9 .2 .2 .3 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .306 129.562 129.912 1.1 .3 .3 .4 .3 

Energy services 3 ....................................................................... 4.175 193.001 189.671 2.0 -1.7 .8 -.5 -.6 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... 1.157 182.337 182.664 4.6 .2 .7 .2 .2 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .364 155.235 155.567 1.8 .2 -.1 .3 .2 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.994 270.160 271.172 2.8 .4 .4 .2 .1 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.038 431.274 433.269 3.6 .5 .2 .6 .5 

Other services ............................................................................ 10.563 301.477 301.609 1.4 .0 .1 .2 .2

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 84.685 221.548 221.324 3.6 -.1 .4 -.2 -.1 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 70.189 216.732 216.274 4.6 -.2 .5 -.3 -.2 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 94.645 215.626 215.342 3.8 -.1 .4 -.2 -.1

Commodities less food ................................................................. 28.583 169.349 168.725 6.6 -.4 .6 -.9 -.6

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 18.329 221.629 220.944 9.0 -.3 .9 -1.5 -.1

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 14.662 278.162 277.198 10.0 -.3 1.5 -1.7 -.7 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 33.644 226.642 226.140 7.0 -.2 .7 -.7 .0 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 26.598 257.887 257.664 2.3 -.1 .3 .2 .1 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 52.065 250.733 250.753 1.9 .0 .3 .2 .2 

Energy .......................................................................................... 10.946 242.844 240.073 12.9 -1.1 2.0 -2.1 -1.7 

All items less energy .................................................................... 89.054 221.643 221.720 2.7 .0 .2 .1 .1

All items less food and energy ................................................... 73.739 220.258 220.404 2.2 .1 .1 .1 .2 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 21.812 149.890 149.572 2.6 -.2 -.1 -.1 .1 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 6.771 300.937 298.469 19.9 -.8 2.7 -3.0 -2.2 

Services less energy services .................................................. 51.927 270.000 270.500 2.1 .2 .2 .3 .2 

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

 $ .448 $ .449 - ----

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ............. - $ .151 $ .151 - ----

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—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Feb.

2011

May

2011

Aug.

2011

Nov.

2011 May

2011

Nov.

2011

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 223.010 223.845 223.535 223.363 6.6 5.3 2.7 0.6 5.9 1.7 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 229.016 230.060 230.351 230.472 4.6 6.4 4.4 2.6 5.5 3.5

Food ................................................................................ 228.952 230.030 230.337 230.457 4.9 6.6 4.7 2.7 5.8 3.7 

Food at home ................................................................ 227.458 228.884 229.153 228.934 7.3 9.0 5.4 2.6 8.1 4.0 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 263.058 265.587 266.730 267.677 5.1 6.9 6.4 7.2 6.0 6.8 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 225.516 226.446 227.546 227.302 7.6 16.1 1.8 3.2 11.8 2.5 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 215.910 218.406 218.451 217.557 4.6 17.1 10.7 3.1 10.7 6.8 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 284.468 287.175 282.740 280.755 24.2 -2.8 6.0 -5.1 9.9 .3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 167.199 167.262 168.076 168.479 1.6 8.2 4.0 3.1 4.8 3.5 

Other food at home ..................................................... 198.478 199.568 200.240 200.154 3.6 7.1 6.8 3.4 5.3 5.1 

Sugar and sweets 1 .................................................. 208.537 211.591 212.276 209.091 7.9 1.6 8.9 1.1 4.7 4.9 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 223.640 224.718 225.509 227.310 11.2 15.7 12.8 6.7 13.4 9.7 

Other foods ............................................................... 211.152 211.956 212.671 212.891 1.6 6.9 5.5 3.3 4.2 4.4

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 125.327 125.167 125.681 125.761 3.0 7.0 5.5 1.4 4.9 3.4 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 232.682 233.257 233.622 234.240 1.7 3.4 3.8 2.7 2.6 3.3 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 164.551 164.421 165.008 165.228 3.3 1.9 2.6 1.7 2.6 2.1 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 228.514 229.060 229.130 229.262 .9 3.8 .3 1.3 2.4 .8

Housing ............................................................................. 216.430 216.896 217.175 217.376 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.1 1.9 

Shelter ............................................................................. 246.170 246.496 247.041 247.477 1.5 1.2 2.6 2.1 1.4 2.3 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 252.486 253.029 253.907 254.476 2.1 1.3 2.9 3.2 1.7 3.0 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 141.783 140.409 138.160 138.422 -.7 16.6 6.0 -9.2 7.6 -1.9 

Owners’ equivalent rent of residences 3 4 .................... 235.681 235.969 236.463 236.831 1.4 .9 2.3 2.0 1.1 2.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ....... 235.674 235.959 236.454 236.821 1.4 .9 2.3 2.0 1.1 2.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 128.727 129.090 129.562 129.912 -1.6 -.5 2.7 3.7 -1.1 3.2 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 219.783 221.302 220.648 219.974 7.3 6.8 -.6 .3 7.0 -.1 

Household energy ......................................................... 192.373 193.702 192.887 192.056 7.6 7.2 -1.5 -.7 7.4 -1.1

Fuel oil and other fuels 1 ............................................. 334.935 334.361 334.886 342.717 66.1 25.2 -12.0 9.6 44.2 -1.8 

Energy services 3 ........................................................ 194.520 195.994 195.083 193.825 4.3 5.9 -.6 -1.4 5.1 -1.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 180.557 181.809 182.163 182.494 6.1 5.0 3.0 4.4 5.5 3.7 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 121.447 121.613 121.679 121.730 -.2 1.8 1.5 .9 .8 1.2 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 154.879 154.718 155.235 155.567 2.4 1.8 1.3 1.8 2.1 1.5 

Apparel .............................................................................. 123.897 123.110 123.381 124.145 .9 3.9 15.4 .8 2.4 7.9 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 116.537 116.944 118.380 119.388 .8 2.6 15.1 10.2 1.7 12.6

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 112.099 110.315 110.444 111.363 1.5 3.5 20.7 -2.6 2.5 8.4

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 120.035 119.637 118.953 120.347 -11.6 4.7 23.5 1.0 -3.8 11.7 

Footwear ......................................................................... 130.189 130.053 128.627 128.839 2.5 4.9 4.6 -4.1 3.7 .2 

Transportation ................................................................... 216.457 218.765 216.031 214.037 25.2 15.6 1.8 -4.4 20.3 -1.4 

Private transportation ...................................................... 213.215 215.526 212.729 210.680 25.3 16.1 2.1 -4.7 20.6 -1.3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 100.947 100.694 100.304 100.029 .9 11.2 6.8 -3.6 5.9 1.5 

New vehicles ............................................................... 144.511 144.429 144.033 143.590 3.0 10.6 2.5 -2.5 6.7 -.1 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 154.229 153.401 152.535 152.333 -.9 12.7 14.2 -4.8 5.7 4.2

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 310.629 319.294 309.254 301.734 82.5 30.3 -2.2 -11.0 54.2 -6.7 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 310.120 318.744 308.583 300.344 82.1 30.9 -2.0 -12.0 54.4 -7.2 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 145.390 145.652 145.326 146.151 6.2 7.3 6.1 2.1 6.7 4.1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 256.077 258.001 258.440 258.342 1.5 2.4 1.6 3.6 1.9 2.6 

Public transportation ....................................................... 264.968 266.655 266.551 266.708 22.2 4.5 -6.0 2.7 13.0 -1.7 

Medical care ...................................................................... 403.355 404.101 406.170 408.043 3.4 3.3 2.7 4.7 3.3 3.7 

Medical care commodities 1 ............................................ 316.299 316.869 317.901 318.671 5.9 4.3 .3 3.0 5.1 1.6 

Medical care services ..................................................... 428.997 429.797 432.259 434.560 2.6 3.0 3.5 5.3 2.8 4.4

Professional services .................................................... 340.063 340.515 341.718 342.285 2.5 1.1 2.5 2.6 1.8 2.6

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—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Feb.

2011

May

2011

Aug.

2011

Nov.

2011 May

2011

Nov.

2011

Expenditure category

Hospital and related services ........................................ 650.044 650.292 653.945 658.879 5.0 6.6 5.8 5.5 5.8 5.7 

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 110.007 109.921 109.929 109.877 1.9 1.2 -.3 -.5 1.5 -.4 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 98.741 99.049 99.493 99.413 -.3 .2 -1.4 2.8 .0 .7 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 125.576 125.624 125.928 126.108 -.6 .8 .8 1.7 .1 1.2 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 205.796 206.130 207.239 208.172 5.4 4.3 4.0 4.7 4.8 4.4 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 534.305 541.400 544.346 548.369 9.1 5.1 2.2 11.0 7.1 6.5 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 578.589 578.907 582.018 584.481 5.0 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.6 4.2 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 85.568 85.530 85.570 85.517 -4.2 -1.4 -1.3 -.2 -2.8 -.8 

Information and information processing 2 ..................... 83.221 83.182 83.223 83.170 -4.9 -1.5 -1.4 -.2 -3.2 -.8 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 100.405 100.475 100.616 100.620 -4.7 -.6 -.8 .9 -2.7 .0 

Information technology, hardware and services 5 ....... 9.527 9.482 9.455 9.425 -5.8 -4.4 -3.5 -4.2 -5.1 -3.9 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 6 ..... 66.880 66.005 65.750 66.076 -16.6 -10.9 -15.5 -4.7 -13.8 -10.3 

Other goods and services ................................................. 417.579 419.144 419.022 420.534 2.7 -1.2 3.5 2.9 .8 3.2

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 842.479 848.513 847.868 848.791 4.3 -2.0 6.1 3.0 1.1 4.5 

Personal care .................................................................. 206.492 206.855 206.852 207.903 1.8 -.7 2.0 2.8 .6 2.4 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 159.655 160.623 160.970 161.716 2.9 -4.6 -1.1 5.3 -.9 2.1 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 230.907 231.139 231.409 232.222 1.0 .5 .3 2.3 .7 1.3 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 365.672 366.100 366.640 368.253 2.6 2.3 3.0 2.9 2.5 2.9 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 190.282 191.372 190.348 189.684 12.7 9.3 3.7 -1.3 11.0 1.2 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 229.016 230.060 230.351 230.472 4.6 6.4 4.4 2.6 5.5 3.5

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 168.690 169.769 168.215 167.235 17.8 10.9 3.2 -3.4 14.3 -.2 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 222.967 225.168 221.806 221.403 28.1 14.3 .9 -2.8 21.0 -.9 

Apparel .......................................................................... 123.897 123.110 123.381 124.145 .9 3.9 15.4 .8 2.4 7.9 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 289.480 294.063 288.888 286.359 34.7 18.8 -1.9 -4.2 26.5 -3.1 

Durables .......................................................................... 116.073 115.500 115.002 114.444 1.5 8.0 5.4 -5.5 4.7 -.2 

Services .............................................................................. 261.562 262.136 262.648 262.993 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.0 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 237.045 237.511 238.113 238.707 1.3 .9 2.4 2.8 1.1 2.6 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 128.727 129.090 129.562 129.912 -1.6 -.5 2.7 3.7 -1.1 3.2 

Energy services 3 .............................................................. 194.520 195.994 195.083 193.825 4.3 5.9 -.6 -1.4 5.1 -1.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 180.557 181.809 182.163 182.494 6.1 5.0 3.0 4.4 5.5 3.7 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 154.879 154.718 155.235 155.567 2.4 1.8 1.3 1.8 2.1 1.5 

Transportation services ..................................................... 268.407 269.601 270.174 270.407 4.1 4.0 .2 3.0 4.0 1.6

Medical care services ....................................................... 428.997 429.797 432.259 434.560 2.6 3.0 3.5 5.3 2.8 4.4 

Other services ................................................................... 299.911 300.175 300.871 301.416 .9 1.8 1.1 2.0 1.3 1.6 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 221.765 222.557 222.138 221.915 6.9 5.0 2.3 .3 6.0 1.3 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 216.959 217.988 217.364 216.969 8.8 7.0 2.8 .0 7.9 1.4 

All items less medical care .................................................. 215.656 216.487 216.108 215.876 6.8 5.4 2.7 .4 6.1 1.5 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 170.837 171.906 170.390 169.437 17.1 10.6 3.1 -3.2 13.8 -.1 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 223.538 225.645 222.347 222.079 26.3 13.9 .8 -2.6 20.0 -.9 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 283.019 287.198 282.244 280.213 31.9 18.0 -1.9 -3.9 24.7 -2.9

Nondurables ........................................................................ 226.992 228.532 226.833 226.847 16.0 11.8 1.5 -.3 13.9 .6 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 256.800 257.577 258.101 258.375 2.9 3.1 .7 2.5 3.0 1.6 

Services less medical care services ................................... 249.772 250.450 250.871 251.321 1.9 2.0 1.5 2.5 1.9 2.0 

Energy ................................................................................. 249.914 254.922 249.471 245.282 47.6 21.0 -1.9 -7.2 33.7 -4.6 

All items less energy ........................................................... 220.749 221.083 221.394 221.708 2.3 3.3 3.4 1.7 2.8 2.5 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 219.477 219.660 219.972 220.326 1.7 2.6 3.1 1.6 2.2 2.3

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 149.589 149.394 149.226 149.345 1.3 4.4 5.5 -.7 2.9 2.4 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 313.210 321.564 311.879 304.912 81.7 30.1 -2.6 -10.2 53.8 -6.5 

Services less energy services ......................................... 268.865 269.335 270.009 270.537 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.5 1.9 2.3 

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 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

Nov.2011 from—

Percent change to

Oct.2011 from—

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Nov.

2011

Nov.

2010

Sep.

2011

Oct.

2011

Oct.

2010

Aug.

2011

Sep.

2011

U.S. city average ............................................ M 223.326 223.688 223.043 222.813 3.8 -0.4 -0.1 3.9 -0.1 -0.3 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 241.431 241.838 241.549 241.167 3.5 -.3 -.2 3.9 .0 -.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 241.191 241.752 241.355 240.912 3.4 -.3 -.2 3.7 .1 -.2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 146.985 147.039 146.999 146.843 3.8 -.1 -.1 4.4 .0 .0 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 213.212 213.626 212.038 211.969 3.7 -.8 .0 3.8 -.6 -.7 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 212.589 213.070 211.604 211.505 3.6 -.7 .0 3.8 -.5 -.7 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 140.207 140.363 139.157 139.048 3.7 -.9 -.1 3.8 -.7 -.9 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 211.873 212.520 211.193 211.533 3.7 -.5 .2 3.8 -.3 -.6 

South urban .................................................... M 218.947 218.787 218.109 218.030 4.1 -.3 .0 4.2 -.4 -.3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 220.583 220.130 219.075 219.215 3.8 -.4 .1 3.6 -.7 -.5 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 140.190 140.229 139.879 139.721 4.3 -.4 -.1 4.4 -.2 -.2 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 225.793 225.478 225.364 225.404 4.4 .0 .0 4.6 -.2 -.1 

West urban ..................................................... M 223.204 224.237 224.268 223.785 3.5 -.2 -.2 3.7 .5 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 225.662 226.764 226.759 226.250 3.4 -.2 -.2 3.5 .5 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 138.255 138.770 138.884 138.587 3.6 -.1 -.2 3.9 .5 .1 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 206.077 206.484 205.846 205.627 3.5 -.4 -.1 3.7 -.1 -.3 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 140.723 140.883 140.505 140.330 4.0 -.4 -.1 4.2 -.2 -.3 

D ................................................................. M 219.093 219.494 218.914 218.973 4.0 -.2 .0 4.2 -.1 -.3 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 214.740 215.005 214.145 213.704 3.4 -.6 -.2 3.5 -.3 -.4 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 224.665 226.096 226.116 225.786 3.2 -.1 -.1 3.1 .6 .0 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 246.025 246.877 246.297 245.546 3.3 -.5 -.3 3.7 .1 -.2 

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

 246.424 - 246.349 3.1 .0 ----

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 204.981 - 202.824 2.7 -1.1 ----

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 - 214.567 - 214.581 4.7 .0 ----

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 148.352 - 148.038 3.6 -.2 ----

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 212.325 - 208.362 ---- 3.2 -1.9 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 210.377 - 209.427 ---- 3.7 -.5 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 201.772 - 200.464 ---- 3.8 -.6 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 231.448 - 230.728 ---- 4.2 -.3 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 236.583 - 236.478 ---- 3.4 .0 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 231.445 - 232.371 ---- 3.6 .4 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 230.558 - 232.697 ---- 4.3 .9 -

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

 Nov. 2011 from—

 Oct.

 2011

 Nov.

 2011

 Nov.

 2010

 Oct.

 2011

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 130.204 130.066 3.2 -0.1

Food and beverages ................................................................ 14.519 134.314 134.171 4.3 -.1 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.493 134.634 134.494 4.5 -.1 

Food at home ....................................................................... 7.780 130.946 130.468 5.8 -.4 

Food away from home .......................................................... 5.712 139.620 139.972 2.9 .3 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................................... 1.027 130.875 130.692 1.0 -.1 

Housing .................................................................................... 42.074 130.320 130.194 1.8 -.1 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.119 133.626 133.712 1.8 .1 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 5.231 161.388 159.730 3.1 -1.0 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 4.724 92.578 92.441 .4 -.1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 3.772 95.481 95.243 4.3 -.2 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.199 142.880 142.352 8.1 -.4 

Private transportation ............................................................. 16.013 143.766 143.221 8.3 -.4 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.186 131.592 131.272 5.1 -.2 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.294 155.987 156.542 3.2 .4 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.570 137.242 137.526 3.0 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.723 162.877 163.537 3.3 .4 

Recreation ................................................................................ 6.625 101.882 101.658 -.6 -.2 

Education and communication ................................................. 6.288 113.920 113.913 .7 .0 

Education ............................................................................... 2.804 195.853 195.884 4.5 .0 

Communication ...................................................................... 3.484 70.913 70.896 -2.2 .0 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.229 143.137 143.798 2.8 .5 

Commodity and service group

Services ...................................................................................... 59.383 138.535 138.534 2.0 .0 

Commodities .............................................................................. 40.617 120.236 119.922 4.9 -.3 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.376 81.145 80.807 .7 -.4 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 30.241 140.744 140.452 6.4 -.2 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 76.901 122.605 122.630 1.9 .0 

Energy ........................................................................................ 9.606 204.473 202.191 12.0 -1.1 

Indexes for 2011 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2010 are interim adjustments.

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