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Department

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Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

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INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ Thursday, August 14, 2008 

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: JULY 2008 

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

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

level of 219.964 (1982-84=100) was 5.6 percent higher than in July 2007. 

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.5 

percent in July, prior to seasonal adjustment. The July level of 216.304 (1982-84=100) was 6.2 percent higher 

than in July 2007. 

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in July 

on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The July level of 126.116 (December 1999=100) was 4.8 percent higher 

than in July 2007. Please note that the indexes for the post-2006 period are subject to revision.

CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U advanced 0.8 percent in July, following a 1.1 percent increase 

in June. The index for energy rose sharply for the third straight month, increasing 4.0 percent in July and 

accounting for about half of the overall increase in the all items index. The food index rose 0.9 percent in July 

after rising 0.8 percent in June. The index for food at home rose 1.2 percent in July after rising 1.0 percent in 

June. Indexes for five of the six major grocery store food groups rose at least 1.0 percent. The index for all 

items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in July, the second straight such increase. The indexes for 

apparel and for recreation increased more sharply than in June, but the indexes for shelter and medical care rose 

more slowly. 

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

Expenditure

Category

Seasonally adjusted

Unadjusted

12-mos.

ended

July 2008

Changes from preceding month Compound

annual rate

3-mos. ended

July 2008 Jan.

2008

Feb.

2008

Mar.

2008

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

All items ................................. 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.2 0.6 1.1 0.8 10.6 5.6 

Food and beverages ........... .7 .4 .2 .9 .3 .7 .9 8.0 5.8 

Housing ............................... .2 .2 .4 .3 .5 .5 .6 6.5 3.9 

Apparel ................................ .4 -.3 -1.3 .5 -.3 .1 1.2 4.2 .8 

Transportation ..................... .5 -.7 .7 -.7 2.0 3.8 1.7 34.3 13.4 

Medical care ........................ .5 .1 .1 .2 .2 .2 .1 1.8 3.5 

Recreation ........................... .2 .1 .3 -.1 .1 .1 .4 2.4 1.7 

Education and

communication .............. .4 .1 .3 .4 .4 .5 .5 5.5 3.7 

Other goods and services ... .4 .2 .4 .5 .4 .4 .4 4.6 4.0 

Special indexes:

Energy ................................. .7 -.5 1.9 .0 4.4 6.6 4.0 79.4 29.3 

Food .................................... .7 .4 .2 .9 .3 .8 .9 8.4 6.0 

All items less food and

energy ........................... .3 .0 .2 .1 .2 .3 .3 3.5 2.5 
During the first seven months of 2008, the CPI-U rose at a 6.2 percent seasonally adjusted annualized 

rate (SAAR). This compares with a 4.1 percent increase for the 12 months ending December 2007. The energy 

index rose at a 33.1 percent SAAR in the first seven months of 2008 after increasing 17.4 percent in 2007. 

Gasoline prices increased at a 35.2 percent SAAR in 2008 after a 29.6 percent increase in 2007, while natural 

gas prices rose at a 71.3 percent SAAR after decreasing 0.4 percent in 2007. The food index has increased at a 

7.6 SAAR for the first seven months of 2008 after increasing 4.9 percent in 2007. Excluding food and energy, 

the CPI-U has advanced at a 2.5 percent SAAR following a 2.4 percent increase in 2007. 

The food and beverages index rose 0.9 percent in July. The index for food at home increased 1.2 

percent, following a 1.0 percent rise in June. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased 

at least 1.0 percent in July. The index for cereal and bakery products increased 1.8 percent in July and is 12.1 

percent higher than in July 2007, while the fruits and vegetables index rose 1.2 percent in July and is 10.1 

percent higher than a year ago. Within the fruits and vegetables group, the fresh fruits index was virtually 

unchanged in July, while the index for fresh vegetables rose 2.9 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and 

eggs rose 1.0 percent in July after a 0.8 percent increase in June. The index for dairy and related products 

increased 1.6 percent in July, with the index for milk increasing 4.3 percent. The index for other food at home 

rose 1.0 percent in July after a 0.4 percent increase in June. The index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage 

materials increased 0.7 percent in July. The other two components of the food and beverages index—food 

away from home and alcoholic beverages—increased 0.6 and 0.4 percent respectively. 

The index for housing rose 0.6 percent in July after increasing 0.5 percent the previous month. The 

index for shelter increased 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent increase in June. Within shelter, the indexes for rent 

and owners’ equivalent rent increased 0.3 and 0.1 percent, respectively, while the index for lodging away from 

home increased 0.7 percent for the second straight month. The index for household energy rose 3.8 percent in 

July to a level 18.2 percent higher than in July 2007. The index for natural gas increased 7.4 percent in July. It 

was the sixth straight large increase and the index is up 32.7 percent since July 2007. The index for electricity 

increased 2.5 percent in July after declining 0.1 percent in June. The index for household furnishings and 

operations increased 0.4 percent in July after being virtually unchanged in June.

The transportation index advanced 1.7 percent in July, the third straight substantial increase. The index 

for gasoline increased 4.1 percent and accounted for over 80 percent of the increase in this group. (Prior to 

seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices increased 0.7 percent over their previous peak in June and are 37.9 percent 

higher than in July 2007.) The index for new vehicles increased 0.2 percent in July while the index for used 

cars and trucks declined 0.1 percent. During the last 12 months, new vehicle prices have declined 0.8 percent 

and prices for used cars and trucks have fallen 0.1 percent. The index for public transportation increased 1.1 

percent in July, mostly due to a 1.3 percent increase in the index for airline fares. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, 

airline fares increased 2.1 percent in July and are 19.9 percent higher than in July 2007.) 

The index for apparel rose 1.2 percent in July following a 0.1 percent increase in June. (Prior to 

seasonal adjustment, apparel prices declined 2.3 percent in July.) Apparel prices have increased 0.8 percent 

since July 2007. 

Medical care prices rose 0.1 percent in July after rising 0.2 percent in June and are 3.5 percent higher 

than a year ago. The index for medical care commodities--prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and 

medical supplies—decreased 0.2 percent in July after a 0.1 percent increase in June. The index for medical care 

services increased 0.2 percent in July. The indexes for professional services and for hospital and related 

services increased 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The index for recreation increased 0.4 percent in July, following a 0.1 percent increase in June.

Increases in the indexes for pets and pet products and services, for sporting goods, and for admissions, more 

than offset declines in the indexes for photography and for toys. The index for video and audio was virtually 

unchanged in July.

The index for education and communication increased 0.5 percent in July, with both the education and 

communication components increasing 0.5 percent. Within the latter category, the indexes for information and 

information processing increased 0.6 percent, reflecting a 0.7 percent increase in the index for telephone 

services. The index for information technology, hardware and services rose 0.2 percent in July after declining 

for four months in a row. 
The index for other goods and services increased 0.4 percent in July, the third consecutive such increase.

The index for tobacco and smoking products rose 1.2 percent and the index for personal care increased 0.1 

percent.

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

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers increased 0.9 

percent in July. 

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

Expenditure

Category

Seasonally adjusted

Unadjusted

12-mos.

ended

July 2008

Changes from preceding month Compound

annual rate

3-mos. ended

July 2008 Jan.

2008

Feb.

2008

Mar.

2008

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

All items ................................. 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.7 1.2 0.9 11.9 6.2 

Food and beverages ........... .7 .3 .2 .9 .3 .8 .9 8.2 5.8 

Housing ............................... .2 .2 .5 .4 .5 .5 .7 6.9 4.3 

Apparel ................................ .8 -.3 -1.2 .2 -.2 .0 .8 2.7 .7 

Transportation ..................... .7 -.7 .7 -.7 2.1 4.0 1.8 36.7 14.4 

Medical care ........................ .6 .1 .1 .2 .1 .2 .1 1.7 3.6 

Recreation ........................... .2 .1 .3 -.2 .0 .2 .4 2.4 1.7 

Education and

communication .............. .3 .1 .2 .4 .3 .5 .5 5.6 3.3 

Other goods and services ... .5 .3 .4 .4 .5 .6 .5 6.4 4.6 

Special indexes:

Energy ................................. .8 -.7 1.9 -.2 4.5 6.8 4.0 81.3 29.7 

Food .................................... .7 .3 .2 1.0 .3 .8 .9 8.6 6.0 

All items less food and

energy ........................... .3 .0 .1 .1 .2 .3 .3 3.2 2.5 

Consumer Price Index data for August are scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at 

8:30 A.M. (EDT).
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-CPI-U), which cover 

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

households, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term 

workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force. 

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

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

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

23,000 retail establishments-department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of 

stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included 

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

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

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

Bureau’s trained representatives. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Information and Analysis Section on (202) 691-7000. 
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 0.06 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 0.12 percent of the 

1 month percentage change based on all retail prices. 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 0.08 and 0.32 percent. For the latest data, including information on how to use the 

estimates of standard error, see “Variance Estimates for Changes in the Consumer Price Index, January 2005- 

December 2005” in the CPI Detailed Report, February 2006. These data are available on the CPI home page 

(http://www.bls.gov/cpi), using the following link http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpivar2006.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
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 2003 through December 2007 

were replaced in January 2008. Exceptions to the usual revision schedule were: the updated seasonal data at the 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not seasonally adjusted data will be used in the aggregation of the 

dependent series for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes will be used before that period. Note: 

48 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for 2008. 
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 2008, BLS adjusted 20 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 Jeff Wilson at 

(202) 691-6968, or by e-mail at Wilson.Jeff@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

2007

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

July 2008 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

June

2008

Apr. to

May

May to

June

June to

July

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 218.815 219.964 5.6 0.5 0.6 1.1 0.8 

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

 655.474 658.915 - ----

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.914 213.383 215.326 5.8 .9 .3 .7 .9 

Food ......................................................................................... 13.833 213.243 215.299 6.0 1.0 .3 .8 .9 

Food at home ......................................................................... 7.660 213.171 215.785 7.1 1.2 .3 1.0 1.2 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.030 245.758 250.321 12.1 1.9 1.6 .5 1.8 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 1.807 202.914 205.075 4.3 1.1 .1 .8 1.0 

Dairy and related products ................................................... .887 209.117 213.981 8.1 2.3 -.1 1.6 1.6 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.156 277.957 280.209 10.1 .8 .0 2.8 1.2 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ .928 158.320 159.346 3.9 .6 -.9 .2 .7 

Other food at home .............................................................. 1.852 183.804 185.725 6.5 1.0 .5 .4 1.0 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .277 185.558 187.067 5.0 .8 .4 .0 .4 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .205 196.150 201.205 15.8 2.6 .6 1.9 2.4 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.369 197.888 199.566 5.3 .8 .5 .2 .9 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .404 118.453 120.510 4.8 1.7 .2 -.2 1.7 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.173 215.015 216.376 4.6 .6 .4 .5 .6 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .297 149.873 151.120 4.4 .8 .7 .1 .8 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.080 213.912 214.394 3.3 .2 .1 .1 .4 

Housing ...................................................................................... 42.427 217.941 219.610 3.9 .8 .5 .5 .6 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 32.596 247.083 248.075 2.5 .4 .2 .3 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 5.765 242.640 243.367 3.7 .3 .2 .4 .3 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... 2.564 148.621 153.032 .0 3.0 1.3 .7 .7 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 .................. 23.942 252.170 252.504 2.6 .1 .1 .3 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .325 119.092 118.764 1.9 -.3 .0 .6 -.3 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.128 231.412 239.039 16.0 3.3 2.4 1.8 3.3

Household energy .................................................................. 4.215 213.762 221.742 18.2 3.7 2.8 2.1 3.8 

Fuel oil and other fuels ......................................................... .351 389.423 395.706 61.1 1.6 7.9 8.5 1.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 3.864 213.375 221.805 14.8 4.0 2.3 1.5 4.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... .913 150.554 152.063 5.5 1.0 .4 .4 .7 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 4.702 127.625 127.884 .8 .2 .2 .0 .4 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .737 148.006 148.290 5.4 .2 .8 .7 .2 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.731 117.019 114.357 .8 -2.3 -.3 .1 1.2 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .935 112.011 109.669 .1 -2.1 .3 -.9 .0 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.600 104.312 100.049 -1.2 -4.1 -.3 .5 2.0 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .185 111.555 109.218 .4 -2.1 -.9 -.4 -.3 

Footwear .................................................................................. .679 123.568 122.421 2.6 -.9 .0 .2 1.3

Transportation ............................................................................ 17.688 211.787 212.806 13.4 .5 2.0 3.8 1.7 

Private transportation ............................................................... 16.583 207.257 208.038 13.3 .4 2.0 3.8 1.7

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 7.191 93.598 93.650 -.3 .1 -.1 .1 .2 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 4.632 134.516 134.397 -.8 -.1 -.1 .2 .2 

Used cars and trucks 1 ......................................................... 1.773 135.980 135.840 -.1 -.1 -.3 -.3 -.1 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 5.482 347.418 349.731 38.3 .7 5.7 10.1 4.1 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 5.215 344.981 347.357 37.9 .7 5.7 10.1 4.1 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .356 127.824 129.118 6.3 1.0 .6 .8 1.0 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................... 1.123 233.162 234.788 5.1 .7 .5 .6 .6 

Public transportation ................................................................ 1.106 264.681 270.002 14.5 2.0 2.3 3.4 1.1

Medical care ............................................................................... 6.231 363.616 363.963 3.5 .1 .2 .2 .1

Medical care commodities ........................................................ 1.601 295.194 294.777 1.6 -.1 -.7 .1 -.2 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.630 384.685 385.361 4.1 .2 .5 .3 .2 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.626 311.317 311.926 3.6 .2 .7 .3 .2 

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.467 531.606 533.558 6.8 .4 .4 .4 .3 

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

service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Relative

importance,

December

2007

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

July 2008 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

June

2008

Apr. to

May

May to

June

June to

July

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 5.647 112.991 113.277 1.7 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.4 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.843 102.306 102.203 -.6 -.1 -.5 -.3 .0 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.086 122.828 123.445 3.7 .5 .4 .5 .5 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 2.944 178.385 179.229 5.7 .5 .4 .4 .5 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .207 443.309 444.382 6.2 .2 .4 .2 .8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.736 513.743 516.264 5.7 .5 .4 .5 .4 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.142 84.394 84.840 1.5 .5 .3 .6 .5 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 2.975 81.513 81.965 1.4 .6 .2 .5 .6 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.342 100.677 101.339 2.8 .7 .4 .8 .7 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .634 10.071 10.087 -4.2 .2 -.5 -.5 .2 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ............ .242 95.663 94.711 -11.8 -1.0 -1.8 -1.4 -1.0 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.277 345.885 346.810 4.0 .3 .4 .4 .4 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ .731 589.904 596.782 7.7 1.2 .8 1.5 1.2 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.546 201.537 201.545 3.0 .0 .2 .1 .1 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .639 158.868 158.989 .3 .1 -.4 .0 .1 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .629 223.520 223.719 3.2 .1 .4 -.1 .1 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.044 340.547 340.077 4.8 -.1 .5 .3 .1 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 41.269 180.534 181.087 7.8 .3 .9 1.9 1.2 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 14.914 213.383 215.326 5.8 .9 .3 .7 .9 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 26.356 161.337 161.301 9.0 .0 1.2 2.5 1.3 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 15.519 213.489 213.363 16.0 -.1 2.4 4.1 1.2 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.731 117.019 114.357 .8 -2.3 -.3 .1 1.2

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 11.787 278.584 280.062 20.7 .5 2.9 5.7 2.2 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.837 111.232 111.275 -.8 .0 -.2 .0 .2 

Services ....................................................................................... 58.731 256.668 258.422 4.1 .7 .5 .5 .5 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 32.271 257.585 258.637 2.5 .4 .2 .3 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .325 119.092 118.764 1.9 -.3 .0 .6 -.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 3.864 213.375 221.805 14.8 4.0 2.3 1.5 4.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... .913 150.554 152.063 5.5 1.0 .4 .4 .7 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .737 148.006 148.290 5.4 .2 .8 .7 .2 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.350 245.759 247.869 5.6 .9 .8 1.1 .5 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.630 384.685 385.361 4.1 .2 .5 .3 .2 

Other services ............................................................................ 10.641 294.668 295.677 3.8 .3 .4 .4 .4

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 86.167 219.757 220.758 5.5 .5 .7 1.1 .8 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 67.404 210.242 211.468 7.1 .6 .9 1.4 1.1

All items less medical care ........................................................... 93.769 211.408 212.576 5.7 .6 .7 1.1 .9 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 27.436 163.385 163.364 8.7 .0 1.2 2.4 1.3

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 16.599 213.538 213.447 15.1 .0 2.5 3.7 1.3

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 12.868 271.235 272.612 19.2 .5 2.8 5.1 2.1 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 30.432 214.783 215.628 11.0 .4 1.5 2.3 1.1 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 26.460 275.200 277.982 6.0 1.0 .9 .8 1.0 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 54.101 246.219 248.007 4.0 .7 .5 .6 .6 

Energy .......................................................................................... 9.698 275.621 280.833 29.3 1.9 4.4 6.6 4.0 

All items less energy .................................................................... 90.302 214.600 215.335 3.0 .3 .2 .4 .4

All items less food and energy ................................................... 76.469 215.553 216.045 2.5 .2 .2 .3 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 21.602 139.925 139.535 .6 -.3 -.1 .1 .5 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 5.834 351.886 354.423 39.7 .7 5.8 10.0 3.9 

Services less energy services .................................................. 54.867 261.216 262.323 3.3 .4 .3 .4 .3 

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

 $ .457 $ .455 - ----

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ............. - $ .153 $ .152 - ----

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—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

Oct.

2007

Jan.

2008

Apr.

2008

July

2008 Jan.

2008

July

2008

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 213.743 215.132 217.403 219.181 2.6 6.8 2.3 10.6 4.7 6.4 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 211.442 212.091 213.612 215.539 4.5 4.6 6.1 8.0 4.6 7.0

Food ................................................................................ 211.232 211.918 213.542 215.545 4.6 4.7 6.3 8.4 4.6 7.4 

Food at home ................................................................ 211.085 211.620 213.706 216.227 4.5 5.7 8.3 10.1 5.1 9.2 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 239.619 243.503 244.840 249.210 5.0 7.6 19.5 17.0 6.3 18.2 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 201.404 201.610 203.295 205.361 3.4 2.7 3.4 8.1 3.0 5.7 

Dairy and related products .......................................... 207.992 207.808 211.086 214.537 12.9 2.3 4.5 13.2 7.5 8.8 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 274.120 274.113 281.911 285.411 4.0 16.3 3.0 17.5 10.0 10.0

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 159.868 158.445 158.735 159.796 4.1 4.1 7.7 -.2 4.1 3.7 

Other food at home ..................................................... 181.508 182.434 183.140 184.951 2.3 3.5 12.7 7.8 2.9 10.2

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 184.421 185.210 185.209 185.865 2.3 3.8 10.7 3.2 3.1 6.9 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 191.560 192.640 196.211 200.870 4.6 12.8 26.2 20.9 8.6 23.5 

Other foods ............................................................... 195.506 196.520 196.980 198.743 1.8 1.8 11.1 6.8 1.8 8.9

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 118.500 118.744 118.453 120.510 -.6 1.1 12.1 7.0 .3 9.5 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 213.083 213.967 215.015 216.376 4.6 3.5 3.9 6.3 4.0 5.1 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 148.667 149.666 149.873 151.120 3.6 1.6 5.6 6.8 2.6 6.2 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 212.894 213.067 213.246 214.173 3.6 3.3 3.7 2.4 3.4 3.1

Housing ............................................................................. 214.850 215.876 216.918 218.267 2.2 3.5 3.7 6.5 2.9 5.1 

Shelter ............................................................................. 245.335 245.822 246.612 247.090 2.7 3.5 1.0 2.9 3.1 1.9 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 241.489 241.919 242.837 243.535 3.8 4.5 2.9 3.4 4.2 3.2 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 141.456 143.357 144.426 145.394 -1.3 5.1 -13.5 11.6 1.8 -1.8 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ......... 251.461 251.656 252.299 252.610 2.9 3.3 2.3 1.8 3.1 2.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 118.422 118.411 119.092 118.764 .2 2.8 3.4 1.2 1.5 2.3 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 216.921 222.094 226.160 233.540 2.9 6.0 24.0 34.4 4.5 29.1 

Household energy ......................................................... 198.101 203.609 207.912 215.751 2.5 5.9 28.7 40.7 4.2 34.6

Fuel oil and other fuels ................................................ 338.212 364.824 396.000 401.283 27.3 79.3 48.8 98.2 51.1 71.7 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 199.018 203.584 206.565 214.896 .6 .6 27.0 35.9 .6 31.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 149.537 150.203 150.831 151.857 5.0 6.7 3.8 6.4 5.9 5.1 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 127.076 127.352 127.369 127.919 -1.7 .4 1.9 2.7 -.7 2.3 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 145.784 146.957 148.006 148.290 .9 5.2 8.5 7.1 3.1 7.8 

Apparel .............................................................................. 118.363 118.043 118.107 119.574 -.9 4.6 -4.6 4.2 1.8 -.3 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 113.763 114.153 113.139 113.090 -2.0 1.9 2.9 -2.3 -.1 .3

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 105.549 105.181 105.698 107.860 -1.6 7.3 -17.2 9.0 2.7 -5.0

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 114.388 113.408 112.922 112.638 9.7 4.5 -5.6 -6.0 7.0 -5.8

Footwear ......................................................................... 124.302 124.290 124.489 126.047 -2.4 3.6 3.5 5.7 .5 4.6 

Transportation ................................................................... 194.483 198.465 205.915 209.358 1.7 22.3 -2.5 34.3 11.5 14.4 

Private transportation ...................................................... 190.264 194.122 201.450 204.899 1.3 23.0 -3.2 34.5 11.6 14.1 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 93.859 93.798 93.909 94.052 .0 -.3 -1.9 .8 -.1 -.6 

New vehicles ............................................................... 134.772 134.693 134.990 135.300 -1.0 -1.1 -2.4 1.6 -1.1 -.4 

Used cars and trucks 1 ............................................... 136.787 136.325 135.980 135.840 2.8 .7 -1.2 -2.7 1.7 -2.0 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 276.571 292.243 321.618 334.732 2.6 82.1 -8.8 114.6 36.7 39.9 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 274.251 289.943 319.107 332.237 2.6 82.7 -10.4 115.4 36.9 38.9 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 126.049 126.824 127.824 129.118 5.0 4.2 5.8 10.1 4.6 7.9 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .......................... 230.660 231.822 233.321 234.818 2.4 5.3 5.2 7.4 3.8 6.3 

Public transportation ....................................................... 244.145 249.869 258.462 261.275 9.3 10.9 8.1 31.2 10.1 19.1 

Medical care ...................................................................... 362.243 362.801 363.618 363.852 5.6 5.1 1.6 1.8 5.3 1.7 

Medical care commodities .............................................. 296.876 294.687 295.102 294.438 3.0 5.1 1.5 -3.2 4.1 -.9 

Medical care services ..................................................... 381.990 383.752 384.727 385.353 6.4 5.1 1.6 3.6 5.7 2.6

Professional services .................................................... 308.120 310.154 311.068 311.739 4.4 3.8 1.5 4.8 4.1 3.1

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 528.453 530.603 532.592 534.172 9.7 9.0 4.3 4.4 9.4 4.4 

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—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

Oct.

2007

Jan.

2008

Apr.

2008

July

2008 Jan.

2008

July

2008

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 112.588 112.663 112.831 113.264 1.7 1.6 1.2 2.4 1.6 1.8 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 102.948 102.443 102.181 102.195 1.4 .8 -1.5 -2.9 1.1 -2.2 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 122.564 123.004 123.613 124.226 3.1 2.8 3.3 5.5 2.9 4.4 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 179.234 179.968 180.749 181.582 5.6 6.7 5.4 5.3 6.1 5.4 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 441.736 443.715 444.469 447.821 8.3 6.2 4.8 5.6 7.2 5.2 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 516.515 518.616 520.969 523.254 5.4 6.7 5.4 5.3 6.0 5.4 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 83.669 83.929 84.393 84.840 .5 -1.3 1.3 5.7 -.4 3.5 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 80.921 81.080 81.513 81.965 .5 -1.5 1.4 5.3 -.5 3.3 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 99.494 99.879 100.677 101.339 1.9 -.5 2.4 7.6 .7 5.0 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 10.170 10.118 10.071 10.087 -5.3 -5.9 -2.3 -3.2 -5.6 -2.8 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ... 98.853 97.028 95.663 94.711 -11.1 -12.2 -8.2 -15.7 -11.6 -12.1 

Other goods and services ................................................. 343.072 344.305 345.693 346.962 2.8 3.9 4.8 4.6 3.3 4.7

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 576.359 581.185 589.904 596.782 4.9 8.9 2.6 14.9 6.9 8.6 

Personal care .................................................................. 200.773 201.219 201.392 201.660 2.2 2.5 5.5 1.8 2.4 3.6 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 159.398 158.790 158.868 158.989 -.2 -.5 3.1 -1.0 -.3 1.0 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 222.799 223.649 223.520 223.719 2.2 3.8 5.3 1.7 3.0 3.5 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 337.233 339.034 340.085 340.264 4.6 4.8 6.1 3.6 4.7 4.8 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 173.718 175.279 178.550 180.657 2.1 11.5 .8 17.0 6.7 8.6 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 211.442 212.091 213.612 215.539 4.5 4.6 6.1 8.0 4.6 7.0

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 152.734 154.620 158.506 160.622 .6 15.6 -2.0 22.3 7.9 9.5 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 195.857 200.497 208.661 211.267 2.4 29.9 .5 35.4 15.3 16.7 

Apparel .......................................................................... 118.363 118.043 118.107 119.574 -.9 4.6 -4.6 4.2 1.8 -.3 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 248.038 255.265 269.755 275.611 -1.7 38.4 2.4 52.4 16.6 25.0 

Durables .......................................................................... 111.417 111.227 111.258 111.425 -.9 -.2 -2.1 .0 -.5 -1.1 

Services .............................................................................. 253.456 254.643 255.872 257.269 3.0 3.7 3.4 6.2 3.3 4.8 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 255.735 256.268 257.040 257.575 2.6 3.7 .8 2.9 3.1 1.9 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 118.422 118.411 119.092 118.764 .2 2.8 3.4 1.2 1.5 2.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 199.018 203.584 206.565 214.896 .6 .6 27.0 35.9 .6 31.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 149.537 150.203 150.831 151.857 5.0 6.7 3.8 6.4 5.9 5.1 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 145.784 146.957 148.006 148.290 .9 5.2 8.5 7.1 3.1 7.8 

Transportation services ..................................................... 240.412 242.389 245.102 246.409 2.9 5.2 3.8 10.4 4.1 7.0 

Medical care services ....................................................... 381.990 383.752 384.727 385.353 6.4 5.1 1.6 3.6 5.7 2.6 

Other services ................................................................... 293.296 294.450 295.504 296.752 3.4 3.5 3.4 4.8 3.5 4.1 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 214.183 215.688 218.065 219.806 2.3 7.1 1.7 10.9 4.7 6.2 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 203.782 205.548 208.438 210.755 2.6 8.4 3.0 14.4 5.5 8.5 

All items less medical care .................................................. 206.241 207.649 209.955 211.774 2.4 6.9 2.4 11.2 4.6 6.7 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 154.972 156.814 160.607 162.695 .8 15.1 -1.8 21.5 7.7 9.2 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 197.193 202.150 209.702 212.335 .0 28.0 2.1 34.4 13.2 17.2 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 244.131 250.889 263.688 269.125 -2.2 34.9 3.7 47.7 14.9 23.8

Nondurables ........................................................................ 204.711 207.834 212.718 215.067 3.0 15.6 4.5 21.8 9.1 12.8 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 269.814 272.112 274.317 276.996 2.8 3.6 6.7 11.1 3.2 8.8 

Services less medical care services ................................... 242.925 244.156 245.531 246.945 2.6 3.2 3.7 6.8 2.9 5.2 

Energy ................................................................................. 233.804 244.107 260.316 270.602 2.6 43.6 5.6 79.4 21.4 37.7 

All items less energy ........................................................... 213.314 213.786 214.624 215.529 2.6 3.4 2.0 4.2 3.0 3.1 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 214.398 214.832 215.526 216.230 2.3 3.1 1.2 3.5 2.7 2.3

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 140.193 140.010 140.156 140.792 -.1 1.2 -.7 1.7 .6 .5 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 281.614 297.965 327.625 340.411 4.1 82.5 -6.1 113.5 37.8 41.6 

Services less energy services ......................................... 259.084 259.944 261.005 261.729 3.2 3.9 1.9 4.1 3.5 3.0 

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

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means

estimator.

4 Indexes on a December 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

July2008 from—

Percent change to

June2008 from—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

May

2008

June

2008

June

2007

Apr.

2008

May

2008

U.S. city average ............................................ M 214.823 216.632 218.815 219.964 5.6 1.5 0.5 5.0 1.9 1.0 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 228.133 230.089 232.649 234.545 5.7 1.9 .8 5.0 2.0 1.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 230.038 232.005 234.518 236.460 5.5 1.9 .8 4.7 1.9 1.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 135.739 136.913 138.542 139.623 6.3 2.0 .8 5.8 2.1 1.2 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 205.393 207.168 208.968 210.071 5.6 1.4 .5 4.9 1.7 .9 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 206.590 208.291 209.813 211.003 5.3 1.3 .6 4.6 1.6 .7 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 131.484 132.682 134.018 134.595 5.9 1.4 .4 5.2 1.9 1.0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 200.841 202.720 205.122 206.435 6.0 1.8 .6 5.5 2.1 1.2 

South urban .................................................... M 208.085 210.006 212.324 213.304 5.8 1.6 .5 5.3 2.0 1.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 209.987 211.846 214.359 215.373 5.6 1.7 .5 5.0 2.1 1.2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 132.516 133.714 134.980 135.643 5.8 1.4 .5 5.2 1.9 .9 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 208.746 211.225 214.739 215.274 6.8 1.9 .2 6.6 2.9 1.7 

West urban ..................................................... M 219.437 221.009 223.040 223.867 5.3 1.3 .4 4.9 1.6 .9 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 222.689 224.704 226.767 227.562 5.4 1.3 .4 5.0 1.8 .9 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.694 134.023 135.283 136.021 5.4 1.5 .5 4.7 1.2 .9 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 196.191 197.898 199.840 200.941 5.4 1.5 .6 4.8 1.9 1.0 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 132.974 133.997 135.330 136.055 5.8 1.5 .5 5.2 1.8 1.0 

D ................................................................. M 207.238 209.308 211.989 212.555 5.8 1.6 .3 5.6 2.3 1.3 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 212.662 214.932 215.738 217.459 5.8 1.2 .8 4.7 1.4 .4 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 224.625 226.651 229.033 229.886 5.7 1.4 .4 5.4 2.0 1.1 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 233.822 236.151 238.580 240.273 5.1 1.7 .7 4.5 2.0 1.0 

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

 235.344 - 241.258 6.3 2.5 ----

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 204.882 - 206.941 5.0 1.0 ----

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 - 202.357 - 206.413 6.2 2.0 ----

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 139.649 - 142.065 5.7 1.7 ----

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 206.371 - 212.032 ---- 4.9 2.7 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 205.281 - 207.593 ---- 3.0 1.1 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 188.795 - 193.567 ---- 4.9 2.5 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 221.324 - 225.079 ---- 5.8 1.7 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 223.622 - 228.408 ---- 5.1 2.1 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 222.074 - 225.181 ---- 4.2 1.4 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 223.196 - 228.068 ---- 5.8 2.2 -

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

 most other goods and services priced as indicated:

 M - Every month.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

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

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

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 

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

and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2007

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

July 2008 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

June

2008

Apr. to

May

May to

June

June to

July

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 215.223 216.304 6.2 0.5 0.7 1.2 0.9 

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

 641.082 644.303 - ----

Food and beverages .................................................................. 15.926 212.700 214.662 5.8 .9 .3 .8 .9 

Food ......................................................................................... 14.901 212.514 214.577 6.0 1.0 .3 .8 .9 

Food at home ......................................................................... 8.595 212.079 214.679 7.0 1.2 .2 1.0 1.2 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.110 246.493 250.972 12.2 1.8 1.5 .6 1.8 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 2.192 202.424 204.557 4.2 1.1 .2 .8 1.0 

Dairy and related products ................................................... .965 208.510 213.582 7.9 2.4 -.2 1.6 1.7 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.218 276.641 278.885 10.4 .8 .0 3.2 1.2 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ 1.094 157.309 158.527 3.7 .8 -1.0 .1 .8 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.016 183.342 185.174 6.6 1.0 .6 .4 .9 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .279 184.378 186.054 5.3 .9 .4 .0 .4 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .232 197.155 201.821 15.9 2.4 .5 2.0 2.1 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.504 198.153 199.722 5.3 .8 .6 .2 .8 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .438 118.879 121.015 4.9 1.8 .4 -.3 1.8 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.305 214.851 216.177 4.6 .6 .4 .5 .6 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .218 149.306 150.232 4.0 .6 .8 .5 .6 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.025 213.976 214.440 3.3 .2 .1 .1 .5 

Housing ...................................................................................... 39.994 213.441 215.026 4.3 .7 .5 .5 .7 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 30.397 239.198 239.845 2.6 .3 .2 .3 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 7.979 241.623 242.276 3.6 .3 .2 .4 .3 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... 1.233 148.378 152.248 -.6 2.6 1.2 1.1 -.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 .................. 20.888 228.536 228.824 2.6 .1 .1 .2 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .297 119.293 119.006 1.8 -.2 -.1 .6 -.2 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.637 228.843 236.381 15.7 3.3 2.4 1.7 3.3

Household energy .................................................................. 4.670 209.843 217.640 17.8 3.7 2.8 2.0 3.8 

Fuel oil and other fuels ......................................................... .323 381.903 388.208 58.0 1.7 7.6 7.9 1.4 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 4.347 211.398 219.612 15.0 3.9 2.4 1.5 4.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... .966 150.742 152.220 5.4 1.0 .4 .4 .7 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 3.960 123.434 123.798 1.0 .3 .1 .1 .5 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .339 150.867 151.290 5.7 .3 1.0 .7 .3 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.998 116.706 113.978 .7 -2.3 -.2 .0 .8 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... 1.031 112.395 109.969 .4 -2.2 .2 -.7 -.6 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.619 104.062 99.772 -1.9 -4.1 -.3 .5 1.5 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .251 114.057 111.502 .5 -2.2 -.8 -.5 -.5 

Footwear .................................................................................. .821 123.381 122.380 2.6 -.8 -.2 .2 1.4

Transportation ............................................................................ 20.054 213.633 214.533 14.4 .4 2.1 4.0 1.8 

Private transportation ............................................................... 19.287 210.423 211.201 14.4 .4 2.1 4.0 1.8

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 7.952 92.714 92.686 -.4 .0 -.2 .0 .1 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 4.172 135.728 135.556 -.8 -.1 -.1 .2 .2 

Used cars and trucks 1 ......................................................... 3.103 136.790 136.639 -.2 -.1 -.3 -.3 -.1 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 6.940 348.762 351.124 38.3 .7 5.6 10.0 4.1 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 6.597 346.459 348.888 37.9 .7 5.7 10.0 4.1 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .446 127.750 128.997 6.3 1.0 .6 .8 1.0 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................... 1.169 235.550 237.324 5.0 .8 .5 .6 .7 

Public transportation ................................................................ .767 261.779 266.259 14.1 1.7 2.4 3.5 1.0 

Medical care ............................................................................... 5.192 363.628 363.942 3.6 .1 .1 .2 .1

Medical care commodities ........................................................ 1.295 287.033 286.562 1.4 -.2 -.8 .1 -.2 

Medical care services ............................................................... 3.897 385.911 386.560 4.3 .2 .4 .2 .1 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.159 313.618 314.235 3.5 .2 .6 .3 .2 

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.260 527.948 529.798 7.3 .4 .4 .4 .3 

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

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2007

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

July 2008 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

June

2008

Apr. to

May

May to

June

June to

July

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 5.341 109.905 110.198 1.7 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.4 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.987 102.306 102.267 -.1 .0 -.5 -.3 .1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 5.987 119.264 119.852 3.3 .5 .3 .5 .5 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 2.377 176.148 176.879 5.6 .4 .4 .3 .5 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .204 445.740 446.741 6.0 .2 .6 .1 .8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.174 496.449 498.598 5.5 .4 .4 .4 .5 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.609 87.017 87.490 1.7 .5 .3 .6 .5 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 3.488 85.007 85.484 1.6 .6 .2 .6 .6 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.869 100.723 101.375 2.7 .6 .4 .8 .6 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .619 10.585 10.600 -3.6 .1 -.5 -.3 .1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ............ .228 95.766 94.691 -11.8 -1.1 -1.8 -1.3 -1.1 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.508 358.419 359.961 4.6 .4 .5 .6 .5 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ 1.183 592.248 599.180 7.9 1.2 .9 1.5 1.2 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.325 199.404 199.495 2.9 .0 .2 .1 .2 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .647 159.052 159.237 .5 .1 -.4 .0 .1 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .560 223.838 223.994 3.2 .1 .4 .0 .1 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... .910 341.921 341.763 4.8 .0 .6 .2 .1 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 44.745 184.495 185.105 8.7 .3 1.0 2.1 1.3 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 15.926 212.700 214.662 5.8 .9 .3 .8 .9 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 28.819 167.344 167.376 10.3 .0 1.4 2.8 1.4 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 17.315 225.585 225.595 17.7 .0 2.7 4.5 1.3 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.998 116.706 113.978 .7 -2.3 -.2 .0 .8

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 13.318 298.593 300.341 22.7 .6 3.4 6.1 2.5 

Durables ................................................................................... 11.504 111.769 111.820 -.5 .0 -.2 .0 .1 

Services ....................................................................................... 55.255 251.365 252.991 4.2 .6 .5 .5 .6 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 30.100 230.620 231.255 2.6 .3 .2 .3 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .297 119.293 119.006 1.8 -.2 -.1 .6 -.2 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 4.347 211.398 219.612 15.0 3.9 2.4 1.5 4.0 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... .966 150.742 152.220 5.4 1.0 .4 .4 .7 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .339 150.867 151.290 5.7 .3 1.0 .7 .3 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.266 243.395 245.005 4.8 .7 .7 1.0 .5 

Medical care services ................................................................. 3.897 385.911 386.560 4.3 .2 .4 .2 .1 

Other services ............................................................................ 10.042 283.449 284.449 3.5 .4 .4 .3 .5

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 85.099 215.498 216.407 6.2 .4 .8 1.3 .9 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 69.603 208.817 210.069 7.8 .6 1.0 1.6 1.2 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 94.808 208.906 210.002 6.3 .5 .7 1.3 .9 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 29.844 169.169 169.213 10.1 .0 1.4 2.8 1.4

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 18.341 225.276 225.309 16.9 .0 2.5 4.3 1.3

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 14.343 290.127 291.760 21.3 .6 3.2 5.7 2.3 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 33.241 220.813 221.740 12.0 .4 1.6 2.7 1.1 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 25.155 243.780 246.411 6.0 1.1 .9 .8 1.1 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 51.358 241.422 243.071 4.1 .7 .5 .6 .6 

Energy .......................................................................................... 11.610 277.597 282.579 29.7 1.8 4.5 6.8 4.0 

All items less energy .................................................................... 88.390 208.458 209.062 3.1 .3 .2 .4 .4

All items less food and energy ................................................... 73.489 208.007 208.317 2.5 .1 .2 .3 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 22.581 140.878 140.492 .8 -.3 -.1 .2 .4 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 7.264 351.873 354.402 39.4 .7 5.7 9.9 4.0 

Services less energy services .................................................. 50.908 255.513 256.365 3.2 .3 .3 .4 .3 

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

 $ .465 $ .462 - ----

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ............. - $ .156 $ .155 - ----

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—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

Oct.

2007

Jan.

2008

Apr.

2008

July

2008 Jan.

2008

July

2008

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 209.543 211.044 213.601 215.507 2.7 7.7 2.4 11.9 5.1 7.0 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 210.669 211.319 212.937 214.883 4.5 4.5 6.1 8.2 4.5 7.2

Food ................................................................................ 210.420 211.101 212.814 214.813 4.6 4.6 6.3 8.6 4.6 7.5 

Food at home ................................................................ 209.945 210.454 212.594 215.085 4.6 5.5 8.1 10.2 5.0 9.1 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 240.305 243.972 245.533 249.875 4.8 7.6 20.2 16.9 6.2 18.6 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 200.888 201.242 202.831 204.852 3.5 2.4 3.1 8.1 3.0 5.6 

Dairy and related products .......................................... 207.558 207.156 210.453 214.042 12.5 2.0 4.3 13.1 7.1 8.6 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 271.663 271.784 280.522 283.919 3.8 16.3 2.8 19.3 9.9 10.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 159.034 157.428 157.651 158.971 3.8 3.7 7.7 -.2 3.8 3.7 

Other food at home ..................................................... 180.938 182.005 182.718 184.409 2.8 3.4 12.5 7.9 3.1 10.2

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 183.410 184.122 184.097 184.838 2.9 3.8 11.5 3.2 3.4 7.2 

Fats and oils .............................................................. 192.519 193.415 197.297 201.406 5.7 12.2 27.2 19.8 8.9 23.4 

Other foods ............................................................... 195.607 196.873 197.277 198.916 2.2 1.7 10.5 6.9 2.0 8.7

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 118.751 119.248 118.879 121.015 .1 1.0 11.1 7.8 .5 9.5 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 212.794 213.723 214.851 216.177 4.7 3.4 3.9 6.5 4.0 5.2 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 147.335 148.517 149.306 150.232 .9 2.4 4.8 8.1 1.6 6.4 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 212.888 213.079 213.293 214.434 3.4 3.2 3.6 2.9 3.3 3.2

Housing ............................................................................. 210.427 211.451 212.511 213.943 2.4 3.5 4.6 6.9 3.0 5.7 

Shelter ............................................................................. 237.943 238.312 239.047 239.431 2.9 3.5 1.7 2.5 3.2 2.1 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 240.466 240.917 241.841 242.535 3.8 4.2 2.9 3.5 4.0 3.2 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 141.337 142.993 144.505 144.351 -.9 6.2 -13.7 8.8 2.6 -3.1 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ......... 227.924 228.112 228.635 228.943 2.8 3.4 2.3 1.8 3.1 2.0 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 118.683 118.615 119.293 119.006 .2 2.6 3.2 1.1 1.4 2.2 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 214.459 219.616 223.395 230.774 2.8 5.7 23.3 34.1 4.3 28.6 

Household energy ......................................................... 194.506 199.931 203.870 211.612 2.4 5.6 27.7 40.1 4.0 33.7

Fuel oil and other fuels ................................................ 334.332 359.850 388.227 393.808 27.8 76.4 43.8 92.5 50.1 66.4 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 196.843 201.596 204.597 212.785 .6 .9 26.5 36.5 .7 31.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 149.736 150.387 151.009 152.020 5.0 6.6 3.7 6.2 5.8 5.0 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 122.893 123.075 123.200 123.832 -1.4 .8 1.7 3.1 -.3 2.4 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 148.403 149.816 150.867 151.290 2.0 4.4 8.4 8.0 3.2 8.2 

Apparel .............................................................................. 118.109 117.867 117.920 118.892 -.2 5.6 -5.4 2.7 2.7 -1.4 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 114.080 114.340 113.486 112.842 -.1 5.0 1.0 -4.3 2.4 -1.7

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 105.369 105.056 105.595 107.177 -1.0 6.7 -18.0 7.0 2.8 -6.3

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 117.342 116.416 115.785 115.245 8.7 4.8 -3.6 -7.0 6.7 -5.3

Footwear ......................................................................... 124.364 124.059 124.267 126.005 -2.4 2.9 4.7 5.4 .2 5.1 

Transportation ................................................................... 194.993 199.181 207.141 210.841 1.6 24.6 -2.8 36.7 12.5 15.2 

Private transportation ...................................................... 191.970 196.071 203.949 207.657 1.3 25.2 -3.3 36.9 12.6 15.1 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 93.051 92.890 92.928 93.007 .2 .0 -1.7 -.2 .1 -1.0 

New vehicles ............................................................... 136.052 135.905 136.143 136.460 -1.3 -1.0 -2.1 1.2 -1.2 -.4 

Used cars and trucks 1 ............................................... 137.616 137.145 136.790 136.639 2.7 .7 -1.3 -2.8 1.7 -2.0 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 277.925 293.566 322.859 336.117 2.6 82.2 -8.5 113.9 36.7 39.9 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 275.644 291.449 320.576 333.854 2.4 82.6 -10.1 115.2 36.8 39.1 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 126.032 126.742 127.750 128.997 5.0 5.3 5.3 9.7 5.1 7.5 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .......................... 233.139 234.314 235.703 237.365 2.1 5.3 5.1 7.5 3.7 6.3 

Public transportation ....................................................... 241.831 247.717 256.314 258.873 8.7 9.7 8.2 31.3 9.2 19.2 

Medical care ...................................................................... 362.359 362.884 363.629 363.864 5.9 5.4 1.4 1.7 5.7 1.5 

Medical care commodities .............................................. 288.672 286.461 286.749 286.207 3.0 5.5 .6 -3.4 4.3 -1.4 

Medical care services ..................................................... 383.404 385.115 386.038 386.607 6.7 5.4 1.7 3.4 6.1 2.5

Professional services .................................................... 310.676 312.553 313.396 314.053 4.6 3.8 1.4 4.4 4.2 2.9

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 524.768 527.119 529.160 530.663 10.4 9.5 5.1 4.6 9.9 4.8 

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—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

Oct.

2007

Jan.

2008

Apr.

2008

July

2008 Jan.

2008

July

2008

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 109.514 109.561 109.737 110.173 1.8 1.3 1.2 2.4 1.5 1.8 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 102.975 102.431 102.166 102.269 1.8 1.5 -.9 -2.7 1.7 -1.8 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 118.807 119.217 119.805 120.439 2.6 2.2 2.9 5.6 2.4 4.3 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 176.831 177.579 178.167 179.067 5.1 6.9 5.3 5.2 6.0 5.2 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 443.977 446.426 446.991 450.380 8.7 5.6 3.8 5.9 7.1 4.8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 498.741 500.792 502.545 504.965 4.7 7.0 5.4 5.1 5.9 5.2 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 86.243 86.495 87.016 87.490 .8 -1.2 1.5 5.9 -.2 3.7 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 84.320 84.511 85.007 85.484 .8 -1.3 1.5 5.6 -.2 3.5 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 99.566 99.939 100.723 101.375 1.7 -.6 2.4 7.5 .5 4.9 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 10.671 10.621 10.585 10.600 -4.4 -5.0 -2.4 -2.6 -4.7 -2.5 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ... 98.820 97.010 95.766 94.691 -10.7 -12.1 -8.6 -15.7 -11.4 -12.2 

Other goods and services ................................................. 354.577 356.181 358.283 360.084 3.0 4.5 4.5 6.4 3.7 5.4

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 578.296 583.296 592.248 599.180 5.0 9.3 2.5 15.2 7.1 8.7 

Personal care .................................................................. 198.597 199.078 199.288 199.599 2.0 2.2 5.6 2.0 2.1 3.8 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 159.585 158.993 159.052 159.237 -.1 -.6 3.6 -.9 -.4 1.4 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 223.088 223.922 223.838 223.994 2.1 4.0 5.1 1.6 3.0 3.4 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 338.418 340.592 341.405 341.783 4.6 4.6 6.0 4.0 4.6 5.0 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 176.517 178.328 182.091 184.380 2.3 13.1 .5 19.0 7.5 9.4 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 210.669 211.319 212.937 214.883 4.5 4.5 6.1 8.2 4.5 7.2

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 157.146 159.383 163.920 166.283 1.0 18.2 -2.4 25.4 9.3 10.6 

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 204.907 210.341 219.911 222.730 2.9 33.5 .3 39.6 17.2 18.3 

Apparel .......................................................................... 118.109 117.867 117.920 118.892 -.2 5.6 -5.4 2.7 2.7 -1.4 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 263.062 271.995 288.571 295.649 -3.0 42.9 2.6 59.5 17.8 27.9 

Durables .......................................................................... 112.004 111.755 111.778 111.904 -.5 .6 -1.8 -.4 .0 -1.1 

Services .............................................................................. 248.302 249.457 250.646 252.098 3.0 3.4 4.0 6.3 3.2 5.1 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 229.311 229.711 230.376 230.750 2.8 3.5 1.5 2.5 3.1 2.0 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 118.683 118.615 119.293 119.006 .2 2.6 3.2 1.1 1.4 2.2 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 196.843 201.596 204.597 212.785 .6 .9 26.5 36.5 .7 31.4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 149.736 150.387 151.009 152.020 5.0 6.6 3.7 6.2 5.8 5.0 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 148.403 149.816 150.867 151.290 2.0 4.4 8.4 8.0 3.2 8.2 

Transportation services ..................................................... 239.245 240.862 243.223 244.333 2.3 4.5 3.5 8.8 3.4 6.1 

Medical care services ....................................................... 383.404 385.115 386.038 386.607 6.7 5.4 1.7 3.4 6.1 2.5 

Other services ................................................................... 281.941 283.039 283.979 285.261 3.2 3.0 3.2 4.8 3.1 4.0 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 209.197 210.840 213.542 215.430 2.3 8.2 1.7 12.5 5.2 7.0 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 201.457 203.388 206.640 209.123 2.6 9.5 2.7 16.1 6.0 9.2 

All items less medical care .................................................. 203.139 204.658 207.249 209.190 2.5 7.8 2.5 12.5 5.1 7.3 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 159.167 161.360 165.803 168.143 1.1 17.6 -2.2 24.5 9.0 10.3 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 205.613 210.849 219.878 222.640 2.9 31.3 .6 37.5 16.2 17.6 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 257.678 265.929 281.115 287.558 -2.6 39.3 2.9 55.1 16.5 26.4

Nondurables ........................................................................ 208.946 212.335 218.042 220.363 4.3 17.4 3.9 23.7 10.6 13.4 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 238.684 240.775 242.816 245.434 2.4 3.2 7.0 11.8 2.8 9.4 

Services less medical care services ................................... 238.224 239.416 240.801 242.231 2.5 3.1 4.1 6.9 2.8 5.5 

Energy ................................................................................. 234.484 244.995 261.655 272.093 2.5 45.9 4.3 81.3 22.3 37.5 

All items less energy ........................................................... 207.378 207.772 208.598 209.458 2.7 3.4 2.1 4.1 3.0 3.1 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 207.131 207.468 208.116 208.747 2.3 3.1 1.3 3.2 2.7 2.2

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 141.088 140.914 141.128 141.700 .2 1.9 -.7 1.7 1.0 .5 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 281.575 297.683 327.093 340.121 3.8 82.6 -6.7 112.9 37.7 40.9 

Services less energy services ......................................... 253.802 254.534 255.507 256.168 3.2 3.7 2.2 3.8 3.4 3.0 

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

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means

estimator.

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

July2008 from—

Percent change to

June2008 from—

Apr.

2008

May

2008

June

2008

July

2008

July

2007

May

2008

June

2008

June

2007

Apr.

2008

May

2008

U.S. city average ............................................ M 210.698 212.788 215.223 216.304 6.2 1.7 0.5 5.6 2.1 1.1 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 224.794 227.114 229.829 231.488 6.2 1.9 .7 5.5 2.2 1.2 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 225.144 227.412 230.120 231.808 6.1 1.9 .7 5.3 2.2 1.2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 136.141 137.624 139.286 140.253 6.6 1.9 .7 6.1 2.3 1.2 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 200.788 202.912 204.867 206.038 6.1 1.5 .6 5.3 2.0 1.0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 200.989 202.969 204.509 205.761 5.7 1.4 .6 4.8 1.8 .8 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 131.354 132.867 134.409 135.037 6.5 1.6 .5 5.8 2.3 1.2 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 199.325 201.494 204.023 205.452 6.6 2.0 .7 6.0 2.4 1.3 

South urban .................................................... M 205.669 207.912 210.469 211.438 6.4 1.7 .5 5.8 2.3 1.2 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 208.511 210.748 213.549 214.379 6.2 1.7 .4 5.6 2.4 1.3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 131.428 132.808 134.222 134.952 6.4 1.6 .5 5.7 2.1 1.1 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 209.641 212.533 216.357 216.901 7.5 2.1 .3 7.3 3.2 1.8 

West urban ..................................................... M 214.355 216.029 218.508 219.248 6.0 1.5 .3 5.4 1.9 1.1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 216.055 218.141 220.603 221.232 6.2 1.4 .3 5.7 2.1 1.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.570 134.133 135.738 136.478 5.9 1.7 .5 5.1 1.6 1.2 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 194.886 196.844 199.028 200.009 6.0 1.6 .5 5.4 2.1 1.1 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 132.471 133.729 135.240 135.986 6.4 1.7 .6 5.7 2.1 1.1 

D ................................................................. M 205.951 208.246 211.236 211.929 6.4 1.8 .3 6.0 2.6 1.4 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 205.885 208.403 209.021 211.020 6.2 1.3 1.0 4.9 1.5 .3 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 217.914 219.702 222.435 223.245 6.6 1.6 .4 6.1 2.1 1.2 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 228.215 230.923 233.776 235.446 5.9 2.0 .7 5.2 2.4 1.2 

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

 235.419 - 240.511 6.2 2.2 ----

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 - 195.898 - 198.063 5.7 1.1 ----

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 - 206.258 - 210.830 7.5 2.2 ----

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 - 139.332 - 141.622 5.9 1.6 ----

Atlanta, GA ..................................................... 2 205.801 - 212.013 ---- 5.5 3.0 -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .............................. 2 201.037 - 203.524 ---- 3.5 1.2 -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 188.463 - 193.742 ---- 5.7 2.8 -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................. 2 219.456 - 223.849 ---- 6.1 2.0 -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ........................................ 2 223.295 - 228.429 ---- 5.5 2.3 -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ........... 2 217.913 - 221.454 ---- 4.7 1.6 -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 218.483 - 223.573 ---- 6.2 2.3 -

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,

2005-2006

 Unadjusted

 indexes

 Unadjusted

 percent change to

 July 2008 from—

 June

 2008

 July

 2008

 July

 2007

 June

 2008

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 125.582 126.116 4.8 0.4 

Food and beverages ................................................................ 14.726 125.366 126.459 5.6 .9 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.648 125.480 126.641 5.8 .9 

Food at home ....................................................................... 7.557 122.956 124.391 6.8 1.2 

Food away from home .......................................................... 6.091 128.835 129.640 4.5 .6 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................................... 1.077 124.295 124.546 3.3 .2 

Housing .................................................................................... 42.421 129.332 130.200 3.6 .7 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.409 130.287 130.773 2.5 .4 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 5.004 169.849 175.270 14.9 3.2 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 5.008 95.995 96.105 .2 .1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 3.988 86.976 84.768 -.1 -2.5 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.393 137.800 138.367 10.9 .4 

Private transportation ............................................................. 16.285 138.528 138.954 10.7 .3 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.108 129.942 132.480 14.3 2.0 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.085 141.538 141.656 3.2 .1 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.615 125.019 124.847 1.5 -.1 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.470 147.718 147.959 3.9 .2 

Recreation ................................................................................ 5.935 105.473 105.634 .8 .2 

Education and communication ................................................. 6.196 107.059 107.565 3.1 .5 

Education ............................................................................... 2.771 165.233 166.019 6.1 .5 

Communication ...................................................................... 3.425 74.114 74.463 .8 .5 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.257 128.576 128.601 3.9 .0 

Commodity and service group

Services ...................................................................................... 58.427 133.027 133.831 3.9 .6 

Commodities .............................................................................. 41.573 116.266 116.468 6.0 .2 

Durables ................................................................................... 11.817 83.274 83.257 -1.4 .0 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 29.756 133.843 134.179 9.1 .3 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 77.561 117.363 117.543 2.2 .2 

Energy ........................................................................................ 8.790 232.483 237.294 28.3 2.1 

Indexes for 2008 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2007 are interim adjustments.

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