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Department 

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INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ Friday, May 15, 2009 

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: APRIL 2009 

CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) 

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in April before 

seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This index 

has fallen 0.7 percent over the last 12 months, due primarily to a 25.2 percent drop in energy prices. The yearover-year declines in March and April are the first since 1955. 

 On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U was unchanged in April after declining 0.1 percent in March. 

The energy index declined for the second straight month, falling 2.4 percent after declining 3.0 percent in 

March. The indexes for motor fuel, fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity all declined in April. The food index 

declined as well, falling 0.2 percent in April after a 0.1 percent decrease in March. The index for food away 

from home increased, but the food at home index fell 0.6 percent with none of the six major grocery store food 

groups posting an increase. Over the past year, the food index has risen 3.3 percent while the energy index has 

declined 25.2 percent. 

Offsetting the declines in the food and energy indexes was a 0.3 percent increase in the index for all 

items less food and energy. Over 40 percent of the increase was due to a second consecutive large increase in 

the tobacco index. The index rose 9.3 percent in April as an increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes went 

into effect. A larger increase in the index for medical care, an increase in the index for new vehicles, and an 

upturn in the lodging away from home index also contributed to the April increase. The index for all items less 

food and energy has risen 1.9 percent over the past year. 

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

Expenditure

Category

Seasonally adjusted Unadjusted

12-mos.

ended

Apr. 2009

Changes from preceding month Compound

annual rate

3-mos. ended

Apr. 2009

Oct.

2008

Nov.

2008

Dec.

2008

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

All items ................................. -0.8 -1.7 -0.8 0.3 0.4 -0.1 0.0 0.9 -0.7 

Food and beverages ........... .4 .2 .1 .1 -.1 -.1 -.2 -1.6 3.3 

Housing ............................... .0 -.1 .0 .0 .0 -.1 -.1 -.9 1.0 

Apparel ................................ -.7 .1 -.6 .3 1.3 -.2 -.2 3.5 .9 

Transportation ..................... -4.8 -9.7 -5.0 1.3 1.9 -1.1 -.4 1.8 -13.4 

Medical care ........................ .2 .2 .3 .4 .3 .2 .4 3.7 3.0 

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

Education and

communication .............. .2 .2 .3 .3 .2 .2 .3 2.8 3.4 

Other goods and services ... .3 .0 .0 .3 .2 2.7 2.6 24.2 7.9 

Special indexes:

Energy ................................. -7.8 -16.9 -9.3 1.7 3.3 -3.0 -2.4 -8.5 -25.2 

Food .................................... .4 .2 .0 .1 -.1 -.1 -.2 -1.7 3.3 

All items less food and

energy ........................... .0 .1 .0 .2 .2 .2 .3 2.5 1.9 
The food and beverages index declined 0.2 percent in April following a 0.1 percent decrease in March. 

A 0.3 percent increase in the food away from home index was more than offset by a 0.6 percent decline in the 

food at home index and a 0.1 percent fall in the index for alcoholic beverages. This was the fifth consecutive 

decline in the food at home index and it has declined 1.6 percent since its November peak. The dairy and 

related products index had the largest decline among the major grocery store food groups for the third month in 

a row. It decreased 1.3 percent in April and has fallen 5.1 percent over the past year. The index for cereals and 

bakery products, other food at home, and nonalcoholic beverages also declined in April. The index for meats, 

poultry, fish and eggs was unchanged in April, as was the fruits and vegetables index. The food index has risen 

3.3 percent over the past year, with the food at home index up 2.3 percent. 

The housing index fell 0.1 percent in April, the same decline as in March. The shelter index, however, 

rose 0.2 percent in April after being unchanged the previous two months. The index for lodging away from 

home turned up in April, rising 0.5 percent after falling in each of the six previous months. The indexes for rent 

and owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. In contrast, the index for household 

energy fell 2.2 percent in April after declining 1.8 percent in March. The index for natural gas declined sharply, 

falling 7.0 percent, while the index for fuel oil fell 0.3 percent and the electricity index decreased 0.6 percent. 

The index for household furnishings and operations was unchanged in April. Over the past year, the housing 

index has risen 1.0 percent with the shelter index up 1.6 percent and the index for household energy down 4.7 

percent. 

The index for transportation fell 0.4 percent in April after declining 1.1 percent in March. Following a 

4.0 percent decrease in March, the gasoline index declined 2.8 percent in April. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, 

gasoline prices rose 5.3 percent in April.) The index for new and used motor vehicles rose 0.4 percent in April. 

The new vehicles index rose 0.4 percent, while the used cars and trucks index declined only 0.1 percent in April 

after falling 1.7 percent in March. The index for public transportation declined for the eight straight month, 

falling 0.8 percent as the airline fare index declined 1.5 percent. The transportation index has decreased 13.4 

percent since April 2008, with several of its components declining over the period. The index for gasoline fell 

39.5 percent and the index for public transportation decreased 5.9 percent, while the indexes for new vehicles 

and for used cars and trucks declined 0.2 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. 

Among other CPI groups, the index for medical care rose 0.4 percent in April after a 0.2 percent 

increase in March as the indexes for prescription drugs and hospital services posted larger increases. The index 

for education and communication rose 0.3 percent in April with education index up 0.4 percent and the index 

for communication rising 0.1 percent. The index for other goods and services posted another sharp increase due 

to higher tobacco prices, rising 2.6 percent in April. The 9.3 percent increase in the tobacco index followed an 

11.0 percent increase in March and the index has risen 28.8 percent over the past year. The indexes for 

recreation and apparel both declined in April, falling 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. 
CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rose 0.3 percent in 

April, prior to seasonal adjustment. The index value of 207.925 was 1.3 percent lower than in April 2008. On a 

seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-W was unchanged in April. 

 

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

Expenditure

Category

Seasonally adjusted Unadjusted

12-mos.

ended

Apr. 2009

Changes from preceding month Compound

annual rate

3-mos. ended

Apr. 2009

Oct.

2008

Nov.

2008

Dec.

2008

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

All items ................................. -1.0 -2.1 -1.0 0.3 0.4 -0.1 0.0 1.1 -1.3 

Food and beverages ........... .4 .2 .1 .0 -.2 -.1 -.2 -1.9 3.4 

Housing ............................... .0 .0 .0 .0 .1 -.1 -.1 -.7 1.3 

Apparel ................................ -1.0 .0 -.6 .6 1.0 -.3 -.3 1.3 .7 

Transportation ..................... -5.3 -10.9 -5.6 1.5 2.0 -1.3 -.5 .6 -15.5 

Medical care ........................ .1 .2 .3 .4 .4 .2 .4 3.8 3.1 

Recreation ........................... .1 .0 -.1 .0 .4 .0 -.3 .6 1.3 

Education and

communication .............. .2 .2 .3 .2 .2 .2 .2 2.3 3.1 

Other goods and services ... .3 .1 .1 .4 .2 3.9 3.8 36.8 11.3 

Special indexes:

Energy ................................. -8.2 -17.8 -9.7 1.9 3.6 -3.1 -2.4 -7.9 -26.1 

Food .................................... .4 .2 .1 .0 -.2 -.1 -.2 -2.0 3.4 

All items less food and

energy ........................... .0 .1 .0 .2 .2 .2 .3 3.0 2.0 

Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)

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

on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The index has decreased 1.1 percent over the past year. Please note that the 

indexes for the post-2007 period are subject to revision. 

Upcoming release

Consumer Price Index data for May are scheduled for release on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 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 0.04 percent for the U.S. All Items Consumer Price Index. This 

means that if we repeatedly sample from the universe of all retail prices using the same methodology, and 

estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95% of these estimates would be within 0.08 percent of the 

1 month percentage change based on all retail prices. For example, for a 1-month change of 0.2 percent in the 

All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers, we are 95 percent confident that the actual percent change based on all 

retail prices would fall between 0.12 and 0.28 percent. For the latest data, including information on how to use 

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

January-December 2008”. These data are available on the CPI home page (http://www.bls.gov/cpi), or by using 

the following link http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpivar2008.pdf 

Calculating Index Changes 

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

than changes in index points, because index point changes are affected by the level of the index in relation to its 

base period while percent changes are not. The example below illustrates the computation of index point and 

percent changes. 

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

according to the standard formula for compound growth rates. These data indicate what the percent change 

would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12-month period. 

Index Point Change

CPI 202.416 

Less previous index 201.800 

Equals index point change .616 

Percent Change

Index point difference .616 

Divided by the previous index 201.800 

Equals 0.003 

Results multiplied by one hundred 0.003x100 

Equals percent change 0.3
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 2004 through December 2008 

were replaced in January 2009. 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: 

47 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for 2009. 

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 2009, BLS adjusted 29 series using Intervention Analysis 

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

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

refineries from Hurricane Katrina. 

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

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

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

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

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

2008

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Apr. 2009 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Mar.

2009

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Mar. to

Apr.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 212.709 213.240 -0.7 0.2 0.4 -0.1 0.0 

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

 637.182 638.771 - - - - -

Food and beverages .................................................................. 15.757 218.794 218.364 3.3 -.2 -.1 -.1 -.2 

Food ......................................................................................... 14.629 218.600 218.162 3.3 -.2 -.1 -.1 -.2 

Food at home ......................................................................... 8.156 217.110 215.783 2.3 -.6 -.4 -.4 -.6 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.150 253.698 252.709 5.3 -.4 -.5 -.2 -.7 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 1.898 206.348 205.699 2.5 -.3 -.1 -.9 .0 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .910 199.687 197.124 -5.1 -1.3 -2.4 -2.4 -1.3 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.194 274.759 274.297 .6 -.2 .4 .2 .0 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ .982 165.656 162.889 2.0 -1.7 -.4 1.0 -1.0 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.022 192.234 191.352 5.3 -.5 -.3 .0 -.8 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .300 197.137 197.301 6.7 .1 .0 .2 -.5 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .241 204.776 200.464 5.2 -2.1 -1.1 .1 -1.4 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.481 206.367 205.734 5.0 -.3 -.2 .0 -.8 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .433 122.402 122.883 3.7 .4 -1.2 -.1 .4 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.474 222.216 222.905 4.6 .3 .3 .1 .3 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .314 154.414 155.099 4.3 .4 .9 -.2 .4 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.127 219.999 219.671 2.9 -.1 -.2 .1 -.1 

Housing ...................................................................................... 43.421 217.374 217.126 1.0 -.1 .0 -.1 -.1 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 33.200 249.597 249.855 1.6 .1 .0 .0 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 5.957 248.639 248.899 3.1 .1 .1 .2 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... 2.478 137.715 137.700 -5.9 .0 -1.8 -2.4 .5 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 .................. 24.433 256.321 256.622 2.1 .1 .1 .2 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .333 120.737 120.675 1.9 -.1 .2 .0 -.1 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 5.431 210.501 207.175 -2.9 -1.6 -.1 -1.4 -1.7 

Household energy .................................................................. 4.460 188.736 184.903 -4.7 -2.0 -.2 -1.8 -2.2

Fuel oil and other fuels ......................................................... .301 230.837 228.107 -33.5 -1.2 -1.8 -7.7 -2.1

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 4.159 194.752 190.686 -1.9 -2.1 .0 -1.4 -2.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... .971 158.052 158.698 6.1 .4 .1 .4 .6 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 4.790 129.669 129.654 1.8 .0 .2 .3 .0 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .781 150.914 150.809 3.4 -.1 -.2 .5 -.1 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.691 122.545 123.208 .9 .5 1.3 -.2 -.2 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... .923 117.748 117.195 .5 -.5 2.8 -.3 -1.7 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.541 111.079 111.871 .6 .7 .8 -.7 .2 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .183 115.548 117.084 .6 1.3 -1.1 .6 1.3 

Footwear .................................................................................. .688 126.707 128.057 1.5 1.1 .7 .2 .4

Transportation ............................................................................ 15.314 169.647 171.987 -13.4 1.4 1.9 -1.1 -.4 

Private transportation ............................................................... 14.189 165.023 167.516 -13.9 1.5 2.2 -1.1 -.3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 6.931 92.109 92.381 -1.7 .3 .5 .0 .4 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 4.480 134.611 134.863 -.2 .2 .8 .6 .4 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 1.628 121.061 121.213 -11.4 .1 -1.7 -1.7 -.1 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 3.164 168.404 177.272 -39.8 5.3 7.6 -4.4 -2.6 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 2.964 167.826 176.704 -39.5 5.3 8.3 -4.0 -2.8

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .382 134.484 134.640 6.8 .1 .5 .3 .1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.188 242.118 242.649 5.3 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Public transportation ................................................................ 1.125 230.735 229.827 -5.9 -.4 -1.9 -1.0 -.8 

Medical care ............................................................................... 6.390 373.189 374.170 3.0 .3 .3 .2 .4 

Medical care commodities ........................................................ 1.625 302.908 303.979 2.4 .4 .6 .2 .3 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.765 394.837 395.753 3.3 .2 .3 .2 .4 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.702 317.460 317.661 2.7 .1 .1 .0 .1 

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.545 560.995 564.785 6.5 .7 .8 .6 .9 

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

2008

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Apr. 2009 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Mar.

2009

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Mar. to

Apr.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 5.741 114.625 114.261 1.2 -0.3 0.4 0.0 -0.4 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.822 102.000 102.300 -1.1 .3 .0 .0 .1 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.301 126.187 126.273 3.4 .1 .2 .2 .3 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 3.107 187.298 187.416 5.4 .1 .4 .5 .4 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .221 472.185 472.507 6.9 .1 .3 .5 .4 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.886 538.813 539.149 5.3 .1 .5 .5 .4 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.194 84.922 84.985 1.6 .1 .0 .0 .1 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 3.022 82.022 82.090 1.4 .1 .0 .0 .1 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.408 101.991 102.072 2.6 .1 .0 .1 .1 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .614 9.872 9.881 -2.8 .1 .1 -.5 .1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ............ .214 86.213 85.714 -13.3 -.6 -.9 -1.7 -.6 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.386 361.156 370.606 7.9 2.6 .2 2.7 2.6 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ .776 679.078 742.443 28.8 9.3 .7 11.0 9.3 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.610 204.117 204.896 1.9 .4 .0 .2 .3 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .651 162.696 163.777 2.7 .7 .0 .1 .7 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .647 227.982 227.913 2.3 .0 .1 .9 .0 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... 1.074 341.570 342.641 1.5 .3 .1 .0 .2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 39.556 166.645 167.816 -4.6 .7 .9 -.3 -.1 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 15.757 218.794 218.364 3.3 -.2 -.1 -.1 -.2 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 23.799 139.962 141.753 -9.0 1.3 1.5 -.4 .0 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 13.289 170.200 173.855 -13.5 2.1 2.8 -1.2 -.7 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.691 122.545 123.208 .9 .5 1.3 -.2 -.2 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 9.598 203.557 209.177 -17.8 2.8 3.3 -1.6 -.6 

Durables ................................................................................... 10.510 109.264 109.404 -2.0 .1 .1 .0 .2 

Services ....................................................................................... 60.444 258.597 258.466 2.0 -.1 .1 .0 .0 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 32.867 260.197 260.469 1.6 .1 -.1 -.1 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .333 120.737 120.675 1.9 -.1 .2 .0 -.1 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 4.159 194.752 190.686 -1.9 -2.1 .0 -1.4 -2.2 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... .971 158.052 158.698 6.1 .4 .1 .4 .6 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .781 150.914 150.809 3.4 -.1 -.2 .5 -.1 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.567 247.912 248.696 3.6 .3 .4 -.1 .3 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.765 394.837 395.753 3.3 .2 .3 .2 .4 

Other services ............................................................................ 11.002 302.024 301.668 3.0 -.1 .3 .2 -.1 

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 85.371 211.775 212.464 -1.4 .3 .5 -.1 .0 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 66.800 200.626 201.271 -1.8 .3 .6 -.2 -.1 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 93.610 204.766 205.275 -1.0 .2 .4 -.2 .0 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 24.926 142.728 144.464 -8.5 1.2 1.4 -.4 .0 

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 14.416 173.167 176.587 -12.4 2.0 2.6 -1.2 -.6 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 10.726 204.159 209.195 -16.2 2.5 3.0 -1.5 -.6 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 29.046 194.105 195.864 -5.4 .9 1.2 -.7 -.3 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 27.577 276.407 275.752 2.5 -.2 .2 -.1 -.2 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 55.679 247.675 247.490 1.9 -.1 .0 -.1 .0 

Energy .......................................................................................... 7.624 177.454 179.704 -25.2 1.3 3.3 -3.0 -2.4 

All items less energy .................................................................... 92.376 218.033 218.388 2.1 .2 .1 .1 .2

All items less food and energy ................................................... 77.746 218.639 219.143 1.9 .2 .2 .2 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 21.461 141.662 142.489 .9 .6 .4 .4 .5 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 3.465 172.787 181.102 -39.4 4.8 6.9 -4.7 -2.6 

Services less energy services .................................................. 56.285 265.147 265.399 2.3 .1 .1 .1 .2 

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

 $ .470 $ .469 - - - - -

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

 $ .157 $ .157 - - - - -

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

item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 4 Indexes on a December 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—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

July

2008

Oct.

2008

Jan.

2009

Apr.

2009 Oct.

2008

Apr.

2009

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 212.174 213.007 212.714 212.671 8.9 -3.1 -8.4 0.9 2.7 -3.9 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 219.309 219.076 218.792 218.401 7.8 6.0 1.4 -1.6 6.9 -.2 

Food ................................................................................ 219.193 218.970 218.651 218.254 8.1 6.1 1.1 -1.7 7.1 -.3 

Food at home ................................................................ 218.879 217.968 217.202 215.948 9.6 6.6 -.9 -5.2 8.1 -3.1 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 255.719 254.347 253.863 252.062 15.7 8.1 4.0 -5.6 11.9 -.9 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 208.536 208.389 206.465 206.480 7.4 10.3 -3.2 -3.9 8.8 -3.6 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 209.632 204.537 199.687 197.124 12.7 -2.3 -5.7 -21.8 4.9 -14.1 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 274.270 275.374 275.843 275.810 16.6 -1.1 -13.3 2.3 7.4 -5.8 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 163.804 163.173 164.813 163.084 -.6 9.8 .8 -1.7 4.5 -.5 

Other food at home ..................................................... 192.914 192.419 192.431 190.826 8.1 9.9 8.0 -4.3 9.0 1.7

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 197.086 196.990 197.299 196.398 4.7 11.4 12.7 -1.4 8.0 5.4

Fats and oils .............................................................. 205.904 203.729 204.029 201.213 20.8 14.4 -3.0 -8.8 17.6 -5.9 

Other foods ............................................................... 207.193 206.838 206.741 205.037 6.8 8.8 8.9 -4.1 7.8 2.2 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 124.012 122.580 122.402 122.883 7.0 7.5 4.3 -3.6 7.2 .3 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 221.319 221.968 222.216 222.905 6.3 5.5 3.8 2.9 5.9 3.3 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 153.402 154.726 154.414 155.099 6.8 6.6 -.4 4.5 6.7 2.0 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 219.504 219.141 219.315 218.994 2.9 5.3 4.4 -.9 4.1 1.7 

Housing ............................................................................. 217.646 217.621 217.335 217.180 6.0 -.4 -.3 -.9 2.7 -.6 

Shelter ............................................................................. 248.938 248.881 248.899 249.334 2.6 1.6 1.4 .6 2.1 1.0 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 247.744 248.087 248.490 248.916 3.6 3.6 3.1 1.9 3.6 2.5 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 139.122 136.561 133.328 134.000 6.0 -5.1 -9.5 -13.9 .3 -11.8 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ......... 255.349 255.687 256.257 256.627 2.1 1.9 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 120.402 120.683 120.737 120.675 1.2 3.9 1.6 .9 2.5 1.3 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 217.515 217.260 214.254 210.702 31.3 -14.1 -9.8 -12.0 6.2 -10.9 

Household energy ......................................................... 196.727 196.415 192.927 188.753 36.8 -18.2 -12.4 -15.3 5.8 -13.8 

Fuel oil and other fuels ................................................ 256.210 251.478 232.191 227.355 56.4 -48.7 -60.6 -38.0 -10.4 -50.6 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 202.120 202.043 199.289 194.967 35.0 -14.5 -6.6 -13.4 7.5 -10.1 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 157.027 157.141 157.817 158.802 6.7 9.7 3.6 4.6 8.2 4.1 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 128.759 129.008 129.436 129.434 2.4 3.1 -.2 2.1 2.7 .9 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 150.438 150.156 150.914 150.809 7.1 4.8 1.0 1.0 5.9 1.0 

Apparel .............................................................................. 118.523 120.039 119.744 119.537 3.6 -2.4 -.9 3.5 .6 1.2 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 113.210 116.328 116.007 114.062 -1.3 -2.1 2.3 3.0 -1.7 2.7 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 106.470 107.374 106.592 106.771 6.9 -3.0 -2.3 1.1 1.8 -.6 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 114.014 112.796 113.510 115.025 -4.6 2.0 1.7 3.6 -1.4 2.7 

Footwear ......................................................................... 124.325 125.209 125.517 126.039 5.0 -5.2 .8 5.6 -.2 3.2 

Transportation ................................................................... 169.489 172.759 170.903 170.259 25.3 -21.3 -43.0 1.8 -.7 -23.8 

Private transportation ...................................................... 164.414 168.067 166.252 165.676 25.0 -21.9 -44.4 3.1 -1.2 -24.3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 91.534 91.997 92.016 92.400 -1.2 -6.5 -2.7 3.8 -3.9 .5 

New vehicles ............................................................... 132.132 133.199 134.020 134.580 .8 -6.9 -1.9 7.6 -3.1 2.8 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 125.893 123.757 121.704 121.616 -7.7 -14.1 -10.7 -12.9 -11.0 -11.8 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 169.176 182.030 173.947 169.373 80.2 -46.8 -86.3 .5 -2.1 -62.9 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 166.839 180.685 173.498 168.696 79.9 -46.4 -86.7 4.5 -1.8 -62.7 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 133.414 134.108 134.484 134.640 10.1 9.0 4.6 3.7 9.5 4.2 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 241.076 241.689 242.118 242.649 7.6 6.0 4.9 2.6 6.8 3.7 

Public transportation ....................................................... 239.071 234.648 232.294 230.470 30.1 -12.8 -19.9 -13.6 6.5 -16.8 

Medical care ...................................................................... 369.914 371.175 371.902 373.257 2.0 2.6 3.9 3.7 2.3 3.8 

Medical care commodities .............................................. 299.887 301.710 302.464 303.357 -1.9 1.7 5.1 4.7 -.1 4.9 

Medical care services ..................................................... 391.533 392.512 393.210 394.734 3.3 2.9 3.5 3.3 3.1 3.4 

Professional services .................................................... 316.115 316.299 316.416 316.667 4.5 2.5 3.3 .7 3.5 2.0

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 550.035 554.315 557.588 562.843 4.9 5.9 5.8 9.6 5.4 7.7 

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—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

July

2008

Oct.

2008

Jan.

2009

Apr.

2009 Oct.

2008

Apr.

2009

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 114.022 114.492 114.511 114.030 2.3 3.2 -0.5 0.0 2.7 -0.2

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 101.677 101.630 101.640 101.741 -2.2 -.5 -2.1 .3 -1.4 -.9 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 125.900 126.187 126.461 126.783 5.6 2.1 3.3 2.8 3.8 3.1 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 186.426 187.249 188.119 188.943 5.5 5.9 4.8 5.5 5.7 5.2 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 466.752 468.101 470.674 472.682 5.7 11.8 4.9 5.2 8.7 5.0 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 536.592 539.023 541.493 543.870 5.5 5.5 4.8 5.5 5.5 5.2 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 84.926 84.944 84.924 84.988 5.7 -1.4 1.9 .3 2.1 1.1 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 82.030 82.052 82.022 82.090 5.3 -1.5 1.9 .3 1.8 1.1 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 101.880 101.895 101.991 102.072 7.6 .3 1.9 .8 3.9 1.3 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 9.919 9.926 9.872 9.881 -3.2 -8.2 1.8 -1.5 -5.7 .1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ... 88.522 87.696 86.213 85.714 -15.7 -18.7 -6.2 -12.1 -17.2 -9.2 

Other goods and services ................................................. 350.529 351.139 360.782 370.031 4.9 2.6 1.5 24.2 3.8 12.2 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 607.403 611.549 679.078 742.443 14.9 2.0 5.2 123.2 8.3 53.2 

Personal care .................................................................. 203.284 203.328 203.836 204.462 2.2 2.8 .4 2.3 2.5 1.4 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 162.588 162.508 162.696 163.777 -1.0 2.1 7.1 3.0 .5 5.0 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 225.734 225.895 227.982 227.913 1.7 3.3 .3 3.9 2.5 2.1 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 341.123 341.519 341.437 342.001 4.1 3.1 -2.2 1.0 3.6 -.6 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 165.772 167.199 166.703 166.603 13.2 -8.5 -20.8 2.0 1.8 -10.1 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 219.309 219.076 218.792 218.401 7.8 6.0 1.4 -1.6 6.9 -.2 

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 138.547 140.611 140.043 140.066 16.4 -15.9 -31.9 4.5 -1.1 -15.7

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 168.119 172.896 170.758 169.626 34.9 -28.6 -43.8 3.6 -1.9 -23.7 

Apparel .......................................................................... 118.523 120.039 119.744 119.537 3.6 -2.4 -.9 3.5 .6 1.2 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 202.707 209.390 206.003 204.807 42.5 -33.9 -53.6 4.2 -2.9 -30.5 

Durables .......................................................................... 108.857 108.993 109.006 109.203 -.7 -5.0 -3.6 1.3 -2.8 -1.2 

Services .............................................................................. 258.406 258.654 258.590 258.599 5.9 .9 1.0 .3 3.4 .7 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 259.773 259.487 259.349 259.854 2.6 1.8 1.8 .1 2.2 1.0 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 120.402 120.683 120.737 120.675 1.2 3.9 1.6 .9 2.5 1.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 202.120 202.043 199.289 194.967 35.0 -14.5 -6.6 -13.4 7.5 -10.1 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 157.027 157.141 157.817 158.802 6.7 9.7 3.6 4.6 8.2 4.1 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 150.438 150.156 150.914 150.809 7.1 4.8 1.0 1.0 5.9 1.0 

Transportation services ..................................................... 247.648 248.567 248.393 249.193 9.8 2.0 .1 2.5 5.9 1.3 

Medical care services ....................................................... 391.533 392.512 393.210 394.734 3.3 2.9 3.5 3.3 3.1 3.4 

Other services ................................................................... 300.534 301.506 302.251 302.016 4.8 2.9 2.2 2.0 3.8 2.1 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 211.055 212.061 211.773 211.787 9.0 -4.5 -9.9 1.4 2.0 -4.4 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 200.133 201.331 200.911 200.676 12.0 -5.3 -12.8 1.1 3.0 -6.1 

All items less medical care .................................................. 204.338 205.148 204.820 204.724 9.4 -3.5 -9.2 .8 2.8 -4.3 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 141.335 143.336 142.788 142.801 15.8 -15.2 -30.7 4.2 -.9 -15.0 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 171.218 175.672 173.638 172.529 32.7 -26.9 -41.3 3.1 -1.5 -22.2 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 203.422 209.425 206.340 205.196 39.0 -31.4 -50.0 3.5 -2.4 -28.0 

Nondurables ........................................................................ 193.462 195.833 194.522 193.911 19.6 -13.5 -23.4 .9 1.7 -12.1 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 277.056 277.608 277.380 276.815 9.4 .2 1.0 -.3 4.7 .3 

Services less medical care services ................................... 247.839 247.947 247.779 247.685 5.8 1.0 1.1 -.2 3.3 .4 

Energy ................................................................................. 181.938 187.901 182.254 177.924 60.3 -36.0 -65.4 -8.5 1.3 -43.8 

All items less energy ........................................................... 216.970 217.276 217.539 217.941 3.9 1.9 1.0 1.8 2.9 1.4 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 217.265 217.670 218.042 218.594 3.1 1.1 .9 2.5 2.1 1.7 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 139.745 140.300 140.893 141.583 1.1 -1.7 -.9 5.4 -.3 2.2 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 174.862 186.872 178.146 173.528 78.6 -46.9 -85.3 -3.0 -2.6 -62.2 

Services less energy services ......................................... 264.221 264.500 264.698 265.129 3.9 2.2 1.6 1.4 3.1 1.5 

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

Apr.2009 from—

Percent change to

Mar.2009 from—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Mar.

2008

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

U.S. city average ............................................ M 211.143 212.193 212.709 213.240 -0.7 0.5 0.2 -0.4 0.7 0.2 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 225.436 226.754 227.309 227.840 -.1 .5 .2 .2 .8 .2 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 227.852 229.262 229.749 230.400 .2 .5 .3 .3 .8 .2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.308 133.967 134.411 134.547 -.9 .4 .1 -.1 .8 .3 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 200.815 201.453 202.021 202.327 -1.5 .4 .2 -.8 .6 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 202.001 202.639 203.240 203.463 -1.5 .4 .1 -.9 .6 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 128.636 129.057 129.334 129.604 -1.4 .4 .2 -.6 .5 .2 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 195.843 196.421 197.267 197.644 -1.6 .6 .2 -1.1 .7 .4 

South urban .................................................... M 204.288 205.343 206.001 206.657 -.7 .6 .3 -.3 .8 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 207.035 207.929 208.529 208.934 -.5 .5 .2 -.3 .7 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 129.615 130.380 130.873 131.370 -.9 .8 .4 -.4 1.0 .4 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 205.766 206.671 206.927 207.898 -.4 .6 .5 .0 .6 .1 

West urban ..................................................... M 215.923 217.095 217.357 217.910 -.7 .4 .3 -.5 .7 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 219.806 220.955 221.124 221.790 -.4 .4 .3 -.4 .6 .1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 130.682 131.636 131.775 131.912 -1.3 .2 .1 -.8 .8 .1 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 193.412 194.354 194.750 195.207 -.5 .4 .2 -.3 .7 .2 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 130.135 130.855 131.230 131.557 -1.1 .5 .2 -.5 .8 .3 

D ................................................................. M 203.409 203.999 204.672 205.421 -.9 .7 .4 -.5 .6 .3 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 207.616 207.367 207.462 207.886 -2.2 .3 .2 -1.9 -.1 .0 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 220.719 221.439 221.376 221.693 -1.3 .1 .1 -1.0 .3 .0 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 233.402 234.663 235.067 235.582 .8 .4 .2 .8 .7 .2 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT ..... 1 230.806 -

 232.155 - - - - -.4 .6 -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 198.232 - 199.457 - - - - -1.5 .6 -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 198.623 -

 200.039 - - - - .7 .7 -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 137.598 - 138.620 - - - - .4 .7 -

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

 199.190 - 199.210 -3.5 .0 - - - -

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

 201.913 - 202.373 -1.4 .2 - - - -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 - 187.972 - 189.701 .5 .9 - - - -

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

 220.589 - 220.740 -.3 .1 - - - -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

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

 220.262 - 221.686 -.9 .6 - - - -

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

 222.166 - 223.854 .8 .8 - - - -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 - 224.737 - 225.918 1.2 .5 - - - -

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

2008

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Apr. 2009 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Mar.

2009

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Mar. to

Apr.

Expenditure category

All items ........................................................................................ 100.000 207.218 207.925 -1.3 0.3 0.4 -0.1 0.0 

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

 617.239 619.344 - - - - -

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.942 218.119 217.653 3.4 -.2 -.2 -.1 -.2 

Food ......................................................................................... 15.865 217.855 217.376 3.4 -.2 -.2 -.1 -.2 

Food at home ......................................................................... 9.201 215.922 214.654 2.4 -.6 -.5 -.3 -.5 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.249 254.395 253.556 5.4 -.3 -.6 -.1 -.7 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 2.315 206.094 205.527 2.6 -.3 .0 -.9 .0 

Dairy and related products 1 ................................................ .992 198.048 195.714 -5.5 -1.2 -2.6 -2.5 -1.2 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.266 271.727 271.771 .6 .0 .2 .1 .2 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ 1.167 165.437 162.464 2.3 -1.8 -.3 1.2 -1.1 

Other food at home .............................................................. 2.212 191.594 190.650 5.2 -.5 -.3 .0 -.9 

Sugar and sweets .............................................................. .304 196.015 195.858 6.6 -.1 .0 .4 -.6 

Fats and oils ....................................................................... .274 205.693 201.474 5.2 -2.1 -.9 -.1 -1.2 

Other foods ........................................................................ 1.634 206.468 205.820 5.0 -.3 -.3 .0 -.9 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ......................................... .472 122.837 123.112 3.7 .2 -1.2 -.1 .2 

Food away from home 1 ......................................................... 6.664 222.336 222.957 4.8 .3 .3 .1 .3 

Other food away from home 1 2 ........................................... .233 154.054 154.414 4.8 .2 .7 -.3 .2 

Alcoholic beverages ................................................................. 1.077 220.500 220.243 3.1 -.1 -.2 .1 -.1 

Housing ...................................................................................... 41.313 213.213 212.885 1.3 -.2 .1 -.1 -.1 

Shelter ...................................................................................... 31.224 242.605 242.857 1.9 .1 .1 .1 .1 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................... 8.279 247.285 247.517 2.9 .1 .1 .2 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 .................................................... 1.209 138.008 138.008 -5.4 .0 -1.6 -2.3 .4 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 .................. 21.430 232.235 232.503 2.0 .1 .1 .2 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................... .306 121.099 121.084 2.0 .0 .2 .1 .0 

Fuels and utilities ..................................................................... 6.030 209.400 205.840 -2.4 -1.7 .0 -1.4 -1.8 

Household energy .................................................................. 4.996 186.809 182.795 -4.1 -2.1 .0 -1.8 -2.3 

Fuel oil and other fuels ......................................................... .283 236.237 232.068 -31.5 -1.8 -2.3 -7.0 -2.5

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ................................................. 4.713 192.922 188.735 -1.9 -2.2 .1 -1.5 -2.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................... 1.035 158.460 159.073 6.2 .4 .1 .4 .6 

Household furnishings and operations ..................................... 4.059 125.337 125.458 1.9 .1 .2 .2 .2 

Household operations 1 2 ....................................................... .360 153.239 152.980 3.1 -.2 -.1 .7 -.2 

Apparel ....................................................................................... 3.979 122.162 122.709 .7 .4 1.0 -.3 -.3 

Men’s and boys’ apparel .......................................................... 1.024 118.735 117.834 .6 -.8 2.8 -.5 -1.8 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ...................................................... 1.568 110.380 110.990 .0 .6 .4 -.8 -.2 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel ................................................... .249 117.944 119.873 .6 1.6 -.8 .4 1.7 

Footwear .................................................................................. .840 126.858 128.312 1.7 1.1 .6 .4 .4

Transportation ............................................................................ 17.067 165.978 168.539 -15.5 1.5 2.0 -1.3 -.5 

Private transportation ............................................................... 16.284 162.659 165.299 -15.9 1.6 2.1 -1.3 -.5 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ............................................. 7.627 89.418 89.620 -3.8 .2 .0 -.3 .3 

New vehicles ........................................................................ 4.057 135.744 135.911 -.4 .1 .7 .7 .3 

Used cars and trucks ........................................................... 2.863 121.669 121.850 -11.5 .1 -1.7 -1.7 .0 

Motor fuel ............................................................................... 4.029 169.060 177.982 -39.8 5.3 7.5 -4.4 -2.6 

Gasoline (all types) .............................................................. 3.770 168.574 177.510 -39.5 5.3 8.2 -3.9 -2.7

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ..................................... .482 134.485 134.614 6.8 .1 .5 .2 .1 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ................................ 1.242 244.650 245.180 5.2 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Public transportation ................................................................ .784 229.034 228.525 -5.6 -.2 -2.0 -.7 -.7

Medical care ............................................................................... 5.355 373.541 374.599 3.1 .3 .4 .2 .4 

Medical care commodities ........................................................ 1.320 294.728 295.699 2.4 .3 .6 .3 .3 

Medical care services ............................................................... 4.035 396.489 397.553 3.3 .3 .3 .2 .4 

Professional services ............................................................. 2.234 320.231 320.407 2.8 .1 .1 .1 .1 

Hospital and related services 3 .............................................. 1.338 557.167 561.516 6.7 .8 .7 .6 1.0 

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

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2008

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Apr. 2009 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Mar.

2009

Jan. to

Feb.

Feb. to

Mar.

Mar. to

Apr.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................... 5.454 111.436 111.182 1.3 -0.2 0.4 0.0 -0.3 

Video and audio 2 .................................................................... 1.982 102.153 102.516 -.9 .4 .1 -.1 .3 

Education and communication 2 ................................................ 6.221 122.087 122.152 3.1 .1 .2 .2 .2 

Education 2 .............................................................................. 2.527 184.824 184.892 5.3 .0 .4 .5 .4 

Educational books and supplies ............................................. .219 474.880 474.950 6.8 .0 .5 .4 .4 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ................................ 2.308 520.146 520.348 5.2 .0 .4 .5 .4 

Communication 2 ..................................................................... 3.694 87.615 87.671 1.7 .1 .0 .0 .1 

Information and information processing 1 2 ............................ 3.568 85.595 85.655 1.6 .1 .1 .0 .1 

Telephone services 1 2 ......................................................... 2.965 101.977 102.048 2.5 .1 .0 .1 .1 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 ............. .604 10.378 10.385 -2.7 .1 .2 -.6 .1 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ............ .202 86.004 85.406 -13.6 -.7 -.6 -1.8 -.7 

Other goods and services .......................................................... 3.668 380.208 394.902 11.3 3.9 .2 3.9 3.8 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ............................................ 1.267 682.115 747.906 29.3 9.6 .7 10.9 9.6 

Personal care ........................................................................... 2.401 202.099 203.010 2.1 .5 .0 .2 .4 

Personal care products 1 ....................................................... .662 162.516 163.911 2.7 .9 -.1 .0 .9 

Personal care services 1 ........................................................ .580 228.201 228.119 2.3 .0 .1 .9 .0 

Miscellaneous personal services ........................................... .947 344.021 345.016 1.8 .3 .0 .0 .2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ................................................................................ 42.689 167.514 169.005 -5.5 .9 .8 -.3 .0 

Food and beverages .................................................................. 16.942 218.119 217.653 3.4 -.2 -.2 -.1 -.2 

Commodities less food and beverages ...................................... 25.747 141.615 143.871 -10.4 1.6 1.5 -.4 .1 

Nondurables less food and beverages ..................................... 14.587 174.838 179.415 -14.8 2.6 3.1 -1.2 -.6 

Apparel ................................................................................... 3.979 122.162 122.709 .7 .4 1.0 -.3 -.3 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .................... 10.609 211.287 218.502 -19.2 3.4 3.7 -1.4 -.3 

Durables ................................................................................... 11.160 108.413 108.596 -3.2 .2 -.1 -.2 .2 

Services ....................................................................................... 57.311 253.591 253.403 2.2 -.1 .1 .0 .0 

Rent of shelter 4 ......................................................................... 30.918 233.903 234.148 1.9 .1 .0 .1 .1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ....................................... .306 121.099 121.084 2.0 .0 .2 .1 .0 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................................... 4.713 192.922 188.735 -1.9 -2.2 .1 -1.5 -2.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ....................... 1.035 158.460 159.073 6.2 .4 .1 .4 .6 

Household operations 1 2 ........................................................... .360 153.239 152.980 3.1 -.2 -.1 .7 -.2 

Transportation services .............................................................. 5.512 247.862 248.809 4.1 .4 .4 .0 .4 

Medical care services ................................................................. 4.035 396.489 397.553 3.3 .3 .3 .2 .4 

Other services ............................................................................ 10.432 290.043 289.738 2.8 -.1 .3 .3 -.1 

Special indexes

All items less food ........................................................................ 84.135 205.167 206.081 -2.1 .4 .6 -.1 .0 

All items less shelter .................................................................... 68.776 196.551 197.432 -2.7 .4 .6 -.3 -.1 

All items less medical care ........................................................... 94.645 200.421 201.112 -1.6 .3 .4 -.2 .0 

Commodities less food ................................................................. 26.824 144.172 146.371 -9.9 1.5 1.4 -.4 .1 

Nondurables less food ................................................................. 15.664 177.487 181.815 -13.8 2.4 2.9 -1.1 -.6 

Nondurables less food and apparel ............................................. 11.686 211.094 217.649 -17.7 3.1 3.4 -1.3 -.3 

Nondurables ................................................................................. 31.530 196.174 198.408 -6.3 1.1 1.4 -.7 -.2 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ...................................................... 26.392 244.413 243.718 2.4 -.3 .2 -.1 -.3 

Services less medical care services ............................................ 53.275 243.223 242.980 2.1 -.1 .1 .0 -.1 

Energy .......................................................................................... 9.024 175.947 178.485 -26.1 1.4 3.6 -3.1 -2.4 

All items less energy .................................................................... 90.976 211.989 212.472 2.2 .2 .1 .2 .2

All items less food and energy ................................................... 75.111 211.178 211.857 2.0 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities ..................... 22.513 142.077 143.237 .8 .8 .2 .5 .7 

Energy commodities ............................................................... 4.311 172.563 181.021 -39.4 4.9 7.0 -4.5 -2.6 

Services less energy services .................................................. 52.598 260.158 260.439 2.5 .1 .1 .1 .2 

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

 $ .483 $ .481 - - - - -

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

 $ .162 $ .161 - - - - -

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—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

July

2008

Oct.

2008

Jan.

2009

Apr.

2009 Oct.

2008

Apr.

2009

Expenditure category

All items .............................................................................. 206.778 207.692 207.401 207.352 9.9 -4.1 -10.5 1.1 2.7 -4.9 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 218.714 218.371 218.079 217.672 8.1 6.3 1.2 -1.9 7.2 -.3 

Food ................................................................................ 218.536 218.207 217.881 217.462 8.4 6.4 1.0 -2.0 7.4 -.5 

Food at home ................................................................ 217.690 216.694 215.965 214.802 9.8 6.9 -1.3 -5.2 8.3 -3.3 

Cereals and bakery products ...................................... 256.432 254.813 254.555 252.843 15.8 8.4 3.8 -5.5 12.1 -.9 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..................................... 208.092 208.151 206.190 206.191 7.6 10.7 -3.4 -3.6 9.1 -3.5 

Dairy and related products 1 ....................................... 208.530 203.023 198.048 195.714 13.0 -3.3 -6.0 -22.4 4.6 -14.6 

Fruits and vegetables .................................................. 272.072 272.522 272.783 273.381 18.2 -1.0 -14.2 1.9 8.2 -6.5 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ....... 163.227 162.689 164.563 162.761 -.6 11.0 .4 -1.1 5.0 -.4 

Other food at home ..................................................... 192.226 191.629 191.720 190.049 8.4 9.8 7.7 -4.5 9.1 1.4

Sugar and sweets ..................................................... 195.556 195.485 196.202 195.060 4.7 11.3 11.9 -1.0 8.0 5.3

Fats and oils .............................................................. 206.547 204.738 204.559 202.186 20.1 14.8 -3.3 -8.2 17.4 -5.8 

Other foods ............................................................... 207.338 206.781 206.801 204.983 7.3 8.7 8.9 -4.5 8.0 2.0 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ................................ 124.477 122.994 122.837 123.112 7.8 6.8 4.8 -4.3 7.3 .1 

Food away from home 1 ............................................... 221.497 222.101 222.336 222.957 6.5 5.7 4.2 2.7 6.1 3.4 

Other food away from home 1 2 .................................. 153.397 154.520 154.054 154.414 8.1 7.3 1.3 2.7 7.7 2.0 

Alcoholic beverages ........................................................ 219.832 219.285 219.507 219.265 3.5 5.1 4.9 -1.0 4.3 1.9 

Housing ............................................................................. 213.570 213.680 213.463 213.190 6.4 -.3 .1 -.7 3.0 -.3 

Shelter ............................................................................. 241.879 242.000 242.257 242.595 2.5 2.0 2.1 1.2 2.2 1.6 

Rent of primary residence 3 .......................................... 246.440 246.739 247.150 247.522 3.5 3.4 3.0 1.8 3.4 2.4 

Lodging away from home 2 ........................................... 139.451 137.170 133.991 134.472 4.6 -3.8 -8.0 -13.5 .3 -10.8 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ......... 231.392 231.675 232.200 232.489 1.9 1.9 2.4 1.9 1.9 2.1 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ......................... 120.715 120.960 121.099 121.084 1.1 4.3 1.5 1.2 2.7 1.4 

Fuels and utilities ............................................................ 216.117 216.077 213.084 209.329 31.1 -12.8 -9.2 -12.0 6.9 -10.6 

Household energy ......................................................... 194.348 194.282 190.862 186.541 36.4 -16.6 -11.6 -15.1 6.6 -13.4 

Fuel oil and other fuels ................................................ 261.002 255.111 237.288 231.388 51.7 -45.6 -56.9 -38.2 -9.2 -48.4 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ....................................... 200.013 200.210 197.294 192.851 35.2 -13.9 -7.3 -13.6 7.9 -10.5 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .......... 157.447 157.531 158.223 159.211 6.4 10.4 3.6 4.6 8.4 4.1 

Household furnishings and operations ............................ 124.546 124.754 125.029 125.303 2.7 3.2 -.6 2.5 2.9 .9 

Household operations 1 2 ............................................. 152.273 152.168 153.239 152.980 8.0 3.5 -.9 1.9 5.8 .5 

Apparel .............................................................................. 118.677 119.854 119.478 119.065 2.8 -1.6 .3 1.3 .6 .8 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ................................................. 114.105 117.255 116.702 114.576 -1.5 -1.2 3.4 1.7 -1.3 2.5 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ............................................. 106.642 107.054 106.208 106.000 5.4 -1.0 -1.7 -2.4 2.1 -2.1 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel .......................................... 116.306 115.319 115.748 117.751 -4.9 .8 1.6 5.1 -2.1 3.3 

Footwear ......................................................................... 124.556 125.352 125.880 126.391 4.3 -4.4 1.2 6.0 -.1 3.6 

Transportation ................................................................... 166.362 169.627 167.435 166.620 26.5 -23.4 -46.8 .6 -1.6 -26.8 

Private transportation ...................................................... 162.806 166.302 164.112 163.332 26.3 -23.8 -47.7 1.3 -1.9 -27.2 

New and used motor vehicles 2 .................................... 89.682 89.662 89.419 89.667 -2.7 -8.3 -3.9 -.1 -5.6 -2.0 

New vehicles ............................................................... 133.378 134.277 135.162 135.612 .5 -7.2 -1.2 6.9 -3.4 2.7 

Used cars and trucks .................................................. 126.534 124.356 122.304 122.256 -7.8 -14.2 -10.8 -12.9 -11.1 -11.8 

Motor fuel ...................................................................... 169.900 182.697 174.688 170.137 79.4 -46.6 -86.4 .6 -2.2 -63.0 

Gasoline (all types) ..................................................... 167.678 181.433 174.331 169.566 79.4 -46.5 -86.6 4.6 -2.1 -62.6 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ............................ 133.645 134.264 134.485 134.614 9.7 9.9 4.8 2.9 9.8 3.9 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair 1 ....................... 243.594 244.219 244.650 245.180 7.7 5.8 4.9 2.6 6.7 3.8 

Public transportation ....................................................... 236.685 231.991 230.256 228.536 31.6 -14.1 -19.1 -13.1 6.4 -16.1 

Medical care ...................................................................... 370.068 371.397 372.188 373.540 2.0 2.8 3.8 3.8 2.4 3.8 

Medical care commodities .............................................. 291.485 293.339 294.284 295.047 -1.9 1.9 4.8 5.0 .0 4.9 

Medical care services ..................................................... 393.024 394.081 394.779 396.348 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.4 

Professional services .................................................... 318.623 318.961 319.150 319.449 4.2 2.6 3.3 1.0 3.4 2.1 

Hospital and related services 3 ..................................... 546.425 550.509 553.960 559.368 5.2 5.9 5.8 9.8 5.5 7.8 

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—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

July

2008

Oct.

2008

Jan.

2009

Apr.

2009 Oct.

2008

Apr.

2009

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ...................................................................... 110.813 111.309 111.324 110.976 2.3 2.7 -0.5 0.6 2.5 0.1 

Video and audio 2 ........................................................... 101.794 101.852 101.751 102.023 -2.0 -.4 -2.0 .9 -1.2 -.6 

Education and communication 2 ....................................... 121.817 122.064 122.270 122.505 5.7 1.8 2.8 2.3 3.7 2.5 

Education 2 ..................................................................... 183.869 184.662 185.499 186.203 5.5 6.3 4.3 5.2 5.9 4.7 

Educational books and supplies ................................... 469.011 471.367 473.276 475.206 5.9 12.0 4.2 5.4 8.9 4.8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ...................... 517.817 520.014 522.397 524.365 5.5 5.8 4.3 5.2 5.6 4.7 

Communication 2 ............................................................ 87.598 87.639 87.616 87.673 5.9 -1.2 1.7 .3 2.3 1.0 

Information and information processing 1 2 .................. 85.581 85.624 85.595 85.655 5.6 -1.3 1.7 .3 2.1 1.0 

Telephone services 1 2 ............................................... 101.876 101.890 101.977 102.048 7.5 .2 1.7 .7 3.8 1.2 

Information technology, hardware and services 1 5 .... 10.418 10.442 10.378 10.385 -2.6 -8.2 1.7 -1.3 -5.5 .2 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 6 ... 88.178 87.622 86.004 85.406 -15.7 -19.5 -6.6 -12.0 -17.6 -9.3 

Other goods and services ................................................. 364.631 365.470 379.874 394.363 6.6 2.6 2.5 36.8 4.6 18.4 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ................................... 610.503 615.012 682.115 747.906 15.2 2.3 5.4 125.2 8.6 54.1 

Personal care .................................................................. 201.461 201.381 201.817 202.554 2.3 2.8 1.0 2.2 2.6 1.6 

Personal care products 1 .............................................. 162.683 162.543 162.516 163.911 -.9 1.7 7.1 3.1 .4 5.1 

Personal care services 1 ............................................... 225.951 226.088 228.201 228.119 1.6 3.3 .3 3.9 2.4 2.1 

Miscellaneous personal services .................................. 343.462 343.601 343.711 344.376 4.6 3.1 -1.4 1.1 3.8 -.2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ....................................................................... 166.831 168.242 167.715 167.690 14.6 -9.9 -23.7 2.1 1.7 -11.8 

Food and beverages ......................................................... 218.714 218.371 218.079 217.672 8.1 6.3 1.2 -1.9 7.2 -.3 

Commodities less food and beverages ............................. 140.426 142.519 141.910 142.044 18.4 -17.8 -35.8 4.7 -1.3 -18.0

Nondurables less food and beverages ........................... 172.433 177.755 175.626 174.600 40.1 -31.5 -47.8 5.1 -2.0 -25.9 

Apparel .......................................................................... 118.677 119.854 119.478 119.065 2.8 -1.6 .3 1.3 .6 .8 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel .......... 209.548 217.299 214.185 213.527 47.5 -36.8 -57.7 7.8 -3.4 -32.4 

Durables .......................................................................... 108.637 108.475 108.251 108.461 -1.2 -6.2 -4.7 -.6 -3.7 -2.7 

Services .............................................................................. 253.417 253.785 253.811 253.695 6.1 .9 1.3 .4 3.5 .9 

Rent of shelter 4 ................................................................ 233.312 233.328 233.478 233.802 2.4 2.2 2.2 .8 2.3 1.5 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ............................. 120.715 120.960 121.099 121.084 1.1 4.3 1.5 1.2 2.7 1.4 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................. 200.013 200.210 197.294 192.851 35.2 -13.9 -7.3 -13.6 7.9 -10.5 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 .............. 157.447 157.531 158.223 159.211 6.4 10.4 3.6 4.6 8.4 4.1 

Household operations 1 2 ................................................. 152.273 152.168 153.239 152.980 8.0 3.5 -.9 1.9 5.8 .5 

Transportation services ..................................................... 247.099 248.087 248.145 249.142 8.6 2.6 1.9 3.3 5.6 2.6 

Medical care services ....................................................... 393.024 394.081 394.779 396.348 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.4 

Other services ................................................................... 288.590 289.415 290.152 289.907 4.8 2.6 2.0 1.8 3.7 1.9 

Special indexes

All items less food ............................................................... 204.532 205.662 205.378 205.393 10.2 -5.8 -12.5 1.7 1.8 -5.7 

All items less shelter ........................................................... 196.211 197.425 196.931 196.739 13.2 -6.6 -15.6 1.1 2.9 -7.6 

All items less medical care .................................................. 200.078 200.971 200.650 200.558 10.3 -4.4 -11.2 1.0 2.7 -5.3 

Commodities less food ........................................................ 142.991 145.025 144.434 144.560 17.9 -17.1 -34.6 4.5 -1.1 -17.3 

Nondurables less food ........................................................ 175.208 180.246 178.203 177.208 37.7 -29.9 -45.4 4.6 -1.7 -24.4 

Nondurables less food and apparel .................................... 209.514 216.564 213.688 213.033 44.1 -34.6 -54.5 6.9 -2.9 -30.3 

Nondurables ........................................................................ 195.377 198.015 196.725 196.298 22.0 -15.6 -26.6 1.9 1.5 -13.5 

Services less rent of shelter 4 ............................................. 245.075 245.607 245.340 244.695 10.0 -.2 .9 -.6 4.8 .1 

Services less medical care services ................................... 243.374 243.578 243.498 243.313 6.0 1.1 1.4 -.1 3.5 .7 

Energy ................................................................................. 180.037 186.446 180.751 176.359 61.2 -36.3 -67.3 -7.9 1.3 -45.2 

All items less energy ........................................................... 210.987 211.226 211.602 212.088 3.8 1.9 1.2 2.1 2.9 1.6 

All items less food and energy .......................................... 209.834 210.188 210.707 211.378 2.9 1.0 1.2 3.0 1.9 2.1

Commodities less food and energy commodities ........... 140.375 140.675 141.363 142.367 1.0 -2.3 -1.0 5.8 -.7 2.4 

Energy commodities ..................................................... 174.341 186.476 178.042 173.415 78.1 -46.6 -85.5 -2.1 -2.5 -62.4 

Services less energy services ......................................... 259.134 259.521 259.892 260.282 3.7 2.5 2.2 1.8 3.1 2.0 

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

Apr.2009 from—

Percent change to

Mar.2009 from—

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Apr.

2009

Apr.

2008

Feb.

2009

Mar.

2009

Mar.

2008

Jan.

2009

Feb.

2009

U.S. city average ............................................ M 205.700 206.708 207.218 207.925 -1.3 0.6 0.3 -0.9 0.7 0.2 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban .............................................. M 221.704 222.945 223.626 224.252 -.2 .6 .3 .2 .9 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 222.707 224.084 224.597 225.214 .0 .5 .3 .4 .8 .2 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 133.345 133.908 134.558 134.951 -.9 .8 .3 -.2 .9 .5 

Midwest urban ................................................ M 195.245 195.813 196.453 196.933 -1.9 .6 .2 -1.3 .6 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 195.621 196.147 196.855 197.192 -1.9 .5 .2 -1.3 .6 .4 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 127.768 128.167 128.468 128.968 -1.8 .6 .4 -1.1 .5 .2 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 192.907 193.527 194.393 194.651 -2.3 .6 .1 -1.8 .8 .4 

South urban .................................................... M 200.067 201.150 201.737 202.619 -1.5 .7 .4 -1.1 .8 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 203.519 204.501 205.066 205.733 -1.3 .6 .3 -1.1 .8 .3 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 127.529 128.276 128.686 129.309 -1.6 .8 .5 -1.2 .9 .3 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) ............................................... M 204.316 205.337 205.744 206.921 -1.3 .8 .6 -.9 .7 .2 

West urban ..................................................... M 209.367 210.492 210.661 211.386 -1.4 .4 .3 -1.2 .6 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..................... M 211.857 212.890 212.965 213.646 -1.1 .4 .3 -.9 .5 .0 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 129.639 130.649 130.674 131.103 -1.8 .3 .3 -1.5 .8 .0 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 191.023 191.927 192.327 192.861 -1.0 .5 .3 -.7 .7 .2 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 128.783 129.488 129.833 130.361 -1.6 .7 .4 -1.1 .8 .3 

D ................................................................. M 200.057 200.681 201.485 202.351 -1.7 .8 .4 -1.4 .7 .4 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ................... M 200.222 199.944 200.218 200.607 -2.6 .3 .2 -2.2 .0 .1 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA ... M 212.454 213.234 213.013 213.405 -2.1 .1 .2 -1.6 .3 -.1 

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

NY-NJ-CT-PA ......................................... M 227.503 228.653 229.064 229.639 .6 .4 .3 .9 .7 .2 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT ..... 1 230.095 -

 231.884 - - - - -.3 .8 -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ...................................... 1 188.798 - 190.107 - - - - -1.5 .7 -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ..................................... 1 199.416 -

 200.770 - - - - -.6 .7 -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 136.359 - 137.539 - - - - .0 .9 -

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

 197.528 - 197.676 -3.9 .1 - - - -

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

 196.191 - 197.239 -1.9 .5 - - - -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX .................... 2 - 185.015 - 186.970 -.8 1.1 - - - -

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

 217.635 - 217.900 -.7 .1 - - - -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

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

 219.356 - 220.732 -1.1 .6 - - - -

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

 216.797 - 218.587 .3 .8 - - - -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA .................... 2 - 218.752 - 220.208 .8 .7 - - - -

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

 most other goods and services priced as indicated: 

 M - Every month. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

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

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

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 

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

 Apr. 2009 from—

 Mar.

 2009

 Apr.

 2009

 Apr.

 2008

 Mar.

 2009

Expenditure category

All items ...................................................................................... 100.000 122.182 122.506 -1.1 0.3

Food and beverages ................................................................ 14.726 128.292 128.063 3.2 -.2 

Food ....................................................................................... 13.648 128.378 128.147 3.2 -.2 

Food at home ....................................................................... 7.557 124.782 124.068 2.2 -.6 

Food away from home .......................................................... 6.091 132.990 133.403 4.6 .3 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................................... 1.077 127.568 127.359 2.8 -.2 

Housing .................................................................................... 42.421 128.865 128.666 .9 -.2 

Shelter .................................................................................... 32.409 131.493 131.630 1.5 .1 

Fuels and utilities .................................................................... 5.004 155.178 152.236 -3.5 -1.9 

Household furnishings and operations ................................... 5.008 96.311 96.247 1.2 -.1 

Apparel ..................................................................................... 3.988 90.588 91.148 .5 .6 

Transportation .......................................................................... 17.393 113.432 115.183 -12.9 1.5 

Private transportation ............................................................. 16.285 113.571 115.477 -13.4 1.7 

Public transportation ............................................................... 1.108 112.767 112.313 -6.1 -.4 

Medical care ............................................................................. 6.085 144.929 145.294 2.8 .3 

Medical care commodities ...................................................... 1.615 127.992 128.434 2.2 .3 

Medical care services ............................................................. 4.470 151.174 151.505 3.0 .2 

Recreation ................................................................................ 5.935 105.740 105.284 .0 -.4 

Education and communication ................................................. 6.196 109.639 109.709 2.9 .1 

Education ............................................................................... 2.771 173.200 173.305 5.4 .1 

Communication ...................................................................... 3.425 74.141 74.190 .9 .1 

Other goods and services ........................................................ 3.257 130.478 133.394 4.6 2.2 

Commodity and service group

Services ...................................................................................... 58.427 133.731 133.605 1.7 -.1 

Commodities .............................................................................. 41.573 108.187 109.023 -4.8 .8 

Durables ................................................................................... 11.817 80.852 80.935 -2.7 .1 

Nondurables ............................................................................... 29.756 122.155 123.424 -5.5 1.0 

All items less food and energy ................................................. 77.561 118.459 118.688 1.4 .2 

Energy ........................................................................................ 8.790 149.828 152.229 -25.5 1.6 

Indexes for 2009 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2008 are interim adjustments.

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