Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The March increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.4 percent. Energy prices advanced 3.5 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)  

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, West region, March 2021–March 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Mar 2021	2.4	1.5
Apr 2021	3.9	2.7
May 2021	4.7	3.3
Jun 2021	5.1	4.1
Jul 2021	5.2	3.9
Aug 2021	5.0	3.8
Sep 2021	5.3	4.0
Oct 2021	6.0	4.5
Nov 2021	6.5	4.8
Dec 2021	7.1	5.5
Jan 2022	7.7	6.2
Feb 2022	8.1	6.7
Mar 2022	8.7	6.8
Apr 2022	8.3	6.4
May 2022	8.3	6.2
Jun 2022	8.8	6.2
Jul 2022	8.3	6.3
Aug 2022	8.1	6.7
Sep 2022	8.3	6.8
Oct 2022	8.1	6.4
Nov 2022	7.1	6.0
Dec 2022	6.2	5.7
Jan 2023	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.0	5.3
Mar 2023	5.1	5.5
Apr 2023	4.9	5.4
May 2023	4.5	5.3
Jun 2023	3.5	4.7
Jul 2023	3.5	4.3
Aug 2023	3.9	4.1
Sep 2023	3.9	3.9
Oct 2023	3.3	3.7
Nov 2023	3.3	3.7
Dec 2023	3.6	3.7
Jan 2024	3.3	3.7
Feb 2024	3.2	3.6
Mar 2024	3.6	3.8

Food prices increased 0.2 percent for the month of March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home were unchanged. Higher prices for fruits and vegetables (0.6 percent) were offset by lower prices for cereals and bakery products (-0.7 percent) and other food at home (-0.5 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.4 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 4.4 percent.

The energy index rose 4.1 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.3 percent). Prices for electricity rose 1.3 percent, while prices for natural gas service fell 1.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 3.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (10.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 5.1 percent, while prices for gasoline fell 0.4 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in March. Higher prices for apparel (1.5 percent) and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.3 percent) and medical care (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.6 percent) and medical care (4.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-1.3 percent) and apparel (-0.7 percent).

The April 2024 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for the West Region is published monthly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, 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 CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024
Expenditure category
All Items		328.053	329.339	332.202	3.6	1.3	0.9
All items (December 1977=100)		530.280	532.359	536.985	-	-	-
Food and beverages		338.646	338.829	339.395	2.5	0.2	0.2
Food		341.068	341.219	341.817	2.4	0.2	0.2
Food at home		319.595	319.779	319.813	1.4	0.1	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		331.333	334.583	332.141	-0.4	0.2	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		343.304	344.564	345.699	2.0	0.7	0.3
Dairy and related products		283.177	282.035	281.995	-1.8	-0.4	0.0
Fruits and vegetables		403.229	400.201	402.686	2.5	-0.1	0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		227.536	226.248	227.413	2.4	-0.1	0.5
Other food at home		277.074	278.131	276.701	1.5	-0.1	-0.5
Food away from home		371.193	371.290	372.804	4.4	0.4	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		301.567	302.220	302.306	2.8	0.2	0.0
Housing		368.627	370.012	372.494	4.4	1.0	0.7
Shelter		422.948	424.770	427.898	4.6	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)		451.299	452.449	453.744	4.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		446.985	448.415	449.733	4.9	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		446.778	448.205	449.520	4.9	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		424.202	426.412	428.399	8.0	1.0	0.5
Household energy		374.501	375.840	378.042	8.7	0.9	0.6
Energy services(1)		377.989	379.307	381.722	9.1	1.0	0.6
Electricity(1)		416.928	417.893	423.507	10.2	1.6	1.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		307.590	309.948	304.173	5.1	-1.1	-1.9
Household furnishings and operations		158.462	158.131	158.610	0.4	0.1	0.3
Apparel		123.555	124.638	126.490	-0.7	2.4	1.5
Transportation		269.967	274.032	283.470	4.4	5.0	3.4
Private transportation		268.437	271.009	281.561	4.6	4.9	3.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)		122.166	123.013	123.292	-1.3	0.9	0.2
New vehicles		176.123	176.172	175.886	-0.6	-0.1	-0.2
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		175.287	175.062	174.219	-1.2	-0.6	-0.5
Used cars and trucks		172.443	172.957	173.451	-2.6	0.6	0.3
Motor fuel		324.445	329.490	352.928	-0.6	8.8	7.1
Gasoline (all types)		322.269	327.367	351.399	-0.4	9.0	7.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		317.806	322.947	347.261	-0.5	9.3	7.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		309.601	314.318	336.200	0.0	8.6	7.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		319.526	324.173	345.824	0.3	8.2	6.7
Medical Care		599.698	601.871	601.396	4.6	0.3	-0.1
Medical care commodities		462.342	462.333	462.859	3.3	0.1	0.1
Medical care services		642.190	645.057	644.263	4.9	0.3	-0.1
Professional services		420.967	420.783	419.662	5.5	-0.3	-0.3
Recreation(3)		132.189	131.600	131.678	1.4	-0.4	0.1
Education and communication(3)		143.688	144.544	144.061	0.5	0.3	-0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,655.928	1,662.215	1,661.627	1.4	0.3	0.0
Other goods and services		553.901	540.202	540.609	3.8	-2.4	0.1
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		328.053	329.339	332.202	3.6	1.3	0.9
Commodities		225.376	225.653	227.316	0.3	0.9	0.7
Commodities less food & beverages		172.341	172.637	174.595	-0.9	1.3	1.1
Nondurables less food & beverages		226.246	227.669	233.372	-0.1	3.1	2.5
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		298.333	300.005	308.373	0.1	3.4	2.8
Durables		124.230	123.833	123.402	-1.8	-0.7	-0.3
Services		423.617	425.891	429.895	5.5	1.5	0.9
Rent of shelter(2)		450.979	452.940	456.298	4.6	1.2	0.7
Transportation services		391.805	402.704	420.768	13.1	7.4	4.5
Other services		412.587	411.200	412.604	3.1	0.0	0.3
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		315.543	316.788	319.781	3.5	1.3	0.9
All items less food		326.141	327.598	330.802	3.8	1.4	1.0
All items less shelter		290.616	291.686	294.462	3.0	1.3	1.0
Commodities less food		177.073	177.380	179.320	-0.8	1.3	1.1
Nondurables		282.155	282.997	286.292	1.3	1.5	1.2
Nondurables less food		231.891	233.284	238.733	0.1	3.0	2.3
Nondurables less food and apparel		298.102	299.683	307.333	0.3	3.1	2.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)		436.415	439.388	444.748	6.9	1.9	1.2
Services less medical care services		408.246	410.475	414.778	5.6	1.6	1.0
Energy		352.784	356.324	371.030	3.5	5.2	4.1
All items less energy		329.111	330.269	332.425	3.6	1.0	0.7
All items less food and energy		327.948	329.273	331.689	3.8	1.1	0.7
Commodities less food and energy commodities		160.886	160.749	160.697	-0.9	-0.1	0.0
Energy commodities		330.784	335.880	359.238	-0.8	8.6	7.0
Services less energy services		428.035	430.369	434.473	5.4	1.5	1.0
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.