Consumer Price Index, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area – March 2024

Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in March 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the all items less food and energy index rose by 0.3 percent in February and March. The energy index was up 7.1 percent, and the food index increased 0.6 percent over the past two months. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 2.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.4 percent over the year, and food prices rose 2.5 percent. Energy prices fell 5.4 percent, entirely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.6 percent for the two months ending in March. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 2.8 percent, while prices paid for food at home (grocery store prices) fell 1.5 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-2.6 percent) led the declines. Decreases in the index were partially offset by a rise in prices for cereals and bakery products (+0.8 percent).

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.5 percent, mainly driven by the index for food away from home, which increased 7.6 percent. Prices for food at home were down 1.3 percent, with the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-3.3 percent) contributing most to the over-the-year decline.

Energy

The energy index rose 7.1 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+14.4 percent), but a rise in the index for electricity also contributed (+3.0 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell over the same period.

From March 2023 to March 2024, energy prices fell 5.4 percent, entirely due to lower prices for gasoline (-20.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose, and the index for electricity advanced 4.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for education and communication (+1.5 percent), recreation (+1.9 percent), and owners' equivalent rent of residence (+0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-4.8 percent), medical care (-1.7 percent), and lodging away from home.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included owners' equivalent rent of residences (+6.3 percent), rent of primary residence (+4.2 percent), and recreation (+3.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in public transportation, lodging away from home, and apparel (-4.5 percent).

The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures 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, and 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/cpiand 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, Core Based Statistical Area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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,
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes	Percent change from -
Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024
All items	323.278	-	325.485	2.8	0.7	-
All items (1967 = 100)	1,077.997	-	1,085.357
Food and beverages	301.170	-	303.009	2.5	0.6	-
Food	308.902	-	310.684	2.5	0.6	-
Food at home	281.706	280.660	277.571	-1.3	-1.5	-1.1
Cereals and bakery products	333.805	336.422	336.398	0.1	0.8	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	280.836	283.958	273.405	-3.3	-2.6	-3.7
Dairy and related products	235.935	237.758	229.684	-3.1	-2.6	-3.4
Fruits and vegetables	330.933	327.208	329.537	0.3	-0.4	0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	194.015	196.435	190.815	-3.5	-1.6	-2.9
Other food at home	253.868	247.063	249.369	0.1	-1.8	0.9
Food away from home	347.673	-	357.294	7.6	2.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.159	-	234.419	2.0	1.0	-
Housing	335.170	-	335.076	4.9	0.0	-
Shelter	390.002	389.161	389.098	5.3	-0.2	0.0
Rent of primary residence	408.200	406.818	406.278	4.2	-0.5	-0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	385.498	385.563	386.133	6.3	0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	385.498	385.563	386.133	6.3	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	308.210	-	312.676	10.0	1.4	-
Household energy	208.283	208.075	211.470	10.2	1.5	1.6
Energy services	206.974	206.770	210.187	10.6	1.6	1.7
Electricity	179.480	179.480	184.823	4.9	3.0	3.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	142.587	-	143.304	-0.4	0.5	-
Apparel	113.217	-	113.430	-4.5	0.2	-
Transportation	310.951	-	325.120	-1.7	4.6	-
Private transportation	313.233	-	329.044	-0.4	5.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	129.458	-	132.695	0.8	2.5	-
New vehicles(1)	257.106	-	256.913	0.5	-0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	353.085	-	360.167	-1.3	2.0	-
Motor fuel	225.224	242.538	256.657	-20.5	14.0	5.8
Gasoline (all types)	220.802	238.322	252.661	-20.6	14.4	6.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	211.594	229.224	243.849	-21.3	15.2	6.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	225.034	241.128	253.832	-18.6	12.8	5.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	253.811	270.425	283.255	-17.4	11.6	4.7
Medical care	716.344	-	704.271	2.3	-1.7	-
Recreation(3)	182.698	-	186.093	3.4	1.9	-
Education and communication(3)	129.853	-	131.824	1.8	1.5	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,205.902	-	1,205.902	4.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services	445.756	-	424.438	0.0	-4.8	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	206.675	-	210.374	-0.8	1.8	-
Commodities less food and beverages	162.407	-	166.454	-2.6	2.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	195.929	-	202.933	-4.1	3.6	-
Durables	128.427	-	130.407	-1.4	1.5	-
Services	427.614	-	428.498	5.0	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	291.371	-	295.201	1.3	1.3	-
All items less medical care	305.118	-	307.797	2.9	0.9	-
Commodities less food	165.179	-	169.174	-2.5	2.4	-
Nondurables	248.213	-	252.964	-0.5	1.9	-
Nondurables less food	198.544	-	205.139	-3.6	3.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	473.779	-	477.769	4.4	0.8	-
Services less medical care services	404.268	-	405.614	5.2	0.3	-
Energy	220.355	227.803	235.962	-5.4	7.1	3.6
All items less energy	334.268	-	335.383	3.2	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	340.206	-	341.240	3.4	0.3	-
(1) Indexes on a January 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.