How to Obtain Consumer Price Index Information

Consumer Price Index (CPI) information is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) electronically, through subscriptions to publications, and via telephone and fax through automated recordings. Information specialists are also available in the national and regional offices to provide help and to respond to questions.

Electronic access to CPI data

BLS on the Internet. Through the internet, the BLS provides free, easy, and continuous access to all published CPI data and press releases. The most recent month's CPI is made available immediately at the time of release. A database, called LABSTAT, containing current and historical data for the CPI is accessible. Data and press releases from other BLS surveys are also available. The site is accessible via the World Wide Web (WWW), and File Transfer Protocol (FTP), as described below. For help using any of these systems, send email.

World Wide Web. BLS maintains a website at http://www.bls.gov. The BLS home page provides easy access to LABSTAT, as well as links to program specific homepages. The CPI homepage, http://www.bls.gov/cpi/, also provides other CPI information. This includes a brief explanation of methodology, frequently asked questions and answers, contacts for further information, and explanations of how the CPI handles special items, like medical care and housing. In addition, CPI press releases and historical data for metropolitan areas can be accessed by linking to the regional office home pages from the main BLS Web site listed above.

FTP. These tools provide access to CPI LABSTAT data, as well as documentation and press release files organized in hierarchical directories. Using FTP, connect to ftp://ftp.bls.gov. Logon as ANONYMOUS and use your complete internet e-mail address as the password.

Subscriptions to CPI publications

Summary data. Free, monthly, 2-page publication containing 1- and 12-month percent changes for selected U.S. city average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) index series. The All Items index data for each local area are also included. To be added to the mailing list, write to: Office of Publications, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Room 2850, Washington, DC 20212-0001, or call (202) 691-5200 or any of the BLS regional offices listed below.

CPI Detailed Report. Most comprehensive report of the Consumer Price Index. This publication may be ordered by writing to: New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA, 15250-7954, or by calling (202) 512-1800. Subscriptions cost $47.00 per year.

Monthly Labor Review (MLR). The MLR provides selected CPI data included in a monthly summary of BLS data and occasional articles and methodological descriptions too extensive for inclusion in the CPI Detailed Report. The MLR costs $45.00 per year. This publication may be ordered by writing to: New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA, 15250-7954, or by calling (202) 512-1800.

Recorded CPI data

Summary CPI data are provided on 24-hour recorded messages. Detailed CPI information is available by calling (202) 691-5200. A touch-tone telephone is recommended as this system allows the user to select specific indexes from lists of available data.

Recorded summaries of CPI are also available by calling any one of the metropolitan area CPI hotlines listed below. These hotline summaries typically include data for the U.S. city average as well as the specified area. These recordings are approximately 3 minutes in length, do not require a touch-tone telephone, and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Area Hotline Numbers

Other sources of CPI data

Technical information is available during normal working hours, Monday through Friday, by calling (202) 691-7000 or any of the regional offices listed below.

Fax-on-Demand. A wide variety of BLS information and data, including CPI, are available from the BLS Ready Facts catalog via fax-on-demand. CPI documents from Ready Facts that are available around the clock include the monthly CPI press release, selected national, regional and metropolitan area historical summaries, and some technical information. The latest CPI information is posted during the morning of release day. Call (202) 691-6325. Then, follow the instructions to have the latest Ready Facts catalog sent to you. Each regional office also has a fax system in place; their systems include all information available from the national catalog in addition to region-specific information on the CPI. Phone and fax-on-demand numbers for the eight regional offices are:

Historical tables. These include all of the published indexes for each of the detailed CPI components. They are available via the Internet, by calling (202) 691-7000 in the national office, or by contacting any of the regional offices listed above.

Descriptive publications. These publications describe the CPI and ways to use it. They include simple fact sheets discussing specific topics about the CPI, a broader, non-technical overview of the CPI in a question and answer format, and a quite technical and thorough description of the CPI and its methodology. The publications are available upon request by calling (202) 691-7000, and many are included on the CPI homepage on the Internet.

Special publications. Also available are various special publications, such as Relative Importance of Components in the Consumer Price Index, and materials describing the annual revisions of seasonally adjusted CPI data. For more information call (202) 691-7000.

Further information may be obtained from the Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Room 3615, Washington, DC, 20212-0001, telephone (202) 691-7000, or by calling any of the regional offices listed above.

Last Modified Date: January 19, 2007