Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.

Announcements

Next Release: February 21, 2013

January 2013 CPI data are scheduled to be released on February 21, 2013, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

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CPI News Releases

Consumer Price Index

January 16, 2013
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was unchanged in December after decreasing 0.3 percent in November. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in December, the same increase as in November. More...
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Current CPI Economic News Releases

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CPI Databases

Databases

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One
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All Urban Consumers (Current Series)
(Consumer Price Index - CPI)
Top Picks One Screen Data Search Multi Screen Data Search Tables Text Files
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (Current Series)
(Consumer Price Index - CPI)
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All Urban Consumers (Chained CPI)
(Consumer Price Index - CPI)
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Average Price Data
(Consumer Price Index - CPI)
Special Notice Top Picks One Screen Data Search Multi Screen Data Search Tables Text Files
Department Store Inventory Price Index
(Consumer Price Index - CPI)
Special Notice Top Picks One Screen Data Search Multi Screen Data Search Tables Text Files

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CPI Tables

Consumer Price Index History Table:

CPI Detailed Report Tables:

Relative Importance of Items in the Consumer Price Index

December 2012:

December 2011:

December 2010:

December 2009:

December 2008:

December 2007:

Department Store Inventory Price Indexes

CPI Publications

Publications

Reports

Recent Monthly Labor Review articles related to the Consumer Price Index

CPI Fact Sheets

How BLS Measures Price Change in the Consumer Price Index for:

CPI Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the CPI?
  2. How is the CPI used?
  3. Whose buying habits does the CPI reflect?
  4. Is the CPI a cost-of-living index?
  5. Does the CPI measure my experience with price changes?
  6. How is the CPI market basket determined?
  7. What goods and services does the CPI cover?
  8. How are CPI prices collected and reviewed?
  9. How is the CPI calculated?
  10. How are taxes treated in the CPI?

All CPI FAQs »

CPI Special Notices

Notices

Revised Seasonal Indexes

UPDATED Each year with the release of the January CPI, seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated to reflect price movements from the just-completed calendar year. This routine annual recalculation may result in revisions to seasonally adjusted indexes for the previous 5 years. BLS made available recalculated seasonally adjusted indexes, as well as recalculated seasonal adjustment factors, for the period January 2007 through December 2011, on Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

For information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI, including revised indexes, seasonal factors, methodology, and actions taken in 2011, see our page on seasonal adjustment.

Social Security COLA

Soon after the publication of September CPI data on October 16, 2012, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the annual change in its benefit payments for the coming year for Social Security's Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. Specific information on how the Social Security Administration uses the CPI to determine cost-of-living adjustments can be found at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/colasummary.html.

CPI Published Numbers

Effective with the release in February 2007 of the January 2007 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began to publish its consumer price indexes rounded to three decimal places. Percent changes will be calculated from the three decimal place indexes. Those percent changes will continue to be published to one decimal place. For additional information, please see "Publishing Consumer Price Indexes to Three Decimal Places: Questions and Answers".

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