About This Statistic
This statistic shows the consumer price index for urban consumers in the United States from August 2016 to August 2017 . The data represents U.S. city averages. The base period was 1982-84=100. The CPI is defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services". In August 2017, the unadjusted CPI amounted to about 245.52.
The annual consumer price index for urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here.
Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) began in 1919 under the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is published every month. The CPI for all urban consumers includes urban households in Metropolitan Statistical Areas and regions with over 2,500 inhabitants, as well as non-farm consumers living in rural regions. This index was established in 1978 and includes about 80 percent of the U.S. population. The monthly CPI of urban consumers in the United States increased from 237.11 in February 2016 to 243.60 in February 2017. For these consumers, CPI can also differ between regions, with a high of 254.85 in the Northeastern region as of 2016.
The CPI in the United States has increased steadily over the past two decades from 140.3 in 1992 to 237.02 in 2015. A forecast of the CPI expects this positive trend to continue, reaching 264.28 by 2020. The CPI of the nation’s education had increased by 2.8 percent but had drastically decreased for fuels and gasoline, declining by 10.3 percent and 19.9 percent, respectively, in the last year. In July 2015, costs of recreation, new cars, tobacco, and personal care had increased but prices for clothing, medical care, and household furniture had decreased. Comparatively, the CPI in Hong Kong reached 100.6 in 2015.
