Consumer Price Index URBAN (CPI-U)

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is an economic indicator that measures the changes in the price of a basket of goods and services purchased by urban consumers.

This index represents the spending patterns of residents of urban or metropolitan areas, including professionals, the self-employed, the poor, the unemployed, and retired people, as well as urban wage earners and clerical workers.

Understanding the CPI-U

The CPI-U is released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the United States and is used to gauge inflation by tracking price changes from the perspective of consumers in urban areas, who represent about 93% of the total U.S. population.

What does the CPI-U measure?

The CPI-U includes expenditures by households on items such as food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors and dentists' services, and drugs. By measuring the changes in the prices of this basket of goods and services, the CPI-U reflects the cost of living and the inflation rate experienced by urban consumers. It's an essential tool for economic analysis and is used for various purposes, such as indexing government benefits, guiding monetary policy, and adjusting income tax brackets for inflation.