Largest Cities Had Some of the Lowest U.S. Inflation Rates in September

The consumer-price index, which measures what consumers pay for goods and services, rose 5.4% in September from a year earlier. Rising energy prices, supply-chain disruptions and an increase in spending have led to higher inflation across the country. While prices rose across the board for the year ended last month, the degree of change varied among different geographic regions and populations. Among the metropolitan areas surveyed, the largest and most urban places had some of the lowest price increases. Chicago saw an increase of 4.5%, and in the New York City area there was a 3.8% increase. The Northeast region’s rate was nearly a percentage point below the overall national level.

To measure prices, the CPI focuses on what urban consumers pay for a hypothetical basket of goods and services. Those items are weighted to reflect the relative importance of components for a consumer living in a U.S. city. Rent accounts for 7.9% of the basket, while private transportation, including new and used vehicles and gasoline, makes up 14.1%. In the New York City area’s weighting, rent represents 12.1% of the basket, and private transportation is 9.2%. The design of the baskets for how people in cities spend their money, and how much income they spend on eating out or renting a car, is based on information from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys of urban consumers.