According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Anchorage rose 3.6% in 2011. By comparision, the change for the entire U.S. was 3% for the year. Anchorage is the only "urban" community in Alaska that is tracked for these national statistics due to its population.
Anchorage's 10-year average inflation rate has been 2.7% per year. Average prices have not shown much volitility during the decade reaching a high of 4.6% in 2008 and a low of 1.2% in 2009. The slightly higher than average inflation in 2011 can mostly be attributed to higher energy prices.
Energy prices in 2011 were 10.1% higher than the previous year. Gasoline prices were 14.8% higher and electricity climbed 9.6%. Food also increased 4.8% in 2011. After removing these two highly volitile categories, the remainder of the index rose 2.6% over the last 12 months.
The other categories with the largest price increases were seen in Apparel (6.7%), Medical Care (5.8%), Transportation (5.3%), and Housing (2.9%). The price of Recreation showed no change and a decline was measured in Education and Communications (down 0.7%).
Nationwide, inflation has also been most impacted by rising energy costs, up 6.6% in 2011. Food prices rose 4.7% on average and the U.S. Medical costs rose 3%. However, housing costs climbed only 1.3% across the county compared to 2.9% in Anchorage. Housing accounts for the largest share of personal monthly expenses.
Comments