Consumer Price Index Dataset
The MetricMash U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) dataset provides the changes in the prices paid by consumers for over 1,700 goods and services in major expenditure groups – such as food, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care and education cost. The CPI can be used to measure inflation and adjust the real value of wages, salaries and pensions for regulating prices and for calculating the real rate of return on investments.
MetricMash organizes the data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) into a dimensional model to allow for effective integration into your analytical tool. The model consists of the following query-able fact categories – All Urban Consumers (CPI-U); Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-CW); All Urban Consumers (Chained CPI); Average Price Data; and Department Store Inventory Price Index. Two lookup queries are also provided to allow slicing along related Series and Time attributes.
https://datamarket.azure.com/dataset/26058d69-5cad-4a7c-9a14-a21a0c40de86
| AllUrbanConsumersPriceIndex |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| RowKey | Int32 | 661651 | |
| SeriesKey | String | 1-0000-SA0 | This the part of the primary key. |
| DateValue | DateTime | 2011-01-01T00:00:00 | This the part of the primary key. |
| Index | Decimal | 220.223 | |
| PriceChangeFromPriorMonthInPercent | Decimal | 0.0047 | |
| PriceChange3MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0279 | |
| PriceChange6MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0203 | |
| PriceChange12MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0163 | |
| PriceChange3YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0433 | |
| PriceChange5YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.1105 | |
| PriceChange10YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.2577 | |
| UrbanWageEarnersConsumerPriceIndex |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| RowKey | Int32 | 207279 | |
| SeriesKey | String | 1-0000-SA0 | This the part of the primary key. |
| DateValue | DateTime | 2011-01-01T00:00:00 | This the part of the primary key. |
| Index | Decimal | 216.4 | |
| PriceChangeFromPriorMonthInPercent | Decimal | 0.0052 | |
| PriceChange3MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0332 | |
| PriceChange6MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0235 | |
| PriceChange12MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.018 | |
| PriceChange3YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0467 | |
| PriceChange5YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.1154 | |
| PriceChange10YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.2603 | |
| AllUrbanChainedConsumerPriceIndex |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| RowKey | Int32 | 3725 | |
| SeriesKey | String | 16-0000-SA0 | This the part of the primary key. |
| DateValue | DateTime | 2011-01-01T00:00:00 | This the part of the primary key. |
| Index | Decimal | 126.811 | |
| PriceChangeFromPriorMonthInPercent | Decimal | 0.0046 | |
| PriceChange3MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0267 | |
| PriceChange6MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0199 | |
| PriceChange12MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0145 | |
| PriceChange3YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0405 | |
| PriceChange5YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.1007 | |
| PriceChange10YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.2276 | |
| AveragePriceData |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| RowKey | Int32 | 177739 | |
| SeriesKey | String | 999-0000-74714 | This the part of the primary key. |
| DateValue | DateTime | 2011-01-01T00:00:00 | This the part of the primary key. |
| Price | Decimal | 3.091 | |
| PriceChangeFromPriorMonthInPercent | Decimal | 0.0355 | |
| PriceChange3MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.4958 | |
| PriceChange6MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.2762 | |
| PriceChange12MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.1318 | |
| PriceChange3YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0144 | |
| PriceChange5YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.3352 | |
| PriceChange10YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 1.0998 | |
| DepartmentStoreInventoryPriceIndex |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| RowKey | Int32 | 9741 | |
| SeriesKey | String | 21-0000-SL00001 | This the part of the primary key. |
| DateValue | DateTime | 2011-01-01T00:00:00 | This the part of the primary key. |
| Index | Decimal | 446.7 | |
| PriceChangeFromPriorMonthInPercent | Decimal | -0.0201 | |
| PriceChange3MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0381 | |
| PriceChange6MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | -0.0048 | |
| PriceChange12MonthsAgoInPercent | Decimal | -0.1013 | |
| PriceChange3YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.1507 | |
| PriceChange5YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | 0.0229 | |
| PriceChange10YearsAgoInPercent | Decimal | -0.0898 | |
| Time |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| DateValue (PK) | DateTime | 2011-02-01T00:00:00 | This is the Primary Key. |
| YearYYYY | String | 2011 | |
| Quarter | String | Q1 | |
| MonthMMM | String | Feb | |
| MonthMM | String | 02 | |
| MonthMM2 | String | 02-Feb | |
| IsLast3MonthFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLast6MonthFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLast12MonthFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLast3YearFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLast5YearFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLast10YearFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsLatestFlag | Boolean | TRUE | |
| IsRecessionFlag | Boolean | FALSE | |
| Series |
| Attribute Name |
Data Type |
Example |
Description |
| KeyName | String | 1982-84=100 : U.S. City Average : All Items | |
| SeriesKey (PK) | String | 1-0000-SA0 | This is the Primary Key. |
| BasePeriodKey | Int32 | 1 | |
| BasePeriod | String | 1982-84=100 | |
| AreaCode | String | 0000 | |
| AreaName | String | U.S. City Average | |
| AreaNameDisplay | String | U.S. City Average | |
| AreaNameDisplayLine | String | 001 U.S. City Average | |
| AreaSortSequence | String | 1 | |
| AreaDisplayLevel | Int32 | 0 | |
| ParentAreaCode | String | | |
| ParentAreaName | String | | |
| ItemCode | String | SA0 | |
| ItemName | String | All Items | |
| ItemNameDisplay | String | All Items | |
| ItemNameDisplayLine | String | 001 All Items | |
| ItemSortSequence | String | 1 | |
| ItemDisplayLevel | Int32 | 0 | |
| ParentItemCode | String | CI-000 | |
| ParentItemName | String | Consumer Items | |
| Seasonality | String | Non-Seasonal | |
- As an economic indicator. As the most widely used measure of inflation, the CPI is an indicator of the effectiveness of government policy. In addition, business executives, labor leaders and other private citizens use the index as a guide in making economic decisions.
- As a deflator of other economic series. The CPI and its components are used to adjust other economic series for price change and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars.
- As a means for adjusting income payments. Over 2 million workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements which tie wages to the CPI. The index affects the income of almost 80 million people as a result of statutory action: 47.8 million Social Security beneficiaries, about 4.1 million military and Federal Civil Service retirees and survivors, and about 22.4 million food stamp recipients. Changes in the CPI also affect the cost of lunches for the 26.7 million children who eat lunch at school. Some private firms and individuals use the CPI to keep rents, royalties, alimony payments and child support payments in line with changing prices. Since 1985, the CPI has been used to adjust the Federal income tax structure to prevent inflation-induced increases in taxes.
*Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Consumer Price Index FAQ from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - http://bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm
How long after the BLS publication is the MetricMash dataset refreshed?
A: We typically publish within 12 hours of the official BLS release.