Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index is the most widely used measure of inflation and is often referred to as the cost of living index. It measures changes over time in the price of a fixed market basket of goods and services. There are two indexes. The CPI-U covers the expenditures of a wide range of urban consumers; the CPI-W covers only the expenditures of urban wages earners and clerical workers.

The national CPI-U is typically used to measure inflation in Idaho because it more closely represents our cost of living.