Consumer price index: Anchorage/United States.

• Author: Woolam, Cami
• Position: Alaska Trends

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the gradual increase in prices over time, also known as inflation; the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains a table of current and historical price levels, compared to a baseline year (1982 to 1984 is typically used as this baseline). Looking at the CPI allows you to see how much prices have risen, compared to this year.

The current CPI for Anchorage is 181.24. This means that if something cost a dollar in 1984, it now

costs $1.81. The current CPI for the United States is 207.34: on average, most prices in the nation have doubled since 1984.

It's not surprising that nationwide inflation is higher than Anchorage. Each state has seen different rates...