Grand Canyon Times

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its July 2022 Consumer Price Index data, and although it reports a marginally lower inflation number than in June, indexes for some categories increased, including food and shelter, two large components of Arizonians' median household budget.

The bureau released the CPI data for the 12 months ending July 2022 on Wednesday that showed an 8.5% all items annual increase, a 0.6% drop from last month. In addition to food and shelter indexes, electricity also increased. 

"Inflation is a tax on all Americans," U.S. House Republicans said in a Twitter post. "In July, gasoline was up 44.0%, electricity was up 15.2%, food at home was up 13.1%, new cars were up 0.4%, transportation was up 9.2%, food away from home was up 7.6%, used cars were up 6.6% and shelter was up 5.7%." 

According to The Ascent, Food and shelter make up a large part of the median household budget at 46.8%, with shelter representing the highest average cost at $1,784 a month and 35% of the average budget, and food representing 8%, at an average cost of $610 a month. 

SoFi reports that Arizona residents spend between $788 to $1,551 a month on housing and $301 a person on non-restaurant food. 

The food index saw a monthly increase of 1.1% and a yearly increase of 10.9%. The shelter index saw a monthly increase of 0.5% and a yearly increase of 5.7%. The electricity index saw a monthly increase of 1.6% and a yearly increase of 15.2%.

The rising price of groceries is a common concern for many Americans. Last month, the food at home index rose 13.1% over the last year, representing the largest 12-month increase since March 1979.