For those staying close to home for Memorial Day but planning a cookout, you may see some sticker shock at your local market. May 21, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Data for the Consumer Price Index will be collected in three Northeast Wisconsin counties starting this fall.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Tuesday that Brown, Oconto and Kewaunee counties have been selected as a new sample area for the CPI, effective in October. This is one of six regions being added to CPI data collection, marking the first expansion to the sample since 2018.
According to a news release from the BLS:
The Consumer Price Index is one of the nation’s most important economic indicators. It is a principal gauge of inflation used widely in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy; cost of living payments adjustments (COLA) under many government programs, including payments to Social Security beneficiaries, retired military and federal civil service employees and survivors; adjusting agreements including rentals/leases, collective bargaining and wages and pensions. It is a measure of the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed market basket of goods and services. It is an estimate based on a group of representative prices paid for items including food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, medical services and other goods and services people buy for day-to-day living.
Officials said the CPI periodically updates the geographic areas across the United States in which prices are collected.
“The new design reflects shifts in the U.S. population based on the 2020 Decennial Census. During this time, 14 new areas will be added and work in 14 current areas will be discontinued, and the counties covered in other areas may change as well, based on updated information from the Office of Management and Budget,” the BLS said.
Employees from the CPI will make personal visits to explain the survey to retail establishments selected from surveys conducted that asked local residents where they bought various goods and services. They will also visit housing units chosen using statistical methods to represent the local housing market. The interviews are brief and no one will be asked to fill out any forms. Data collected from businesses and households by BLS are held in strict confidence and used for statistical purposes only. Representatives will carry official identification and are U.S. Department of Labor employees.
To learn more about the CPI or the broad range of economic data available from the BLS, click here.
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