All Urban Consumers - The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) measures the average change in prices over time for goods and services provided to approximately 87 percent of the U.S. population. It is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, medical services, and other items that people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from approximately 50,000 housing units and 23,000 retail establishments.
Medical Care Consumer Price Index - The Consumer Price Index for Medical Care is the component of the CPI-U that measures the overall change in prices for medical costs, including medical and hospital services, prescription and nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies. As a component of the CPI-U, it is based on statistics that measure costs for approximately 87 percent of the U.S. population.
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers - Like the CPI-U, the Consumer Price Index for Wage and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, medical services, and other items that people buy for day-to-day living. However, the population covered by the CPI-W is narrower than the CPI-U, consisting only of wage earners and clerical workers. These two groups make up approximately 32 percent of the total population.