CHEYENNE (WNE) — The state of Wyoming Economic Analysis Division has completed the Fourth Quarter of 2022 (4Q22) Wyoming Cost of Living Index.

The WCLI consists of two parts, Inflation, which measures year-over-year change (annual) and the Comparative Cost of Living Index, which compares each county’s cost of living in one period (not over time) to the statewide average.

Inflation is reported for the state, by consumer category, and for five regions in the state. It measures year-over-year price changes in six consumer categories.The inflation figures for the fourth quarter of 2022 represent the percent change in the price level of a standard basket of selected consumer items priced in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with the price level of the same goods and services recorded one year ago (fourth quarter of 2021).

All items statewide inflation — 7.3% Statewide inflation by consumer category:

Food — 15.1%

Housing — 8.3%

Recreation & Personal Care — 5.9%

Medical — 5.1%

Apparel — 3.1%

Transportation — 1.3% Regional inflation rates:

Southwest — 8.2%

Central — 7.4%

Southeast — 7.2%

Northwest — 7.0%

Northeast — 6.7%

Nationally, the inflation rate from December 2021 to December 2022 was 6.5% (CPI-U), as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.

The division produces the index twice a year, for the second and fourth quarters.

The full report is available on the division’s website at eadiv.state.wy.us/wcli/NewsRelease-4Q22.Pdf.