Question: Can the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for individual areas be used to compare living costs among the areas?

Answer: No, an individual area index measures how much prices have changed over a specific time period in that particular area. It does not show whether prices or living costs are higher or lower in that area relative to another. In general, the composition of the market basket and relative prices of goods and services in the market basket during the expenditure base period vary substantially across areas.