Report on Winter 1995 Surveys Used to Determine Cost-of-Living Allowances in Alaska

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the ``Report To OPM On Living Costs In

Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, The Rest Of The State Of Alaska, And In

The Washington, DC, Area, November 6, 1995,'' prepared by Jack Faucett

Associates under Government contract OPM-94-BP-3816.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 2, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Allan G. Hearne, Salary Systems

Division, Office of Compensation Policy, Human Resources Systems

Service, Office of Personnel Management, Room 6H31, 1900 E Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20415, or FAX to (202) 606-4264.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allan G. Hearne, (202) 606-2838.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sections 591.205(d) and 591.206(c) of title

5, Code of Federal Regulations, require that nonforeign area cost-of-

living allowance (COLA) survey summaries and calculations be published

in the Federal Register. Accordingly, OPM is publishing the complete

``Report To OPM On Living Costs In Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, The

Rest Of The State Of Alaska, And In The Washington, DC, Area, November

6, 1995,'' produced by Jack Faucett Associates under contract with OPM.

This report explains in detail the methodologies, calculations, and

findings of the winter 1995 living-cost surveys.

Survey Results. Jack Faucett Associates computed index values of

relative living costs in the allowance areas using an index scale where

the living costs in the Washington, DC, area equal 100. (See the

Executive Summary of the report.) OPM notes that the winter survey

indices showed that the COLA rate for the Rest of the State of Alaska

is currently set at the proper level but that the rates authorized for

all of the other Alaska allowance areas are above levels warranted by

the indices. However, the Treasury, Postal Service and General

Government Appropriations Act, 1992 (Pub. L. 102-141), as amended,

prohibits reductions in COLA rates through December 31, 1998.

Therefore, OPM is not proposing any adjustments in the COLA rates in

these allowance areas at this time.

Office of Personnel Management.

James B. King,

Director.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Report Objections

1.2 Changes in This Year's Survey

1.2.1 Three-Year CES Moving Average

1.2.2 New Living Communities

1.2.3 Historical Housing Data

1.3 Pricing Period

2. The COLA Model

2.1 Measurement of Living-Cost Differences

2.2 Step 1: Identifying the Target Population

2.2.1 Federal Salaries

2.2.2 Federal Employment Weights

2.3 Step 2: Estimating How People Spend Their Money

2.3.1 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)

2.3.2 Expenditure Categories and Components

2.4 Step 3: Selecting Items and Outlets

2.4.1 Item Selections--The Market Basket

2.4.2 Geographic Coverage and Outlet Selection

2.4.2.1 Geographic Areas

2.4.2.2 Similarity of Outlets

2.4.2.3 Catelog Pricing

2.5 Step 4: Surveying Prices

2.5.1 In-House Research Staff

2.5.2 Field Researchers--``Research Associates''

2.5.3 Data Collection Materials

2.5.4 Inclusion of Sales and Excise Taxes

2.5.5 JFA's Onsite Visits

2.5.6 Special Considerations in Selection Areas

2.5.6.1 Surveying the Washington, DC Area

2.6 Step 5: Analyzing Data and Computing Indexes

2.6.1 General Formulae

2.6.1.1 Indexes

2.6.1.2 Item Weights

2.6.1.3 Category and Component Weights

2.6.2 Computing the Overall Index

3. Consumption Goods and Services

3.1 Categories and Category Weights

3.2 Goods and Services Data Collection--Special Considerations

3.2.1 Restaurant Pricing

3.3 Goods and Services Survey Results

4. Housing

4.1 Component Overview

4.2 Housing Model

4.2.1 Expenditure Research

4.2.2 House Profiles

4.2.3 Living Community Selection

4.2.4 Housing-Related Expenses

4.2.4.1 Utilities

4.2.4.2 Real Estate Taxes

4.2.4.3 Owners/Renters Insurance

4.2.4.4 Home Maintenance

4.2.4.5 Telephone

4.3 Housing Data Collection Procedures

4.3.1 Homeowner Data Collection

4.3.2 Renter Data Collection

4.4 Housing Analysis

4.4.1 Homeowner Data Analysis

4.4.2 Rental Data Analysis

4.5 Housing Survey Results

5. Transportation

5.1 Component Overview

5.2 Private Transportation Methodology

5.2.1 Vehicle Selection and Pricing

5.2.2 Vehicle Trade Cycle

5.2.3 Fuel Performance and Type

5.2.3.1 Impact of Temperature upon Fuel Performance

5.2.3.2 Impact of Road Surface upon Fuel Performance

5.2.3.3 Impact of Gradient Upon Fuel Performance

5.2.3.4 Overall Impact upon Fuel Performance

5.2.4 Vehicle Maintenance

5.2.5 Tires

5.2.6 License and Registration Fees, and Miscellaneous Tax

5.2.7 Depreciation

5.2.8 Finance Expense

5.2.9 Vehicle Insurance

5.2.10 Overall Annual Costs

5.3 Other Transportation Costs--Air Fares

5.4 Transportation Component Analyses

6. Miscellaneous Expenses

6.1 Component Overview

6.2 Component Weights

6.3 Component Categories

6.3.1 Medical Expense Category

6.3.2 Contributions Category

6.3.3 Personal Insurance and Retirement Category

6.4 Miscellaneous Expense Analyses

7. Final Results

7.1 Total Comparative Cost Indexes

List of Appendices

Appendix 1: Publication in the Federal Register of Results of

Nonforeign Area Living-Cost Surveys: 1990--1994

Appendix 2: Federal Employment Weights

Appendix 3: Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CES) Item Weights

Appendix 4: CES Category and Component Weights

Appendix 5: Item Descriptions

Appendix 6: Pricing Changes

Appendix 7: OMB-Approved Survey Materials

Appendix 8: Consumption Goods and Services Analysis

Appendix 9: OPM Living Community List

Appendix 10: Historical Home Market Values and Interest Rates

Appendix 11: Historical Housing Data

Appendix 12: Rental Data Analyses

Appendix 13: Housing Cost Analysis

Appendix 14: Housing Analysis

Appendix 15: Private Transportation Cost Analysis

Appendix 16: Air Fares and Other Transportation Expenses Cost

Analysis

Appendix 17: Transportation Analysis

Appendix 18: Miscellaneous Expense Analysis

Appendix 19: Final Indexes

Executive Summary

This report provides the results of the winter 1995 living-cost

surveys and compares living costs in Alaska nonforeign cost-of-living

allowance

[[Page 4071]]

(COLA) areas relative to the Washington, DC area.

The surveys and analyses were conducted by Jack Faucett Associates

(JFA), an economics consulting firm located in Bethesda, Maryland, and

its subcontractor, Runzheimer International, a Wisconsin-based firm,

specializing in the collection and analysis of cost-of-living

information. The study was conducted for the Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) under contract OPM-94-BP-3816. The contract requires

JFA to:

(1) Survey living costs in four allowance areas and in the

Washington, DC area, and

(2) Compare living costs between the allowance areas and the DC

area.

For this study, JFA and Runzheimer researched more than 1,000

outlets and gathered more than 5,500 prices on more than 200 items

representing typical consumer purchases. These prices were then

combined using consumer expenditure information developed by the Bureau

of Labor Statistics. The final result of the study is a series of

living-cost indexes, shown in the table below, which show the living-

costs in each of the allowance areas relative to the Washington, DC

area. The index for the DC area (not shown) is 100.00 because it is, by

definition, the reference area.

Table E-1.--Final Cost Comparison Indexes

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allowance area Index

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage, Alaska............................................. 105.14

Fairbanks, Alaska............................................. 108.64

Juneau, Alaska................................................ 108.33

The rest of the State of Alaska............................... 126.19

------------------------------------------------------------------------

OPM implemented a number of improvements for the winter 1995

survey. These improvements included:

--Using a moving average to introduce new weights based on the results

of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Surveys;

--Using new representative income levels based on the 1994 distribution

of salaries of Federal employess in the allowance areas;

--Selecting new living communities based on the results of the 1992

Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns Survey;

--Incorporating historical housing data to reflect both newly purchased

and previously purchased homes;

--Using the median home value in place of trimming and trend analyses

used in previous surveys; and

--Using the Goods and Services index to reflect relative expenditures

for cash contributions.

These changes as well as the data collection and analysis

procedures already employed in the survey are discussed in the various

sections of this report.

1. Introduction

1.1 Report Objectives

This comprehensive report culminates data collection and research

work undertaken in winter 1995 as required by Tasks 1 and 2 of contract

OPM-94-BP-3816 between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and

Jack Faucett Associates (JFA). This report only provides the results of

the winter 1995 surveys. A listing of earlier reports that provided the

results of previous surveys is shown in Appendix 1.

The analyses show the comparative living-cost differences between

the Washington, DC area and the following allowance areas:

1. City of Anchorage, Alaska

2. City of Fairbanks, Alaska

3. City of Juneau, Alaska

4. The rest of the State of Alaska

By law, Washington, DC is the base of ``reference'' area for the

nonforeign area cost-of-living allowance (COLA) program.

1.2 Changes in This Year's Survey

One of the obvious changes this year was OPM's selection of a new

contractor for living-cost surveys and analyses: JFA. JFA subcontracted

a substantial portion of the work to Runzheimer International, OPM's

previous contractor for the COLA program.

OPM directed JFA to make several changes to the survey and

analyses. Some of the key changes this year included:

--Using a moving average to introduce new weights based on the results

of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CES);

--Using new representative incomes based on the 1994 distribution of

salaries of Federal employees in the allowance areas;

--Selecting new living communities based on the results of the 1992

Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns Survey;

--Incorporating historical housing data to reflect both newly purchased

and previously purchased units;

--Using the median home value in place of trimming and trend analyses

used in previous surveys; and

--Using the Goods and Services index to reflect relative expenditures

for cash contributions.

Three of these changes are discussed further below. The other

changes are discussed where applicable in the report.

1.2.1 Three-Year CES Moving Average

One change was the introduction of a three-year moving average of

CES data in calculating the weights used to combine price indexes. In

prior years, expenditure weights were based on the 1988 CES, and OPM

wanted to use more current CES information.

Rather than simply replacing the 1988 CES data with the most recent

(1992) CES data, OPM implemented a system that would allow the gradual

introduction of new CES data over time, thereby reducing the impact

that short-term changes in CES might have on the living-cost indexes.

In future surveys, OPM plans to include current CES information and

drop the oldest CES data to maintain a three-year moving average.

Appendices 3 and 4 show the CES data used in this study.

1.2.2 New Living Communities

Another change was the selection of new living communities based on

the results of the 1992 Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns

Survey. In that survey, employees were asked to provide their

residential zip codes. OPM used this information to refine community

selection.

Two types of changes were made. In areas with relatively large

concentrations of Federal employees and sufficient housing data, OPM

selected communities to reflect the areas where Federal employees

typically lived.

The updated list of communities is provided in Appendix 9. These

are the communities in which house sales and rental rates were

collected. The communities were also used to determine the normal

shopping radius and the outlets at which price were collected.

1.2.3 Historical Housing Data

A third change was the incorporation of historical housing data to

reflect not only the prices paid for recent home purchases but also for

homes purchased in prior years. Appendix 10 shows the home market

values, interest rates, and annual principal and interest payments for

each area by year and income level. Appendix 11 shows how the principal

and interest payments were combined using weights based on the percent

of Federal employees presumed to have purchased their homes in each

given year. The weights were derived from the results of the 1992

Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns Survey.

[[Page 4072]]

1.3 Pricing Period

The prices were collected in the allowance areas and in the

Washington, DC area in February 1995. As with the previous surveys, the

prices of some items--those dependent upon the pricing of other items--

were collected slightly later (i.e., in March and April 1995) In

addition, individual item prices not meeting OPM's quality control

procedures were resurveyed in April and used to verify or replace the

original prices.

As done in previous surveys, JFA included some catalog sales in its

survey. Only catalogs that sell merchandise in both the allowance areas

and the Washington, D.C. area, were used. To ensure consistent seasonal

catalog pricing, JFA used winter catalogs for the catalog items

surveyed.

2. The COLA Model

2.1 Measurement of Living-Cost Differences

A common and widely accepted way to measure living-cost differences

between and among locations is to select representative items that

people purchase in these locations and to calculate the respective cost

differences, combining them according to their importance to each other

(as measured by relative percentage of expenditures). The COLA model

applies this methodology to compare the living costs in each of the

allowance areas with the living costs in Washington, DC area.

Moving from this basic concept to computing comparative living

costs between each allowance area and the Washington, DC area involves

five main steps:

Step 1: Identify the segment of the population for which the

analysis is targeted (i.e., the target population).

Step 2: Estimate how these people spend their money.

Step 3: Select items to represent the types of expenditures people

usually make and outlets at which people typically make purchases.

Step 4: Conduct pricing surveys of the selected items in each area.

Step 5: Analyze cost ratios for the selected items and aggregate

them according to the relative importance of each item.

2.2 Step 1: Identifying the Target Population

The study estimates living-cost differences for nonmilitary Federal

employees who have annual base salaries between approximately $12,000

and $87,000, the range of the General Schedule. Because living costs

may vary depending on an employee's income level, living costs are

analyzed at three income levels.

2.2.1 Federal Salaries

To determine the appropriate income levels, OPM analyzed the 1994

distribution of salaries for all General Schedule employees in all of

the allowance areas combined. OPM divided this distribution into three

groups of equal size and identified the median salary in each of the

groups. These values were then rounded to the nearest $100 to produce

the three representative income levels of $20,800, $31,500, and

$48,300.

The study analyzes living costs at each of these three income

levels. The results are three sets of estimated expenditures for each

allowance area and for the Washington, DC area. To combine these

estimated expenditures into a single overall index for the area, JFA

used employment weights provided by OPM.

2.2.2 Federal Employment Weights

As with the income levels, the OPM employment weights were derived

from the distribution of General Schedule employees by salary level.

Using the salary parameters identified in the income analysis described

above, OPM determined the number of General Schedule employees in each

salary group in each allowance area. Using a moving average similar to

that used with the CES data (see section 1.2.1), OPM combined these

data with the same type of information for the previous two years and

calculated the percent of the General Schedule workforce in each income

group in each area. These percentages were the weights that JFA used.

Appendix 2 shows the General Schedule employment distribution and how

the percentage weights were derived.

2.3 Step 2: Estimating How People Spend Their Money

2.3.1. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)

Expenditure patterns for employees for all areas, including the

Washington, D.C. area, are based on national data from the CES. OPM

obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics ``prepublished'' CES

results for 1988, 1991, 1992. As discussed in section 1.2.1, these

three years of CES data were combined using a moving average.

CES data are used in two ways: to identify appropriate items for

the survey and to derive item, category, and component weights. The

item weights are not income-sensitive. However, aggregated CES data are

analyzed by income level to derive category and component weights.

These weights are income-sensitive. The CES data used in this study are

shown in Appendix 3 and 4.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has advised OPM that

``prepublished'' CES data may not be statistically significant. To

OPM's knowledge, however, it is the only source of comprehensive

consumer expenditure information by income level. Therefore, it is used

in the model.

2.3.2 Expenditure Categories and Components

The CES groupings expenses into small, logical families of items.

For example, the report divided money spent by families on beef into

four groups: ground beef, roast, steak and other beef. The steak and

roast groupings were further separated into smaller clusters of items

(e.g., sirloin and round steak, chuck and round roast).

Using the CES data, the items were sorted into the four main cost

components specified in OPM regulations: Consumption Goods and

Services, Transportation, Housing, and Miscellaneous Expenses. To

develop weighting patterns for the three income levels, JFA performed

linear regression analyses on the CES data shown in Appendix 3.\1\

These analyses produced estimated expenditures at the three income

levels identified in section 2.2.1 above. JFA converted these

expenditures to percentages of total expenditures for the four

components to produce the values shown in the table below. The values

were the weights JFA used to combine the expenditures for each of the

components into an overall value for each income level in each

allowance area and the Washington, DC area.

\1\ The midpoint of the moving average of CES data was 1991.

Therefore, for the purposes of these regressions, OPM provided

adjusted Federal salaries to reflect 1991 pay rates. OPM used the

pay increases for 1992 (4.2%), 1993 (3.7%), and 1994 (0.0%) to

deflate the 1994 salaries. This produced adjusted Federal salaries

of $19,250, $29,150, and $44,700 for use in the regression

equations.

[[Page 4073]]

Table 2-1.--Component Expenses Expressed as a Percentage of Total Expenses

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income Goods and

Income level 1994 level 1991 services Housing Transportation Misc. Total

adjusted (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$20,800........................ $19,250 40.10 25.01 18.93 15.96 100.00

31,500......................... 29,150 39.47 23.98 18.66 17.88 100.00

48,300......................... 44,700 38.87 23.01 18.41 19.71 100.00

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Values may not total because of rounding.)

Goods and services items were further sorted into ten categories

and linear regression techniques were used to estimate expenditures on

these ten categories by income level. The weights for these categories

are shown in section 3.1. The same technique was also used to compute

category weights for the Transportation and Miscellaneous Components

and to produce ratios of renters to homeowners at each income level.

2.4 Step 3: Selecting Items and Outlets

2.4.1 Item Selections--The Market Basket

As noted above, CES items were grouped into ``clusters'' of

expenses to determine which items to survey. These clusters were chosen

so that no market basket item would have overwhelmingly large or

insignificantly small item weight.

For each of these clusters, a set of items to price was identified.

Collectively, these items are called a ``market basket.'' Because it

would have been impractical to survey all of the thousands of items

consumers might buy, the market basket contains representative items,

such as cheddar cheese, that represents itself and the many other

related items that consumers purchase (e.g., Edam, Gouda, Jack, Swiss,

et cetera). JFA's market basket had more than 200 items ranging from

table salt to new cars to home purchases.

The items selected were representative of other similar items,

commonly purchased, and readily available in all areas. For example, a

10.5-ounce can of Campbell's vegetable soup was selected for the survey

because it is representative of canned and packaged soups, is a

commonly-purchased brand, and is found in all areas. Whenever

practical, the item description included the exact brand, model, type,

and size, so that exactly the same items could be priced in all areas

if possible. Appendix 5 provides a list of the items surveyed and their

descriptions.

Changes to the item list and descriptions are an important aspect

of the COLA survey. These changes are necessary to improve the survey

and keep the items' descriptions current. For this survey, JFA changed

several of the items or descriptions. The changes and the reasons for

each are listed in Appendix 6.

2.4.2 Geographic Coverage and Outlet Selection

Just as it was important to select commonly-purchased items and

survey the same items in all areas, it was important to select outlets

frequented by consumers and find equivalent outlets in all areas. This

involved deciding which geographic areas to survey and which outlets to

survey within these geographic areas.

2.4.2.1 Geographic Areas

For some areas, the choice of which area(s) to survey was obvious.

In Nome, for example, the whole city is surveyed because Nome is a

relatively small city and Federal employees live throughout the city.

For other areas, specific communities had to be identified. To do

this, OPM used the results of the 1992 Federal Employee Housing and

Living Patterns Survey. Among other things, that survey obtained

information on where Federal employees lived. OPM used this information

to select the communities in which housing costs would be priced. JFA

then identified outlets within a normal shopping radius of these

housing communities.

2.4.2.2 Similarity of Outlets

Whenever possible, JFA selected popular outlets that were

comparable to outlets in all areas. For example, JFA surveyed the price

of grocery items at supermarkets in all areas because most people

purchase their groceries at such stories and because supermarkets are

found in all areas.\2\ The selection of comparable outlets was

particularly important because comparing the prices of items purchased

at dissimilar outlets would be inappropriate (e.g., comparing the price

of a box of cereal at a supermarket with one sold at a convenience

store).

\2\ In the Washington, DC, area, JFA surveyed groceries at two

kinds of supermarkets (i.e., full-service supermarkets and

``warehouse-type'' supermarkets) because both types of grocery

stores are common in this area. JFA did not survey ``warehouse-

type'' grocery stores in any other area because they are relatively

uncommon and not frequented by most Federal employees.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Although major supermarkets, department stores, and discount stores

represented a sizable portions of the survey, JFA also selected outlets

to represent the diversity of consumer shopping. For example, JFA could

have used department stores for pricing all clothing items surveyed.

This would not have reflected, however, the range of consumer choices.

Therefore, JFA also priced some clothing items in men's and women's

clothing stores, other clothing items in department stores, others in

shoe stores, and still others in discount stores. For each item, the

same type of outlet (e.g., clothing store, discount store, department

store) was selected in each area whenever possible.

2.4.2.3 Catalog Pricing

A limited amount of catalog pricing was included in the survey to

reflect this common purchasing option. Eight item prices were surveyed

by catalog. OPM selected these items based on comments it received from

Federal employees. Catalog pricing also allowed the comparison of

comparable items that would have been difficult to price otherwise. Of

course, all catalog prices included any charges for shipping and

handling and all applicable taxes.

2.5 Step 4: Surveying Prices

As noted earlier, JFA obtained approximately 5,500 prices on more

than 200 items from 1,000 outlets. In each survey area, JFA attempted

to get at least three price quotes for each item, with certain

exceptions. For example, essentially all of the available home sales

and rental data meeting the specifications were obtained. For other

items, such as utilities and real estate tax rates, only one quote was

obtained in each area because these items have uniform rates within an

area. Because the Washington, DC area has six survey communities, JFA

attempted to get at least 18 price quotes for most items in this area.

[[Page 4074]]

To accomplish this, JFA used various information-gathering

approaches. These are described below.

2.5.1 In-House Research Staff

JFA's research personnel, and those of Runzheimer, its

subcontractor, played a major role in all data-collection activities.

These professionals:

--Contacted manufacturers, trade associations, governmental agencies,

and retail establishments to ensure that suitable items were selected

and priced at common types of outlets;

--Contacted real estate professionals in each survey area to obtain

general information as well as specific rental rates and home market

values;

--Conducted pricing surveys, onsite and by telephone;

--Served as a liaison for field researchers who collected price

information onsite;

--Performed hundreds of quality control checks, often verifying survey

data through telephone calls and comparing current data-gathering

results with those from earlier surveys; and

--Analyzed and computed the item, category, component, and total

comparative cost indexes.

2.5.2 Field Researchers--``Research Associates''

Most of the price data were collected onsite by Research Associates

(RA's). The RA's were independent contractors, hired by JFA to visit

retail outlets in each area and collect prices. All of these RA's were

residents of the area. To avoid any real or perceived conflicts of

interest, JFA refrained from hiring research associates who were either

employees of the Federal government or who had immediate family who

were employees of the Federal government.

2.5.3 Data Collection Materials

The living-cost surveys conform with the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act and are approved by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB). The OMB-approved survey collection materials are

found in Appendix 7. All JFA-developed worksheets or other survey

materials conformed with those approved by OMB.

2.5.4 Inclusion of Sales and Excise Taxes

For all items subject to sales and/or excise tax, the appropriate

amount of tax was added prior to analysis. JFA gathered applicable

information on taxes by contacting appropriate sources of information

in the allowance areas and the Washington, DC area. JFA also used

appropriate tax publications, such as the State of Maryland's Sales and

Use Tax Laws and Regulations and the ``Uniform Sales Tax'' (Ordinance

Section 69.05) of the City and Borough of Juneau.

2.5.5 JFA's Onsite Visits

Full-time JFA research professionals traveled to each allowance

area to supervise data collection activities and perform various

quality control checks as necessary. These visits all occurred during

the pricing period so that these professionals could answer any of the

RA's data collection questions or provide additional training and

instruction if necessary.

The researchers visited living communities within the allowance

areas to look at housing and to talk with local real estate

professionals. They also visited numerous retail outlets to verify that

comparable items were being priced at comparable outlets. In addition,

they obtained general information about the local economy.

2.5.6 Special Considerations in Selected Areas

2.5.6.1 Surveying the Washington, DC Area

As noted earlier, JFA attempted to get more price quotes in the DC

area than in the allowance areas because of the size and diversity of

the Washington metropolitan area. For the purposes of the COLA surveys,

the DC area was divided into six survey areas: two in the District of

Columbia, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia. The specific areas

surveyed were within a normal shopping radius of the housing

communities identified in Appendix 9. Survey data from each of the six

DC survey areas were combined using equal weights.

2.6 Step 5: Analyzing Data and Computing Indexes

2.6.1 General Formulae

2.6.1.1 Indexes

Nonforeign area COLAs are derived from the living-cost indexes.

These indexes are mathematical comparisons of living costs in the

allowance areas compared with living costs in the Washington, DC area.

At the most fundamental level, an index is a way to state the

difference between two prices (or sets of prices). For example, if a

can of green beans costs $1.00 in the allowance area and 80 cents in

the DC area, green beans are 25 percent more expensive in the allowance

area than in DC. That difference can also be stated as a price index of

125.

2.6.1.2 Item Weights

JFA computed indexes for hundreds of items. To combine these

indexes, JFA used weights derived from the CES. These weights reflected

the relative amount consumers normally spend on different items. For

example, the price of a can of green beans has a lower weight than the

price of a pound of apples because, according to the CES, people

generally spend less on green beans than on apples.

The COLA model uses a fixed-weight indexing methodology. This means

that the same expenditure weights are used in the reference area (i.e.,

the DC area) and in the allowance areas. The weights used are based on

the expenditure patterns of consumers nationwide as reported by the

CES. This is the only source, of which OPM is aware, that provides

expenditure information by income level.

2.6.1.3 Category and Component Weights

As described in section 2.3.2, JFA also computed income sensitive

category and component weights. This allowed the combination of item

prices in a manner that reflected the different spending patterns of

people at different income levels. How this was accomplished, differed

among the components.

For the Goods and Services and Miscellaneous Expense components,

JFA simply combined indexes within each category using the CES weights

to derive an overall index for the category. The category indexes were

then combined into an overall component index using the income-

sensitive category weights described above.

For the Transportation and Housing Components, JFA used the above

approach in combination with a cost-build-up approach. For example, for

each area the annual cost of owning and operating an automobile was

computed by taking individual prices (e.g., automobile financing,

insurance, gas and oil, and maintenance) and computing an overall

dollar cost for each area. These costs were compared with those in the

DC area to compute the Private Transportation Category index. This

index was then combined with the Other Transportation Category index

using income sensitive category weights to compute an overall

Transportation Component index for each area.

2.6.2 Computing the Overall Index

The item, category, and component indexes were combined using the

process prescribed in Section

[[Page 4075]]

591.205(c), title 5, Code of Federal Regulations. That is a five-step

process that involves converting the indexes to dollar values and

weighting these, combining them, and comparing them to compute a final

weighted-average index. The process is described below.

First, JFA used the CES data and the income ranges described in

section 2.2.1 to determine the quantity of money consumers typically

spend on each component at each income level. These amounts appear in

the table below and in Appendix 19. They were derived by taking the

component weights shown in Table 2-1 times the representative income

levels described in section 2.2.1.

Table 2-2.--Typical Consumer Expenditures by Income Level and Component

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goods and

Income level services Own/rent Transportation Misc. Total

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower....................................... $8,341 $5,202 $3,938 $3,320 $20,800

Middle...................................... 12,433 7,555 5,879 5,634 31,500

Upper....................................... 18,775 11,114 8,892 9,520 48,300

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Note: Values may not total because of rounding.)

Second, for each allowance area, JFA multiplied the dollar values

above by the component indexes for the allowance area. Because the

housing component consisted of two indexes (one for owners and another

for renters), two sets of total relative costs were produced--one for

owners and another for renters.

Third, for each allowance area and income level, JFA combined the

total relative costs for owners and renters using as weights the

proportion of owners and renters as identified in the CES. (See section

4.2.1.) This produced an overall expenditure dollar amount for each

income level in each allowance area.

Fourth, JFA computed a single overall average expenditure for each

allowance area by combining the income level expenditures and using the

allowance area General Schedule employment distribution as weights.

This produced a single overall dollar expenditure value for the

allowance area. Using the same General Schedule employment weights, JFA

also computed a single overall dollar expenditure value for the DC

area.

The final step was to divide the overall average dollar expenditure

for the allowance area by the overall average dollar expenditure for

the DC area to compute a final index. These indexes are shown in the

last section of this report and in Appendix 19.

3. Consumption Goods and Services

3.1 Categories and Category Weights

Based on the CES data, JFA identified ten categories of expenses

within the Goods and Services Component. Using linear regression

analyses and the CES data, JFA identified the portion of total Goods

and Services expenditures that the typical consumer spends in each

category at various income levels. The categories and the relative

expenditures are shown in the table below:

Table 3-1.--Category Weights Expressed as a Percentage of Goods and

Services Expenditures by Income Level

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income levels

Category --------------------------------------

Lower Middle Upper

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Food at Home..................... 26.40 23.49 20.65

Food Away from Home.............. 14.42 14.73 15.04

Tobacco.......................... 3.15 2.59 2.05

Alcohol.......................... 2.77 2.73 2.69

Furnishings and Hsld. Op......... 14.71 15.79 16.85

Clothing......................... 13.97 14.65 15.30

Domestic Service................. 1.76 1.90 2.04

Professional Services............ 6.48 6.65 6.82

Personal Care.................... 3.62 3.52 3.43

Recreation....................... 12.72 13.94 15.14

--------------------------------------

Totals..................... 100.00 100.00 100.00

------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Note: Values may not total because of rounding.)

3.2 Goods and Services Data Collection--Special Considerations

3.2.1 Restaurant Pricing

To ensure comparison of prices at comparable restaurants among

areas, OPM asked JFA to survey only three restaurant chains: Dennys,

Sizzler, and Pizza Hut (or their equivalents). This allowed for the

comparison of meal prices at a comparable mix of restaurants in all

areas.

3.3 Goods and Services Survey Results

Section 2.6 of this report provides a detailed explanation of the

economic model used to analyze the price data. As it applies to Goods

and Services, the approach involved comparing the average prices of

market basket items in each allowance area with those in the

Washington, DC area. The resulting price ratios were aggregated into

subcategory and then category indexes using the moving-average

expenditure weights derived from the CES data.

Appendix 8 shows for each allowance area ten category indexes, the

weights used at each of the three income levels, and the overall Goods

and Services indexes. The Washington, DC area is not shown because it

is, by definition, the reference area. Therefore, the DC indexes are

100.

[[Page 4076]]

4. Housing

4.1 Component Overview

The Housing component consists of expenses related to owning or

renting a dwelling. These are--

--Mortgage or rent payments,

--Utilities,

--Real estate taxes,

--Homeowner's or renter's insurance,

--Home maintenance, and

--Telephone.

At each of the three income levels, JFA measured separately the

annual housing costs for homeowners and renters. The results were then

combined using as weights the percentages of owners and renters

reported by the CES.

4.2 Housing Model

4.2.1 Expenditure Research

The CES was used to determine the national average ratio of

families who own, as opposed to renting, their residences. Using the

expense data by income range as input into a linear regression

analysis, JFA calculated the owner and rent weights shown below. JFA

excluded expenditure data for home owning families without a mortgage

because they were not typical of homeowners in the base area or in the

allowance areas.

Table 4-1.--Owner/Renter Weights

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income levels

--------------------------------------

Category Lower Middle Upper

(percent) (percent) (percent)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homeowner with mortgage.......... 38.41 47.46 61.67

Renter........................... 61.59 52.54 38.33

--------------------------------------

Totals..................... 100.00 100.00 100.00

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The CES data were also used to identify which home-maintenance

items to price and to establish the relative importance of those items.

4.2.2 Housing Profiles

To compare housing costs in all locations, six typical housing

profiles are used and are assigned to the three income levels, as shown

in the table below. OPM requested that at least one criterion for the

owner profile be the square footage of the home and at least one

criterion for the renter profile be the number of bedrooms in the

rental unit.

Table 4-2.--Housing Profiles

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income level Renter profile Owner profile

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower.............................. 3 rooms, 1 BR, 1 bath, 600 sq. ft. 4 rooms, 2 BR, 1 bath, 900 sq. ft.

apartment. condo or detached house.

Middle............................. 4 rooms, 2 BR, 1 bath, 900 sq. ft. 5 rooms, 3 BR, 1 bath, 1,300 sq. ft.

apartment. detached house (rowhouse in NE DC).

Upper.............................. 4 rooms, 2 BR, 2 baths, 1,100 sq. ft. 7 rooms, 3 BR, 2 baths, 1,700 sq.

townhouse or detached house. ft. detached house.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The home sizes stated above are the representative sizes used for

certain calculations in the model. They are not, however, the only size

surveyed for each profile. For rentals, JFA obtained rental rates on

any unit, regardless of its size, that otherwise met the profile

characteristics. For home sales, JFA obtained the prices of homes

within size range and otherwise meeting the profile specifications. The

size ranges are shown below:

Table 4-3.--Home Sizes Surveyed

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income level Range

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower............................. 600 to 1,200 sq. ft.

Middle............................ 1,000 to 1,600 sq. ft.

Upper............................. 1,400 to 2,300 sq. ft.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It should be noted that although the size ranges overlap, no home

sale observation could be used at more than one income level.

Application of the other criteria (i.e., number and type of rooms)

ensured that each observation was assigned to the appropriate income

level even though its size was common to two income levels.

4.2.3 Living Community Selection

As discussed briefly in sections 1.2.2 and 2.4.2.1, OPM identified

the living communities to be surveyed based on the results of the 1992

Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns Survey. This resulted in

many survey community changes in both the allowance areas and in the

Washington, DC area. The communities surveyed are identified in

Appendix 9.

As with previous surveys, nine homeowner and nine renter

communities were identified for the Washington, DC area--one for each

income level in each of the three areas (DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

In the allowance areas, up to three homeowner and three renter

communities were identified--one for each income level.

The three-community owner/renter goal was not achievable in many of

allowance areas due to the relatively few home sales and rental

opportunities in these areas. In such areas, OPM directed JFA to

collect prices for the entire survey area or allowance area rather than

in specific communities. This was done in Fairbanks, Juneau, and Nome.

In these areas, all home sales and/or rental rates meeting the housing

profile characteristics for the particular income group were included

in the analysis.

4.2.4 Housing-Related Expenses

Based on the CES data, housing-related expense items are

categorized into one of five groups in the COLA model. These groups

are--

--Utilities,

--Real estate taxes,

--Owners/renters insurance,

--Maintenance, and

--Telephone.

4.2.4.1 Utilities

Electricity, oil, gas, water, and sewer are the utilities used in

the model. Most

[[Page 4077]]

utility companies are able to provide current charges per unit of

consumption and average consumption patterns for all households. The

companies were not, however, able to provide separate consumption

patterns by the size or type of housing.

Because many utility costs vary by size of house, a factor is

needed to derive the utility rates at each of the home profiles. The

table below shows the standard square foot sizes and utility factors

used for each home profile. The factors are calculated by assuming that

utility use increases or decreases at half the rate that square footage

increases or decreases.

Table 4-4.--Utility Factors

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Renter profile Owner profile

Income level -----------------------------------

Sq. ft. Factor Sq. ft. Factor

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower............................... 600 .73 900 .85

Middle.............................. 900 .85 1,300 1.00

Upper............................... 1,100 .92 1,700 1.15

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In each area, JFA obtained the price of each of the types of

utilities noted above. JFA used average annual consumption per

household information gathered from utility companies serving each area

to compute average annual utility costs. The above factors were then

used to adjust the total annual utility costs for each of the various

housing profiles.

4.2.4.2 Real Estate Taxes

For this study, JFA contacted the city assessors in each allowance

area and in the Washington, DC area to obtain real estate tax

information on the living communities surveyed. Real estate tax

formulas were obtained for all living communities and applied to the

home values, for each income level, resulting from the homeowner data

analysis discussed in section 4.4.1.

4.2.4.3 Owners/Renters Insurance

Homeowners' insurance rates are gathered for each of the survey

areas for both renter and owner profiles. For renters, the following

estimated content values were used: $20,000 at the lower and middle

income levels and $30,000 at the upper income level.

For homeowners, the cost of insurance was dependent on the average

home values calculated as part of this survey. In all areas, it was

assumed that the structure was equal to 80 percent of the total home

value.

Previous research, conducted by Runzheimer International for OPM,

found that insurance coverage for disasters, such as floods and

earthquakes, were not widely purchased in the allowance areas.

Therefore, the COLA model does not include these additional riders.

(See Report to OPM on Living Costs in Selected NonForeign Areas and in

the Washington, DC Area, June 1992 at 57 FR 58556).

A comparison of homeowner insurance data previously collected for

the Alaska areas with the premiums collected for this survey, showed

several inconsistencies. For example, premiums for all income levels

for Anchorage, Fairbanks and Nome were significantly lower, even in

areas where the home market values had increased. In Juneau, the

insurance data was significantly higher than premiums collected for the

previous survey. Because of these inconsistencies and the refusal of

most outlets contacted to participate in the survey, the insurance data

collected in the Alaska allowance areas for the previous survey,

adjusted for inflation, were used for the homeowner and renter

insurance portion of the housing-related expenses analysis. The

previously published data in 59 FR 45066 was adjusted by the annual

rate of change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers

(CPI-U) for homeowner's insurance, 3.3%, and renter's insurance, 3.6%,

as reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI Detailed Report Data

for July 1995.

4.2.4.4 Home Maintenance

Estimated home maintenance expense was computed for each of the

homeowner profiles. Maintenance costs were not added in the three

renter profiles because most, if not all, maintenance expenses are

covered by the landlord.

As done in previous surveys, JFA priced both home maintenance

services as well as home maintenance commodities, using the CES

information to identify items to price and the weights associated with

these items. The maintenance service items priced were interior

painting, plumbing repair, electrical repair, and pest control. In the

Nome area, however, pest control was not priced because local sources

indicated it is not necessary. The maintenance commodities priced were

bathroom caulking, a kitchen faucet set, an electrical outlet, latex

interior paint, and a fire extinguisher.

To compute home maintenance cost differences between each allowance

area and the Washington, DC area for the homeowner profiles, an index

was computed for each maintenance item by comparing the allowance area

price to the DC area price. As with the Goods and Services Component

items, the CES data were used to weight these maintenance indexes into

an overall home maintenance index for each area.

To combine the maintenance indexes with the other homeowner costs,

which were expressed in dollar amounts, JFA converted the indexes to

dollars by multiplying the index for each area by the average

maintenance expense reported in the CES. This cost was assigned to the

middle-income homeowner profile.

Logically, maintenance costs for larger homes would generally be

greater than costs for middle-sized homes, while costs for smaller

homes would generally be less. Therefore, the same homeowner

multipliers used in the utilities model for the lower and upper income

profiles (.85 and 1.15 respectively) are applied to recognize

differences in maintenance costs due to house size.

4.2.4.5 Telephone

Telephone expense consisted of local service charges, additional

charges for local calls (if applicable), and charges for long distance

calls. To measure estimated expenses for local service and local calls,

JFA surveyed the cost of touch-tone service with unlimited calling in

each area.

To estimate long distance charges in all areas, JFA surveyed the

cost of three, ten-minute direct dial calls per month to large U.S.

mainland cities (i.e., Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City). JFA

measured the price of a call placed in the survey area at the time of

day necessary to be received in the respective city at 8 p.m. local

time. In many areas, this resulted in pricing a combination of daytime

and evening-rate calls.

4.3 Housing Data Collection Procedures

As done in previous years, JFA collected housing information mainly

from real estate professionals, various listing services, and

advertisements. In addition, JFA personnel traveled to each of the

surveyed communities to assess the compatibility of the housing

community with the income level for which the data were used and to

ensure that homes in these communities were comparable to those in the

Washington, DC area.

4.3.1 Homeowner Data Collection

JFA obtained selling prices of homes that matched the housing

profiles in each living community. JFA obtained as many of these

selling prices as possible for sales that occurred during the 6-month

period prior to the date of the survey.

The amount of data obtained depended on the number of home sales

[[Page 4078]]

in the community and the availability of square footage and other

housing profile information. This in turn depended on the size of the

community, economic conditions, quality and quantity of the realty data

available, and the willingness and ability of local realty

professionals and assessor offices to provide data.

If sales data obtained from the preliminary data sources did not

meet specified contract minimums, JFA contacted additional data sources

in the area to attempt to secure more sales data, if practical. In this

manner, either all were or a sizeable portion of the home sales in each

area was surveyed.

4.3.2 Renter Data Collection

Rental data also were obtained from a variety of sources, e.g.,

brokers, rental management firms, property managers, newspaper

advertisements, and other listings. Analyses of these data revealed

what appeared to be two separate rental markets: a broker market and a

non-broker market. Rental rates and estimates provided by brokers

generally exceeded those obtained from other sources. The methodology

used to analyze these two data sets is discussed in section 4.4.2.

4.4 Housing Analysis

4.4.1 Homeowner Data Analysis

One of the most important factors relating to the price of a home

is the number of square feet of living space. In the past, OPM directed

the contractor to rank housing data high to low and trim equal numbers

of observations from both ends of the data. The average of the

remaining values was then used. This year, OPM changed the methodology

and used the median home value rather than trimming and averaging. The

median is the middle value in a rank-ordered set of observations. The

purpose of either approach is to reduce the volatility of the housing

data from one survey to the next because a relatively few extremely

high or low home prices could significantly influence average housing

costs.

For each income profile in each allowance area and the Washington,

DC area, JFA computed the median price per square foot for the

comparables. This value was then multiplied by the reference square

footage for the profile to determine the average home value for the

profile.

Another change that OPM made this year was to ask JFA to use

historical housing data in addition to data collected this year. These

data are found in Appendix 10 of this report. The historical data are

from previous living-cost surveys that were published in the Federal

Register beginning with the 1990 report. (See Appendix 1 for a listing

of these publications). The data for the period prior to 1990 were

published with the results of the 1991-1992 living cost surveys at 57

FR 58618. All housing values are based on the community selections and

analytical methodologies used at the time of each respective survey.

The historical housing data used were estimated annual principal

plus interest payments by income level in each area. To combine these

data, OPM supplied JFA with weights that were derived from the 1992

Federal Employee Housing and Living Patterns Survey. These weights

reflect the proportion of Federal employee homeowners by year of

purchase or acquisition in all allowance areas and in the Washington,

DC area. The historical housing weights and analyses are shown in

Appendix 11.

4.4.2 Rental Data Analysis

JFA assigned each rental quote data point to a single income level,

based on the following criteria:

--One bedroom apartments: Lower Income Level,

--Two bedroom apartments: Middle Income Level, and

--Townhouses and detached houses with a minimum of two bedrooms: Upper

Income Level.

As discussed earlier, there were essentially two sources of rental

information: broker and non-broker sources. In each area, the quantity

of data obtained from either source-type varied significantly.

Therefore, analyzing all of the rental data (both broker and non-

broker) together for an area and income level was undesirable.

Instead, OPM instructed JFA to analyze broker and non-broker data

separately by income level. As with the housing data analyses, OPM

changed from the use of trimming and averaging to the use of the

median. Therefore, for each income level, JFA separately ranked rental

rates from low to high for broker and non-broker data. The median

values for broker and non-broker data for each group were determined

and then averaged to compute a single rental value for each income

level. Because OPM has no information on how the Federal employees who

rent generally secure their lodgings, OPM requested that JFA apply

equal weights to the broker and non-broker data to compute an overall

average rental rate for the area and income level. The broker and non-

broker medians and final results are shown in Appendix 12.

4.5 Housing Survey Results

In the above sections, the processes used for determining the costs

for maintenance, insurance, utilities, real estate taxes, rents, and

homeowner mortgages were described. Appendix 13 shows the cost of each

of these items for renters and homeowners in each allowance area and in

the Washington, DC area.

Appendix 14 compares the total cost of these items by income level

in each allowance area with the total cost of the same items by income

level in the Washington, DC area. Again, there are separate comparisons

for renters and homeowners.

The final housing-cost comparisons take the form of indexes that

are used in Appendix 19 to derive the total, overall index for owners

and renters. (Refer to Section 2.6 for a discussion of the general

formulae and how the component indexes are combined.)

5. Transportation

5.1 Component Overview

The transportation component consists of two categories: Automobile

Expense and Other Transportation Costs. The Automobile Expense Category

reflects costs relating to owning and operating a car in each area. The

Other Transportation Costs Category is represented by the cost of air

travel from each location to a common point within the contiguous 48

states.

5.2 Private Transportation Methodology

As done in previous surveys, JFA analyzed automobile transportation

costs for three commonly purchased vehicles: a domestic auto, an import

auto, and a utility vehicle. New car costs were used for these analyses

because it was believed that pricing used vehicles of equivalent

quality in each area could introduce inconsistencies because of the

value judgments that would be required.

5.2.1 Vehicle Selection and Pricing

The three vehicles selected for analysis were:

Domestic--Ford Taurus GL 4-door sedan 3.0L 6 cyl,

Import--Honda Civic DX 4-door sedan 1.5L 4 cyl, and

Utility--Chevrolet S10 Blazer 4X4 2 door 4.3L 6 cyl.

These are the same models that were surveyed in previous years and

were selected based on their popularity in the United States as

demonstrated by owner registration data.

For each model car, JFA collected new vehicle prices at dealerships

in each area and from secondary sources,

[[Page 4079]]

such as the Kelly Blue Book. All prices were based on the

manufacturers' suggested retail prices (MSRP) for 1995. (OPM did not

believe it was feasible to collect information on the negotiated price

for these vehicles.) All vehicles were equipped with standard options,

such as automatic transmission, AM/FM stereo radio and air

conditioning. In Alaska locations, special additional equipment was

included in new-vehicle prices (e.g., snow tires, engine-block heaters,

and heavy-duty batteries).

In addition to the MSRP, the price included additional charges such

as shipping, dealer preparation, additional dealer markup, excise tax,

sales tax, and any other one-time taxes or charges. In each Alaska

allowance area, for example, documentation fees were also included as

part of the new-vehicle costs.

Rustproofing was priced in all areas, including the Washington, DC

area. In previous surveys, the contractor found that auto dealers in

the DC area did not recommend vehicle rustproofing, although it was a

commonly suggested option in the allowance areas. This year, the

information collected suggested that rustproofing was a commonly

offered option in all areas. Therefore, OPM directed JFA to include the

cost of rustproofing in the DC area as well as the allowance areas.

5.2.2 Vehicle Trade Cycle

Calculating the cost of owning and operating a vehicle requires

knowing the miles driven and how long the car is owned. In the

automobile industry, these two factors are known collectively as a

vehicle's ``trade cycle.'' The trade cycle is stated as a length of

time (in months or years) and the total number of miles driven in that

time period. This information is used in the model to compute annual

costs related to fuel, oil, tires, maintenance, and depreciation.

As with the previous living-cost analyses, JFA used a four-year,

60,000-mile trade cycle in all areas. This was based upon the following

information:

--The Internal Revenue Service uses this trade cycle to compute the

allowable cents-per-mile reimbursement rate for persons who drive their

personal vehicle for business purposes;

--The four-year time period coincides with the typical length of a

vehicle loan; and

--U.S. Department of Energy statistics for 1988 show that the annual

average for number of vehicle miles driven in the United States was

18,595 per household and 10,246 miles per vehicle.

5.2.3 Fuel Performance and Type

All vehicles included in this study used regular unleaded fuel. JFA

surveyed self-service cash prices of unleaded regular gasoline at name-

brand gas stations in the Washington, DC area. In consideration of the

harsh climate in the Alaska allowance areas, full-service cash prices

were surveyed.

To establish average fuel-performance ratings, the COLA model uses

the ``city driving'' figures published by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA). The ``city'' figures instead of ``highway''

figures are used because all locations contained considerable stop-and-

go driving conditions.

As in previous COLA surveys, JFA included in its analysis the

following fuel-performance factors: temperature, road surface, and

gradient. These factors are based on research previously conducted for

OPM. This research and the factors are discussed below.

5.2.3.1 Impact of Temperature upon Fuel Performance

Gas mileage is affected by temperature. The lower the temperature,

the fewer miles-per-gallon achieved and vice versa. According to the

EPA's Passenger Car Fuel Economy: EPA and Road, the temperature at

which no adjustments to fuel performance occur is 77 deg.F; below that

temperature, miles-per-gallon achieved drops, above 77 deg.F miles-

per-gallon achieved improves. The model uses the average monthly

temperatures for each allowance area and the Washington, D.C., area as

reported in The Weather Almanac, published by Ruffner and Blair.

For each location and month, the model uses the appropriate factor

from the EPA study based on the average monthly temperature for the

area. These factors are then averaged to derive a single overall factor

for each location. The results of these calculations are shown in

Section 5.2.3.4.

5.2.3.2 Impact of Road Surfaces upon Fuel Performance

For the model, it is assumed that Federally controlled roadways are

typically composed of concrete and/or high-load asphalt and that

locally controlled roadways are typically composed of low-load asphalt.

EPA's research indicates that cars are generally more fuel-efficient on

the firmer, high-load surfaces than on the softer, low-load surfaces.

Although traffic patterns and road usage vary among areas, previous

research conducted for OPM produced no relevant findings regarding this

issue. Therefore, the model uses the assumption that Federally-

controlled roadways generally support twice the traffic of, or are used

at least twice as much as, locally controlled roadways.

In each allowance area, the total mileage falling into either the

Federal or local categories are collected. For example, Alaska contains

5,512 miles of Federally controlled roads and 7,120 miles of locally

controlled roadways. The usage consumption increased Federal road

mileage by a factor of two.

The average low-load asphalt factor (which reflects dry, wet, and

snowy conditions) is applied to the local mileage percentage, and the

average concrete and/or high-load asphalt factor is applied to the

Federal mileage percentage to produce a weighted average factor for

each area. The weighted factor is 0.96 for the allowance areas. The

Washington, DC area is assigned a factor of 1.00 on the premise that

the vast majority of traffic in that area travels on dry, high-load

surfaces. The application of these factors is described in Section

5.2.3.4.

5.2.3.3 Impact of Gradient Upon Fuel Performance

The effect of gradient on gas mileage is also estimated from EPA's

Passenger Car Fuel Economy: EPA and Road. Local topography (i.e.,

gradient) affects fuel efficiency. EPA provides mileage factors based

upon various gradients ranging from less than 0.5% (essentially flat)

to greater than 6% (steep).

In research previously conducted for OPM, the contractor reviewed

the topographic features of each area and found a wide range of road

conditions. However, the contractor was unable to find relevant

information on the types of terrain drivers typically encounter in each

area or the number of miles drivers travel in each type of terrain.

Lacking such information, the contractor assumed that drivers in the

allowance areas generally traveled roads having approximately the same

gradients that are found on average in the United States.

Applying the information from EPA's research, a fuel-performance

factor of 0.98 was computed for this type of driving. This factor was

assigned to each allowance area. For the Washington, DC area, a factor

of 1.00 was used on the premise that the vast majority of traffic in

that area travels on major freeways and highways that are relatively

flat. The application of these factors is described in the next

section.

5.2.3.4 Overall Impact Upon Fuel Performance

JFA applied the factors described above to make adjustments to the

[[Page 4080]]

average gas mileage ratings for each type of automobile surveyed for

each allowance area and for the Washington, DC area. The adjustment

factors compound--that is, the total adjustment is the result of

multiplying the three individual factors together for each area.

In the table below, the factor 1.00 means that no adjustment to EPA

fuel performance is appropriate. A factor of less than 1.00 means that

the estimated gasoline mileage in the area is less than the EPA

average. For example, the total adjustment factor for Juneau is 0.84.

This means that the estimated gasoline mileage in Juneau is 84% of the

EPA estimated average. Note that the adjustment factor for the DC area

(0.94) indicates that average gasoline mileage in that area is also

below the EPA estimate.

Table 5-1.--Summary of Fuel-Performance Adjustments

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Road

Location Temperature surface Gradient Total

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage................................................... 0.88 0.96 0.98 0.83

Fairbanks................................................... 0.85 0.96 0.98 0.80

Juneau...................................................... 0.89 0.96 0.98 0.84

Nome........................................................ 0.85 0.96 0.98 0.80

Washington, DC.............................................. 0.94 1.00 1.00 0.94

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.2.4 Vehicle Maintenance

As done in the previous surveys, JFA surveyed the cost of five

common maintenance services and repairs performed on the vehicles

surveyed. The services and repairs were--

--Tuneup,

--Oil change,

--Automatic transmission fluid change,

--Flush/fill coolant, and

--Muffler/exhaust pipe replacement.

Where appropriate, the automobile manufacturers' recommended

maintenance schedules were used to determine the frequency of

performing each of these maintenance jobs. Maintenance schedules vary,

depending on the driving conditions typically encountered. Consistent

with the assumptions used for fuel economy and tire mileage, it was

assumed that driving conditions in the allowance areas are generally

severe, and the maintenance schedules used reflected that kind of

driving. For the DC area, it was assumed that driving conditions were

normal, and the maintenance schedules used for that area reflected that

kind of driving.

The recommended frequency of performing each of these jobs was

combined with the prices charged by local dealers and service stations

to compute an estimated annual maintenance expense. Unlike previous

surveys, JFA collected the cost of the complete maintenance service or

repair job for each vehicle. For example, the cost of a complete oil

change was collected for each vehicle including the total charge for

parts and the total charge for labor.

In the Alaska and Washington, DC areas, constant velocity joint

(CVJ) boots replacement was also included in the cost of vehicle

maintenance. Previous research conducted for OPM revealed varying

replacement cycles between the Alaska allowance areas and between the

Alaska areas and the Washington, DC area: Anchorage and Juneau--every

45,000 miles (3 years), Nome--every 30,000 miles (2 years), Fairbanks--

every 15,000 miles (1 year), and Washington, DC--every 60,000 miles (4

years). The cost of replacement for all three vehicle types was

factored into the indexes based upon the life cycle of the replacement.

In Fairbanks, for example, 100% of the cost was included because

previous research indicated annual replacement was the norm.

5.2.5 Tires

Research previously conducted for OPM revealed that various factors

(e.g., road quality/state of repair, road composition) appeared to

reduce tread life (i.e., the average number of miles a tire is expected

to last) in the allowance areas compared with the Washington, DC area.

Based on this research, the model uses tire expense based on a 40,000-

mile tread life in allowance areas and a 55,000-mile tread life in the

DC area.

JFA priced the cost of a new set of tires, including mounting and

balancing and all applicable taxes, in each area. This cost was

converted into an annual cost by dividing the estimated number of

annual miles driven by the expected tread life and multiplying this by

the new tire price.

Current research indicated that four extra studded snow tires would

be required for all three vehicles in the Alaska allowance areas. JFA

surveyed the cost of extra wheels, extra tires, and installing studs

for all vehicles in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Nome.

5.2.6 License and Registration Fees, and Miscellaneous Tax

JFA obtained information regarding license registration fees and

personal property tax (where applicable). License and registration fees

were included as part of the annual cost of owning an automobile.

Personal-property tax was computed for each year of the vehicle's four-

year trade cycle using the vehicle's estimated used-car value for each

year. The resulting four personal property tax values were then

averaged, and that average was included as part of the annual cost of

owning an automobile.

As stated in section 5.2.1, sales and excise taxes were included in

the purchase price of the vehicle and were accounted for under the

annual vehicle purchase and finance costs.

5.2.7 Depreciation

The single largest annual expense related to owning and operating a

new car is depreciation--the lost value of the vehicle as it ages and

is driven. Total depreciation is calculated by subtracting from the

purchase the estimated residual value (used car value) four years

later. This value is then divided by 4 to produce an annual

depreciation amount.

As described earlier, the new car price is the manufacturer's

suggested retail price plus any additional charges such as shipping,

dealer prep, additional dealer markup, excise tax, and sales tax. As

done in previous surveys, the used car value was based on information

from the Black Book Official Finance/Lease Guide for 1994. Although

this source only tracks prices or vehicles sold in the contiguous 48

states, research performed by the previous OPM contractor did not

indicate that used cars in allowance areas were (on average) worth more

or less than used cars in the DC area, except for Fairbanks and Nome.

For Fairbanks and NOME, 90% of the Black Book projected residual values

were used to reflect the more severe conditions.

It should be noted that identical residual values did not result in

identical depreciation amounts. Depreciation amounts were higher in

[[Page 4081]]

the allowance areas than in the Washington, DC area because new car

prices are higher in the allowance areas.

5.2.8 Finance Expense

For the model, it is assumed that new car purchases are financed.

Therefore, JFA surveyed banks in all areas to obtain their auto-loan

interest rates for a 48-month loan with 80 percent financing. The

financing cost for each vehicle in each area was computed and included

in the annual cost of owning and operating an automobile.

5.2.9 Vehicle Insurance

JFA surveyed the cost of car insurance in each location. Consistent

with the previous year's survey, JFA used the following coverages,

limits, and deductibles:

Bodily Injury............................. $100,000/$300,000.

Property Damage........................... $50,000.

Medical................................... $5,000.

Uninsured Motorist........................ $100,000/300,000.

Comprehensive............................. $100 Deductible.

Collision................................. $250 Deductible.

In each survey area, JFA identified the common automobile insurance

companies and attempted to obtain three insurance price quotes for each

type of car surveyed. These quotes were averaged by type of car to

produce estimated insurance costs for each area.

5.2.10 Overall Annual Costs

As described above, JFA measured the annual costs for fuel,

maintenance and oil, tires, licensing, taxes, depreciation, finance,

and insurance for three types of automobiles in each allowance area and

in the Washington, DC area. These costs were then summed to determine

the overall annual costs by area for owning and operating each type of

automobile. Appendix 15 shows these costs for each area by type of

vehicle.

5.3 Other Transportation Costs--Air Fares

Air fare is the only item priced for the Other Transportation Costs

Category. For this item, JFA priced the lowest available round-trip air

fare from each allowance area and the Washington, DC area to Los

Angeles, California. Los Angeles was selected because it is a common

point approximately equidistant from most of the allowance areas and

the Washington, DC area. The cost of the trip from each allowance area

to Los Angeles was compared with the cost of the trip from the DC area

to Los Angeles to compute the category indexes. These fares are shown

in Appendix 16.

5.4 Transportation Component Analyses

JFA compared the total cost of private auto transportation for each

vehicle in each allowance area with the total cost for the same vehicle

in the DC area. These comparisons are expressed as indexes and are

shown in Appendix 17. The indexes were then averaged to produce a

single Automobile Expense Category index for each allowance area.

Likewise, JFA compared the cost of air fares for each area with

those for the DC area and computed a cost index. These indexes are also

shown in Appendix 17. That appendix also shows how the auto and air

transportation indexes are combined using expenditure weights derived

from the CES data to produce final transportation indexes.

JFA used national average expenditure data to derive weights that

reflected how much consumers typically spend to own and operate an

automobile versus other transportation expenses. These weights were

used to combine the Automobile Expense Category index with the Other

Transportation Cost index by area to derive the overall Transportation

Component index for the area. The weights, computations, and final

indexes are also shown in Appendix 17. The Transportation Component

indexes are used in Appendix 19 to derive the total overall index.

6. Miscellaneous Expenses

6.1 Component Overview

The Miscellaneous Expense component consists of three categories of

expenses:

--Medical care,

--Contributions (including gifts to non-family members),

--Personal insurance and retirement contributions/investments.

JFA used an approach similar to that used for the Goods and

Services Component to derive the indexes for each of these categories

and the Miscellaneous Component overall.

6.2 Component Weights

JFA used CES data to determine the appropriate weights for each of

the items and categories in the Miscellaneous Component. The following

table shows the category weights. Item weights are shown in Appendix

18.

Table 6-1.--Miscellaneous Expense Categories and Weights

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Income level

--------------------------------------

Categories Lower Middle Upper

(percent) (percent) (percent)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medical Care..................... 41.50 31.33 23.51

Contributions.................... 15.80 16.85 17.65

Personal Insurance and Retirement

Contributions................... 42.70 51.82 58.83

--------------------------------------

Totals..................... 100.00 100.00 100.00

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Values may not total because of rounding.

6.3 Component Categories

6.3.1 Medical Expense Category

JFA surveyed the price of medical care items using essentially the

same approach it used for the Goods and Services Component items. The

following medical-care items were priced in each allowance area and in

the Washington, DC area. (See Appendix 5 for item descriptions).

--Nonprescription pain reliever

--Prescription drugs

--Vision check

--Dental service

--Doctor visit

--Hospital room

--Health insurance

JFA surveyed the cost of these items in both the allowance areas

and in the Washington, DC area and compared the prices to produce an

index for each item in each area. JFA combined these indexes using CES

weights to produce a single Medical Care Category index for each area.

It should be noted that for the model, it is assumed that the cost

of health

[[Page 4082]]

insurance is constant among areas because the choice of Federal health

coverage is to a large extent a matter of personal preference.

Therefore, the index for this item is 100.00.

6.3.2 Contributions Category

The index for the Contributions Category is the Goods and Services

Component index for the area. The Goods and Services index is used

based on the assumption that the relative level of contribution is

roughly equivalent to that reflected by the Goods and Services index.

6.3.3 Personal Insurance and Retirement Category

The index for personal insurance and retirement contributions and

investments is assumed to be constant among areas. The cost of Federal

Employees Group Life Insurance is a matter of personal preference and

is constant in all areas for the same age, salary, and benefit option

combinations. Likewise, retirement contributions are a matter of

personal preference and the minimum contribution requirements are

constant among areas for equivalent salary levels.

6.4 Miscellaneous Expense Analyses

As with the Goods and Services Component, the indexes for each of

the Miscellaneous Component categories are combined using CES weights

to produce a single component index for each area. These indexes are

shown in Appendix 18.

Section 2.5 describes how the miscellaneous expense component

indexes are combined with the other component indexes to derive the

final index for each area.

7. Final Results

7.1 Total Comparative Cost Indexes

The total comparative cost indexes appear below. Appendix 19 shows

how each index was derived from the component indexes.

Table 7-1.--Final Cost Comparison Indexes

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allowance area Index

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage, Alaska............................................ 105.14

Fairbanks, Alaska............................................ 108.64

Juneau, Alaska............................................... 108.33

The rest of Alaska........................................... 126.19

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix 1.--Publication in the Federal Register of Results of

Nonforeign Area Living-Cost Surveys: 1990-1995

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citation Title Contents

------------------------------------------------------------------------

56 FR 7902................ Office of Personnel Results of summer

Management: Cost-of- 1990 living-cost

Living Allowances surveys conducted in

and Post Alaska, Hawaii,

Differentials Guam, Puerto Rico,

(Nonforeign Areas). and the U.S. Virgin

Islands.

57 FR 58556............... Office of Personnel Results of summer

Management: Report 1991 and winter 1992

on 1991/1992 Surveys living-cost surveys

Used to Determine conducted in Alaska,

Cost-of-Living Hawaii, Guam, Puerto

Allowances in Rico, and the U.S.

Nonforeign Areas. Virgin Islands.

58 FR 45558............... Office of Personnel Results of summer

Management: Report 1992 and winter 1993

on 1992/1993 Surveys living-cost surveys

Used to Determine conducted in Alaska,

Cost-of-Living Hawaii, Guam, Puerto

Allowances in Rico, and the U.S.

Nonforeign Areas. Virgin Islands.

58 FR 27316............... Office of Personnel Results of summer

Management: Report 1993 living-cost

on Summer 1993 surveys conducted in

Surveys Used to Hawaii, Guam, Puerto

Determine Cost-of- Rico, and the U.S.

Living Allowances in Virgin Islands.

Nonforeign Areas.

59 FR 45066............... Office of Personnel Results of winter

Management: Report 1994 living-cost

on Winter 1994 surveys conducted in

Surveys Used to Alaska.

Determine Cost-of-

Living Allowances in

Alaska.

60 FR 61332............... Office of Personnel Results of summer

Management: Report 1994 living-cost

on Summer 1994 surveys conducted in

Surveys Used to Hawaii, Guam, Puerto

Determine Cost-of- Rico, and the U.S.

Living Allowances in Virgin Islands.

Selected Nonforeign

Areas.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix 2.--Multiple Income Levels: Winter 1995 Survey

[Federal Employment Weights Within a Single Allowance Area]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location and income level 1992 1993 1994 Average Weights

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage, AK:

Low............................................. $1,708 $1,638 $1,609 $1,652 27.09

Middle.......................................... 2,048 2,090 1,971 2,036 33.39

Upper........................................... 2,247 2,400 2,583 2,410 39.52

-----------------------------------------------------------

Total......................................... $6,003 $6,128 $6,163 $6,098 100.00

===========================================================

Fairbanks, AK:

Low............................................. $406 $400 $444 $417 34.98

Middle.......................................... 415 467 442 441 37.00

Upper........................................... 292 318 392 334 28.02

-----------------------------------------------------------

Total......................................... $1,113 $1,185 $1,278 $1,192 100.00

===========================================================

Juneau, AK:

Low............................................. $139 $139 $145 $141 19.91

Middle.......................................... 230 245 220 232 32.77

Upper........................................... 310 334 360 335 47.32

-----------------------------------------------------------

Total......................................... $679 $718 $725 $708 100.00

===========================================================

[[Page 4083]]

Rest of Alaska:

Low............................................. $460 $444 $414 $439 28.07

Middle.......................................... 710 759 722 730 46.67

Upper........................................... 348 391 445 395 25.26

-----------------------------------------------------------

Total......................................... $1,518 $1,594 $1,581 $1,564 100.00

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix 3.--Consumer Expenditure Surveys

[Pre-published Data for All Consumer Units Nationwide *]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total complete reporting

---------------------------------------------------------------

1988 1991 1992 Average

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Average Before Tax income....................... $28,540.00 $33,901.00 $33,854.00 $32,098.33

Average annual expenditures..................... 26,389.07 30,487.29 30,527.49 29,134.62

Food.......................................... 3,804.39 4,366.88 4,358.56 4,176.61

Food at home................................ 2,176.94 2,724.89 2,684.35 2,528.73

Cereals and bakery products *............. 317.03 413.81 418.15 383.00

Cereals and cereal products *........... 111.15 149.01 144.15 134.77

Flour *............................... 4.83 6.61 7.21 6.22

Prepared flour mixes *................ 9.88 14.67 13.62 12.72

Ready-to-eat and cooked cereals *..... 73.49 90.13 88.39 84.00

Rice *................................ 7.98 14.49 12.67 11.71

Pasta, cornmeal and other cereal

products *........................... 14.97 23.11 22.27 20.12

Bakery products *....................... 205.88 264.80 274.00 248.23

Bread *............................... 65.72 76.98 77.58 73.43

White bread *....................... 35.48 38.93 38.04 37.48

Bread, other than white *........... 30.24 38.04 39.54 35.94

Crackers and cookies *................ 51.76 65.09 67.10 61.32

Cookies *........................... 32.19 41.15 40.75 38.03

Crackers *.......................... 19.57 23.94 26.34 23.28

Frozen and refrigerated bakery

products *........................... 13.55 19.33 21.06 17.98

Other bakery products *............... 74.84 103.40 108.27 95.50

Biscuits and rolls *................ 26.62 34.12 35.55 32.10

Cakes and cupcakes *................ 20.31 29.49 31.67 27.16

Bread and cracker products *........ 2.82 4.14 4.70 3.89

Sweetrolls, coffee cakes, doughnuts

*.................................. 19.60 24.05 24.93 22.86

Pies, tarts, turnovers *............ 5.48 11.61 11.41 9.50

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs *.......... 560.01 725.06 687.17 657.41

Beef *.................................. 183.66 238.59 210.36 210.87

Ground beef *......................... 79.09 89.66 87.67 85.47

Roast *............................... 33.40 42.62 37.74 37.92

Chuck roast *....................... 13.23 16.81 13.48 14.51

Round roast *....................... 9.13 12.63 12.96 11.57

Other roast *....................... 11.04 13.18 11.30 11.84

Steak *............................... 59.01 87.83 69.00 71.95

Round steak *....................... 11.62 16.56 14.63 14.27

Sirloin steak *..................... 12.96 23.58 17.72 18.09

Other steak *....................... 34.42 47.68 36.65 39.58

Other beef *.......................... 12.17 18.47 15.95 15.53

Pork *.................................. 114.19 146.62 155.56 138.79

Bacon *............................... 20.23 21.28 20.47 20.66

Pork chops *.......................... 27.10 35.26 34.88 32.41

Ham *................................. 27.43 38.92 42.73 36.36

Ham, not canned *................... 24.47 35.84 38.98 33.10

Canned ham *........................ 2.96 3.08 3.75 3.26

Sausage *............................. 16.60 21.01 23.29 20.30

Other pork *.......................... 22.83 30.15 34.19 29.06

Other meats *........................... 83.61 102.91 94.58 93.70

Frankfurters *........................ 17.37 23.87 21.19 20.81

Lunch meats (cold cuts) *............. 58.88 70.13 63.56 64.19

Bologna, liverwurst, salami *....... 19.11 23.75 22.91 21.92

Other lunchmeats *.................. 39.78 46.39 40.65 42.27

Lamb, organ, meats and others *....... 7.36 8.91 9.84 8.70

Lamb and organ meats *.............. 6.17 7.89 8.74 7.60

Mutton, goat and game *............. 1.19 1.02 1.10 1.10

Poultry *............................... 85.49 123.67 123.39 110.85

Fresh and frozen chickens *........... 66.41 92.17 91.28 83.29

Fresh whole chicken *............... 17.24 24.27 19.61 20.37

[[Page 4084]]

Fresh and frozen chicken parts *.... 49.17 67.90 71.67 62.91

Other poultry, incl. whole frozen

chickens *........................... 19.08 31.50 32.10 27.56

Fish and seafood *...................... 65.24 81.51 74.99 73.91

Canned fish and seafood *............. 17.95 18.40 17.46 17.94

Fresh and frozen shellfish *.......... 14.98 25.27 21.36 20.54

Fresh and frozen finfish *............ 32.31 37.83 36.17 35.44

Eggs *.................................. 27.83 31.77 28.30 29.30

Dairy products *.......................... 277.91 306.57 307.10 297.19

Fresh milk and cream *.................. 134.41 134.72 136.59 135.24

Whole milk *.......................... 52.12 49.88 47.69 49.90

Other milk and cream *................ 82.29 84.84 88.90 85.34

Other dairy products *.................. 143.50 171.85 170.52 161.96

Butter *.............................. 8.89 10.62 9.71 9.74

Cheese *.............................. 79.01 90.15 87.72 85.63

Ice cream and related products *...... 41.68 50.47 51.93 48.03

Miscellaneous dairy products *........ 13.93 20.61 21.16 18.57

Fruits and vegetables *................... 376.38 437.70 435.20 416.43

Fresh fruits *.......................... 120.98 132.65 129.17 127.60

Apples *.............................. 21.57 26.69 26.64 24.97

Bananas *............................. 20.65 27.62 26.48 24.92

Oranges *............................. 10.98 12.28 13.23 12.16

Other fresh fruits *.................. 67.78 66.06 62.82 65.55

Fresh vegetables *...................... 110.67 131.09 127.84 123.20

Potatoes *............................ 16.61 25.25 24.56 22.14

Lettuce *............................. 13.73 15.51 16.33 15.19

Tomatoes *............................ 14.87 21.64 19.85 18.79

Other fresh vegetables *.............. 65.47 68.69 67.10 67.09

Processed fruits *...................... 86.81 99.35 102.67 96.28

Frozen fruits and fruit juices *...... 19.59 22.09 21.35 21.01

Frozen orange juice *............... 14.43 14.09 13.34 13.95

Other frozen fruits and juices *.... 5.16 7.99 8.01 7.05

Canned and dried fruits *............. 21.22 24.23 23.48 22.98

Fresh, canned or bottled fruit juice * 46.00 53.03 57.83 52.29

Processed vegetables *.................. 57.92 74.61 75.53 69.35

Frozen vegetables *................... 21.30 26.45 25.46 24.40

Canned and dried vegetables and juices

*.................................... 36.62 48.16 50.07 44.95

Canned beans *...................... 6.64 9.26 10.09 8.66

Canned corn *....................... 4.21 6.29 7.40 5.97

Other canned and dried veg. and

juices *........................... 25.77 32.61 32.59 30.32

Other food at home *...................... 645.61 841.75 836.73 774.70

Sugar and other sweets *................ 80.66 104.62 106.24 97.17

Candy and chewing gum *............... 45.41 59.10 62.86 55.79

Sugar *............................... 17.07 20.80 18.12 18.66

Artificial sweetners *................ 2.36 3.23 3.24 2.94

Jams, preserves, other sweets *....... 15.82 21.48 22.02 19.77

Fats and oils *......................... 56.65 73.12 73.79 67.85

Margarine *........................... 11.96 14.31 14.56 13.61

Other fats, oils, and salad dressing * 31.66 39.96 40.94 37.52

Nondairy cream and imitation milk *... 4.49 6.56 6.75 5.93

Peanut butter *....................... 8.54 12.30 11.53 10.79

Miscellaneous foods *................... 272.98 387.81 393.26 351.35

Frozen prepared foods *............... 46.13 71.21 73.99 63.78

Frozen meats *...................... 16.75 25.00 22.99 21.58

Other frozen prepared foods *....... 29.39 46.21 51.01 42.20

Canned and packaged soups *........... 21.41 26.23 25.44 24.36

Potato chips, nuts and other snacks *. 59.78 78.66 78.63 72.36

Potato chips and other snacks *..... 46.79 62.03 62.34 57.05

Nuts *.............................. 12.99 16.63 16.29 15.30

Condiments and seasonings *........... 61.52 87.93 90.44 79.96

Salt, spices, other seasonings *.... 12.31 19.15 20.79 17.42

Olives, pickles, relishes *......... 7.62 11.05 10.82 9.83

Sauces and gravies *................ 31.62 42.03 43.55 39.07

Baking needs and misc. products *... 9.97 15.71 15.29 13.66

Other canned and packaged prepared

foods *.............................. 84.14 123.78 124.75 110.89

Salads and desserts *............... 13.23 17.87 20.42 17.17

Baby foods *........................ 16.25 23.56 24.11 21.31

Miscellaneous prepared foods *...... 54.66 82.35 80.22 72.41

Nonalcoholic beverages *................ 204.37 233.06 219.33 218.92

Cola *................................ 92.19 92.26 86.71 90.39

[[Page 4085]]

Other carbonated drinks *............. 32.62 39.32 40.41 37.45

Coffee *.............................. 40.93 42.59 40.13 41.22

Roasted coffee *.................... 25.27 25.35 24.56 25.06

Instant and freeze dried coffee *... 15.66 17.24 15.57 16.16

Noncarbornated fruit flavored drinks * 16.30 25.74 20.15 20.73

Tea *................................. 11.18 14.66 14.26 13.37

Nonalacoholic beer *.................. NA NA NA NA

Other nonalcoholic beverages *........ 11.15 18.51 17.68 15.78

Food prepared by consumer unit on out-of-

town trips............................. 30.94 43.13 44.12 39.40

Food away from home......................... 1,627.45 1,641.99 1,674.21 1,647.88

Meals at restaurants, carry-outs and other

*........................................ 1,275.77 1,300.05 1,344.40 1,306.74

Lunch *................................. 499.88 463.89 476.89 480.22

Dinner *................................ 459.30 601.50 619.67 590.16

Snacks and nonalcoholic beverages *... 142.56 133.59 141.35 139.17

Breakfast and brunch *................ 84.04 101.08 106.49 97.20

Board (including at school)............... 43.62 43.00 46.92 44.51

Catered affairs........................... 41.27 46.07 40.77 42.70

Food on out-of-town trips............. 195.31 178.84 167.14 180.43

School lunches........................ 42.24 46.89 47.40 45.51

Meals as pay.......................... 29.24 27.13 27.58 27.98

Alcoholic beverages........................... 281.70 313.94 321.12 305.59

At home *................................... 148.36 166.77 177.01 164.05

Beer and ale *............................ 89.05 87.98 99.54 92.19

Whiskey *................................. 12.73 17.07 14.23 14.68

Wine *.................................... 32.15 45.33 43.11 40.20

Other alcholic beverages *................ 14.43 16.38 20.13 16.98

Away from home.............................. 133.34 147.17 144.11 141.54

Beer and ale *............................ 37.50 46.76 48.77 44.34

Wine *.................................... 18.54 25.57 22.95 22.35

Other alcoholic beverages *............... 58.12 46.66 47.06 50.61

Alcoholic beverages purchased on trips.... 19.17 28.19 25.34 24.23

Housing....................................... 8,069.13 9,325.13 9,528.41 8,974.22

Shelter..................................... 4,470.25 5,208.28 5,431.78 5,036.77

Owned dwellings........................... 2,554.04 3,279.50 3,307.24 3,046.93

Mortgage interest and charges........... 1.560.48 1,951.95 1,984.40 1,832.28

Mortgage interest..................... 1,560.38 1,880.31 1,856.78 1,765.82

Interest paid, home equity loan....... NA 33.34 63.99 48.67

Interest paid, home equity line of

credit............................... NA 37.94 63.32 50.63

Prepayment penalty charges............ 0.10 0.36 0.31 0.26

Property taxes.......................... 496.08 767.69 760.97 674.91

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses............................... 497.48 559.86 561.86 539.73

Homeowners and related insurance...... 151.74 164.20 176.37 164.10

Fire and extended coverage.......... 4.98 3.84 5.02 4.61

Homeowners insurance................ 146.76 160.36 171.35 159.49

Ground rent........................... 26.88 33.78 33.40 31.35

Maintenance and repair services....... 252.68 278.55 268.09 266.44

Painting and papering............... 52.01 39.24 37.27 42.84

Plumbing and water heating.......... 23.06 31.48 34.02 29.52

Heat, a/c, electrical work.......... 42.03 45.96 53.14 47.04

Roofing and gutters................. 46.96 54.11 40.98 47.35

Other repair and maintenance

services........................... 78.78 99.93 91.16 89.96

Repair and replacement of hard

surface flooring................... 8.14 6.47 10.16 8.26

Repair of built-in appliances....... 1.68 1.36 1.36 1.47

Maintenance and repair commodities.... 65.41 69.18 63.89 66.16

Paints, wallpaper and supplies...... 17.47 16.27 16.50 16.75

Tools and equipment for painting and

wallpapering....................... 1.88 1.75 1.77 1.80

Plumbing supplies and equipment..... 5.65 7.65 5.96 6.42

Electrical supplies, heating and

cooling equipment.................. 3.76 3.44 7.13 4.78

Materials for hard surface flooring,

repair and replac.................. 1.85 2.17 3.13 2.38

Materials and equipment for roof and

gutters............................ 5.18 6.61 6.20 6.00

Materials for plaster., panel.,

siding, wind., doors, screens, awn. 11.08 10.86 7.29 9.74

Materials for patio, walk, fence,

drive., mason., brick, stucco work. 2.12 0.55 0.67 1.11

Materials for landscaping

maintenance........................ 2.52 1.77 1.15 1.81

Miscellaneous supplies and equipment 13.89 18.11 14.08 15.36

Material for insulation, other

maint. and repair................ 7.87 12.55 7.84 9.42

Materials to finish base., remodel

rooms or build patios, walks, etc 6.02 5.56 6.24 5.94

[[Page 4086]]

Property management and security...... 0.74 13.44 20.12 11.43

Property management................. 0.64 8.61 13.24 7.50

Management and upkeep services for

security........................... 0.10 4.84 6.88 3.94

Parking............................... 0.04 0.70 NA 0.37

Rented dwellings.......................... 1,469.41 1,609.43 1,787.19 1,622.01

Rent.................................... 1,428.30 1,538.23 1,714.30 1,560.28

Rent as pay............................. 17.34 44.87 37.09 33.10

Maintenance, insurance and other

expenses............................... 23.76 26.33 35.80 28.63

Tenant's insurance.................... 8.68 9.76 9.16 9.20

Maintenance and repair services....... 9.01 9.96 11.88 10.28

Repair or maintenance services...... 8.62 9.49 11.52 9.88

Repair and replacement of hard

surface flooring................... 0.36 0.38 0.29 0.34

Repair of built-in appliances....... 0.03 0.08 0.07 0.06

Maintenance and repair commodities.... 6.07 6.61 14.76 9.15

Paint, wallpaper, and supplies...... 1.19 2.07 1.70 1.65

Tools and equipment for painting and

wallpapering....................... 0.13 0.22 0.18 0.18

Materials for plastering, panels,

roofing, gutters, etc.............. 0.68 0.43 2.86 1.32

Materials for patio, walk, fence,

drive., masonry, brick and stucco

work............................... 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.03

Plumbing supplies and equipment..... 0.38 0.25 0.55 0.39

Electrical supplies, heating and

cooling equipment.................. 0.92 0.34 0.26 0.51

Miscellaneous supplies and equipment 1.84 2.17 7.71 3.91

Material for insulation, other

maintenance and repair........... 0.58 0.82 1.51 0.97

Termite and pest control (capital

improvement)..................... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Materials for additions, finishing

base., remodeling rooms.......... 1.08 1.34 5.90 2.77

Construction materials for jobs

not started...................... 0.18 0.01 0.30 0.16

Material for hard surface flooring.. 0.14 0.59 0.90 0.54

Material for landscape maintenance.. 0.76 0.53 0.55 0.61

Other lodging............................. 446.79 319.35 337.35 367.83

Owned vacation homes.................... 78.26 92.13 115.29 95.23

Mortgage interest and charges......... NA 39.20 54.55 46.88

Mortgage interest................... 48.65 38.93 50.60 46.06

Interest paid, home equity loan..... NA 0.02 1.06 0.54

Interest paid, home equity line of

credit............................. NA 0.26 2.88 1.57

Prepayment penalty charge........... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Property taxes...................... 16.90 37.77 42.04 32.24

Maintenance, insurance, and other

expenses........................... 12.71 15.17 18.70 15.53

Homeowners and related insurance.... 3.07 3.79 4.10 3.65

Homeowners insurance.............. 3.04 3.65 3.86 3.52

Fine and extended coverage........ 0.03 0.14 0.24 0.14

Ground rent......................... 3.33 2.32 1.75 2.47

Maintenance and repair services..... 5.52 5.25 7.53 6.10

Repair and remodeling services.... 5.52 5.14 7.39 6.02

Repair and replaement of hard

surface flooring................. 0.00 0.11 0.15 0.09

Maintenance and repair commodities.. 0.39 0.53 1.97 0.96

Paints, wallpaper, supplies....... 0.08 0.15 1.31 0.51

Tools and equipment for painting

and wallpapering................. 0.01 0.02 0.14 0.06

Materials for plaster., panel.,

roof., gutters, downspouts, sid.,

wind., door...................... 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.06

Material for patio, walk, fence,

drive, masonry, brick, stucco.... 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00

Plumbing supplies and equipment... 0.02 0.05 0.32 0.13

Eletrical supplies, heating and

cooling equipment................ 0.01 0.09 0.03 0.04

Miscellaneous supplies and

equipment........................ 0.01 0.12 0.09 0.07

Material for insulation, other

maintenance and repair......... 0.01 0.04 0.09 0.05

Material for finishing basements

and remodeling rooms........... 0.00 0.08 NA 0.04

Materials for hard surface

flooring......................... 0.20 NA NA 0.20

Materials for landscaping

maintenance...................... 0.00 0.06 NA 0.03

Property management and security.... 0.40 3.19 3.35 2.31

Property management............... 0.40 1.96 2.25 1.54

Management and upkeep services for

security......................... 0.00 1.23 1.10 0.78

Parking............................. 0.00 0.09 NA 0.05

Housing while attending school.......... 35.48 59.66 54.71 49.95

Lodging on out-of-town trips............ 178.58 167.56 167.34 171.16

Utilities, fuels, and public services....... 1,726.29 1,961.13 1,962.49 1.883.30

Natural gas............................... 232.22 240.89 246.97 240.03

Utility--natural gas (renter)........... 50.85 59.96 55.98 52.60

Utility--natural gas (owned home)....... 180.07 189.11 189.86 186.35

Utility--natural gas (owned vacation)... 1.22 0.82 1.07 1.04

Utility--natural gas (rented vacation).. 0.08 NA 0.06 0.07

[[Page 4087]]

Electricity............................... 700.08 791.57 770.65 754.10

Electricity (renter).................... 169.94 189.36 201.59 186.96

Electricity (owned home)................ 524.87 595.84 562.26 560.99

Electricity (owned vacation)............ 5.03 6.00 6.59 5.87

Electricity (rented vacation)........... 0.25 0.37 0.20 0.27

Fuel oil and other fuels.................. 94.02 103.30 93.93 97.08

Fuel oil................................ 55.60 62.83 55.61 58.01

Fuel oil (renter)..................... 5.21 5.61 7.00 5.94

Fuel oil (owned home)................. 49.96 56.67 48.25 51.63

Fuel oil (owned vacation)............. 0.38 0.51 0.36 0.42

Fuel oil (rented vacation)............ 0.06 0.04 NA 0.05

Coal.................................... 3.50 4.66 2.50 3.55

Coal (renter)......................... 0.55 0.26 0.05 0.29

Coal (owned home)..................... 2.95 4.38 2.44 3.26

Coal (owned vacation)................. 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.01

Coal (rented vacation)................ 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Bottled gas............................. 24.48 27.47 27.18 26.38

Gas, btld/tank (renter)............... 3.78 4.19 4.79 4.25

Gas, btld/tank (owned home)........... 18.58 21.14 20.75 20.16

Gas, btld/tank (owned vacation)....... 2.12 2.11 1.64 1.96

Gas, btld/tank (rented vacation)...... 0.00 0.02 NA 0.01

Wood and other fuels.................... 10.43 8.35 8.64 9.14

Wood/other fuels (renter)............. 1.31 1.37 1.59 1.42

Wood/other fuels (owned home)......... 9.05 6.92 6.71 7.56

Wood/other fuels (owned vacation)..... 0.06 0.05 0.34 0.15

Wood/other fuels (rented vacation).... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Telephone services........................ 528.79 608.50 619.87 585.72

Telephone (old)......................... NA 48.22 0.00 24.11

Telephone services in home city,

excluding mobile car phones............ NA 560.28 619.87 590.08

Telephone services for mobile car phones NA NA NA NA

Water and other public services........... 171.19 216.87 231.08 206.38

Water and sewerage maintenance.......... 131.02 159.33 160.22 150.19

Water/sewer maint. (renter)........... 18.53 22.04 24.38 21.65

Water/sewer maint. (owned home)....... 111.57 136.19 133.69 127.15

Water/sewer maint. (owned vacation)... 0.83 1.09 2.10 1.34

Water/sewer maint. (rented vacation).. 0.09 0.01 0.05 0.05

Trash and garbage collection............ 38.67 55.90 69.38 54.65

Trash/garb. coll. (renter)............ 5.28 7.26 7.37 6.64

Trash/garb. coll. (owned home)........ 33.31 47.64 59.92 46.96

Trash/garb. coll. (owned vacation).... 0.08 1.00 2.09 1.06

Trash/garb. coll. (rented vacation)... 0.00 NA 0.01 0.01

Septic tank cleaning.................... 1.50 1.65 1.47 1.54

Septic tank clean. (renter)........... 0.01 0.07 0.11 0.06

Septic tank clean. (owned home)....... 1.48 1.57 1.29 1.45

Septic tank clean. (owned vacation)... 0.00 0.01 0.07 0.03

Septic tank clean. (rented vacation).. 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Household operations...................... 387.45 451.97 487.20 442.21

Personal services....................... 176.53 224.86 253.05 218.15

Babysitting........................... 74.62 83.78 85.92 81.44

Care for elderly, invalids,

handicapped, etc..................... 11.66 26.56 43.92 27.38

Day-care centers, nursery, and

preschools........................... 90.25 114.51 123.21 109.32

Other household expenses................ 210.92 227.11 234.15 224.06

Household services.................... 67.76 77.46 71.70 72.31

Gardening, lawn care services......... 49.60 60.85 64.99 58.48

Water softening service............... 2.81 2.72 3.28 2.94

Household laundry, dry cleaning, sent

out (nonclothing) not coin operated.. 1.63 2.21 2.32 2.05

Coin-operated household and dry

cleaning (nonclothing)............... 4.78 4.91 5.58 5.09

Other home services................... 17.86 16.79 18.38 17.68

Termite/pest control products......... 0.20 0.22 0.29 0.24

Moving, storage, freight express...... 26.46 22.73 24.37 24.52

Appliance repair, including service

center............................... 16.44 16.96 15.88 16.43

Reupholstering, furniture repair...... 13.85 11.51 18.56 14.64

Repair/rental of lawn/garden equip.,

hand/power tools, other house. equip. 5.92 5.78 3.74 5.15

Appliance rental...................... 2.08 1.28 1.86 1.74

Rental of office equipment for

nonbusiness use...................... 0.17 0.17 0.13 0.16

Repair of miscellaneous household

equipment and furnishings *.......... 0.48 2.34 1.89 1.57

Repair of computer systems for

nonbusiness use...................... 0.88 1.19 1.19 1.09

[[Page 4088]]

Rental/installation of dishwashers,

range hoods, and garbage disposals... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Housekeeping supplies *................. 382.82 451.34 462.61 432.26

Laundry and cleaning supplies *....... 106.44 123.66 123.97 118.02

Soaps and detergents *.............. 62.10 73.49 70.41 68.67

Other laundry cleaning products *... 44.33 50.17 53.56 49.35

Other household products *............ 157.48 197.81 211.79 189.03

Cleansing and toilet tissue, paper

towels and napkins *............... 52.12 62.60 60.52 58.41

Miscellaneous household products *.. 67.89 91.22 94.75 84.62

Lawn and garden supplies *.......... 37.47 44.00 56.52 46.00

Postage and stationery *.............. 118.89 129.87 126.85 125.20

Stationery, stationery supplies,

giftwraps *........................ 54.40 66.09 62.59 61.03

Postage *........................... 64.49 63.78 64.26 64.18

Household furnishings and equipment..... 1,102.32 1,252.41 1,184.33 1,179.69

Household textiles.................... 97.11 107.35 94.56 99.67

Bathroom linens *................... 13.69 24.61 15.62 17.97

Bedroom linens *.................... 38.11 39.34 43.17 40.21

Kitchen and dining room linens *.... 5.74 4.76 7.84 6.11

Curtains and draperies.............. 26.56 18.09 19.11 21.25

Slipcovers, decorative pillows...... 1.64 1.36 1.42 1.47

Sewing material for slipcovers,

curtains, other sewing matter, for

the home........................... 10.32 18.17 6.54 11.68

Other linens........................ 1.05 1.04 0.86 0.98

Furniture............................. 319.44 297.24 316.15 310.94

Mattress and springs................ 41.86 35.82 38.97 38.88

Other bedroom furniture............. 39.75 46.24 57.57 47.85

Sofas............................... 65.44 65.48 70.67 67.20

Living room chairs.................. 35.91 34.99 30.70 33.87

Living room tables.................. 20.16 14.24 17.63 17.34

Kitchen, dining room furniture...... 58.64 46.11 42.37 49.04

Infants' furniture.................. 7.01 7.58 6.74 7.11

Outdoor furniture................... 12.57 13.59 11.02 12.39

Occasional furniture................ 38.12 33.18 40.48 37.26

Floor coverings....................... 70.23 128.97 61.08 86.76

Wall-to-wall carpeting (renter)..... 2.41 2.02 2.57 2.33

Wall-to-wall carpet, installed

(renter)......................... 1.73 1.56 2.05 1.78

Wall-to-wall carpet, not installed

carpet squares (renter).......... 0.68 0.46 0.52 0.55

Wall-to-wall carpet (replacement)

(owned home)....................... 42.57 34.99 29.06 35.54

Wall-to-wall carpet, not installed

(replace.), carpet squares (owned

home)............................ 3.04 2.91 1.89 2.61

Wall-to-wall carpet, installed

(replacement) (owned home)....... 39.53 32.08 27.17 32.93

Room size rugs and other floor

covering, nonpermanent............. 25.25 91.96 29.45 48.89

Major appliances...................... 172.90 131.98 144.89 149.92

Dishwashers (built-in), garbage

disposals, range hood, (renter).... 0.24 0.98 0.16 0.46

Dishwashers (built-in), garbage

disposals, range hoods (owned home) 10.05 9.54 7.21 8.93

Refrigerators, freezers (renter).... 11.18 7.51 8.38 9.02

Refrigerators, freezers (owned home) 39.29 25.85 33.30 32.81

Washing machines (renter)........... 6.56 4.28 6.28 5.71

Washing machines (owned home)....... 17.96 17.22 15.85 17.01

Clothes dryers (renter)............. 4.18 2.34 3.35 3.29

Clothes dryers (owned home)......... 10.35 7.05 9.78 9.06

Cooking stoves, ovens (renter)...... 2.87 2.18 3.11 2.72

Cooking stoves, ovens (owned home).. 19.55 13.20 14.81 15.85

Microwave ovens (renter)............ 4.47 2.09 3.09 3.22

Microwave ovens (owned home)........ 9.81 4.85 4.74 6.47

Portable dishwasher (renter)........ 0.31 0.14 0.11 0.19

Portable dishwasher (owned home).... 1.33 0.24 1.15 0.91

Window air conditioners (renter).... 2.43 1.12 1.18 1.58

Window air conditioners (owned home) 8.23 7.61 3.31 6.38

Electric floor cleaning equipment... 14.62 15.03 13.63 14.43

Sewing machines..................... 6.08 5.19 5.15 5.47

Miscellaneous household appliances * 3.39 5.56 10.29 6.41

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares........................... 60.51 83.38 86.46 76.78

Housewares.......................... 39.14 57.82 62.47 53.14

Plastic dinnerware................ 1.83 1.79 1.61 1.74

China and other dinnerware........ 10.31 11.56 11.60 11.16

Flatware.......................... 3.44 4.07 3.97 3.83

Glassware *....................... 9.79 7.08 13.59 10.15

[[Page 4089]]

Silver serving pieces *........... 0.27 3.83 1.35 1.82

Other serving pieces.............. 1.36 1.78 1.59 1.58

Nonelectric cookware *............ 12.14 11.67 11.66 11.82

Tableware, nonelectric kitchenware

*................................ NA 16.02 17.08 16.55

Small appliances.................... 21.37 25.56 23.99 23.64

Small electric kitchen appliances. 14.17 18.05 18.75 16.99

Portable heating and cooling

equipment........................ 7.20 7.52 5.23 6.65

Miscellaneous household equipment..... 382.11 503.48 481.19 455.59

Window coverings.................... 13.72 12.79 17.37 14.63

Infants' equipment *................ 3.77 10.62 5.52 6.64

Laundry and cleaning equip *........ 8.52 9.19 10.99 9.57

Outdoor equipment................... 4.73 6.20 4.83 5.25

Clocks.............................. 5.46 4.45 3.38 4.43

Lamps and lighting fixtures *....... 28.40 22.80 26.10 25.77

Other household decorative items *.. 80.30 107.69 111.16 99.72

Telephones and accessories *........ 7.25 62.21 20.55 30.00

Lawn and garden equipment........... 49.12 39.58 43.15 43.95

Power tools......................... 14.39 13.25 16.15 14.60

Small miscellaneous furnishings *... 3.39 5.23 1.15 3.26

Hand tools *........................ 13.67 11.71 14.07 13.15

Indoor plants, fresh flowers *...... 41.42 57.80 53.49 50.90

Closet and storage items *.......... 4.62 6.99 12.21 7.94

Rental of furniture................. 3.20 3.36 3.67 3.35

Luggage............................. 8.72 7.49 7.04 7.75

Computers and computer hardware

nonbusiness use.................... 39.66 63.64 63.66 55.72

Computer software and accessories

for nonbusiness use................ 7.36 8.69 9.48 8.51

Telephone answering devices......... 4.23 5.00 4.64 4.62

Calculators......................... 1.99 2.56 1.57 2.04

Business equipment for home use..... 6.20 5.02 4.23 5.15

Other hardware *.................... 6.95 11.83 13.74 10.84

Smoke alarms (owned home)........... 0.54 0.38 0.47 0.46

Smoke alarms (renter)............... 0.15 0.09 0.06 0.10

Smoke alarms (owned vacation)....... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Other household appliances (owned

home).............................. 4.25 4.63 4.40 4.43

Other household appliances (renter). 1.35 0.87 0.99 1.07

Miscellaneous household equipment

and parts *........................ 18.73 19.42 27.08 21.74

Apparel and services.......................... 1,537.27 1,801.23 1,732.90 1,690.47

Men and boys................................ 400.67 448.88 436.86 428.80

Men, 16 and over.......................... 318.80 357.81 353.05 343.22

Men's suits............................. 41.20 39.20 43.98 41.46

Men's sportcoats, tailored jackets...... 15.57 13.84 12.04 13.82

Men's coats and jackets *............... 29.30 30.48 26.12 28.63

Men's underwear *....................... 9.72 12.26 14.13 12.04

Men's hosiery *......................... 10.34 12.60 13.73 12.22

Men's nightwear *....................... 2.89 6.24 5.84 4.99

Men's accessories *..................... 22.88 34.42 33.64 30.31

Men's sweaters and vests................ 17.65 13.47 13.11 14.74

Men's active sportswear................. 12.10 12.15 11.96 12.07

Men's shirts *.......................... 74.17 87.10 87.25 82.84

Men's pants *........................... 70.76 77.09 70.18 72.68

Men's shorts, shorts sets *............. 8.29 13.53 16.40 12.74

Men's uniforms.......................... 3.16 5.00 3.70 3.95

Men's costumes.......................... 0.77 0.42 0.98 0.72

Boys 2 to 15.............................. 81.86 91.07 83.82 85.58

Boys' coats and jackets *............... 9.48 4.36 5.73 6.52

Boys' sweaters.......................... 3.73 3.09 2.70 3.17

Boys' shirts *.......................... 20.55 21.80 19.50 20.62

Boys' underwear *....................... 1.55 4.96 4.89 3.80

Boys' nightwear *....................... 2.79 2.21 2.83 2.61

Boys' hosiery *......................... 3.99 4.97 4.26 4.41

Boys' accessories *..................... 2.77 4.58 5.19 4.18

Boys' suits, sportcoats, vests *........ 3.00 0.51 2.13 1.88

Boys' pants *........................... 24.70 24.72 19.41 22.94

Boys' shorts, shorts sets *............. 3.91 11.51 9.03 8.15

Boys' uniforms, active sportswear....... 5.10 7.43 7.30 6.61

Boys' costumes.......................... 0.29 0.93 0.85 0.69

Women and girls............................. 608.90 724.73 703.40 679.01

Women, 16 and over........................ 509.83 624.19 607.23 580.42

Women's coats and jackets *............. 33.49 40.55 58.80 44.28

[[Page 4090]]

Women's dresses *....................... 83.27 118.10 89.96 97.11

Women's sportcoats, tailored jackets *.. 0.84 6.02 3.90 3.59

Women's vests and sweaters *............ 36.74 46.00 40.43 41.06

Women's shirts, tops, blouses *......... 85.55 114.03 106.20 101.93

Women's skirts *........................ 29.28 28.63 21.52 26.48

Women's pants *......................... 66.85 69.35 79.18 71.79

Women's shorts, shorts sets *........... 14.23 20.40 23.33 19.32

Women's active sportwear *.............. 23.13 28.54 32.91 28.19

Women's sleepwear *..................... 22.57 20.98 25.33 22.96

Women's undergarments *................. 24.38 27.53 33.13 28.35

Women's hoisery......................... 25.85 27.13 25.01 26.00

Women's suits........................... 28.04 33.54 30.71 30.76

Women's accessories *................... 34.46 38.59 33.98 35.68

Women's uniforms *...................... 1.15 1.47 1.82 1.48

Women's costumes........................ 0.00 3.34 1.01 1.45

Girls, 2 to 15............................ 99.08 100.53 96.17 98.59

Girls' coats and jackets................ 7.95 6.71 7.66 7.44

Girls' dresses, suits................... 12.02 13.87 13.23 13.04

Girls' shirts, blouses, sweaters *...... 30.19 23.20 22.42 25.27

Girls' shirts and pants................. 16.37 15.56 14.87 15.60

Girls' shorts, shorts sets.............. 6.41 8.41 9.83 8.22

Girls' active sportwear *............... 9.32 10.66 8.41 9.46

Girls' underwear and sleepwear.......... 5.92 6.16 6.26 6.11

Girls' hoisery *........................ 4.88 6.09 5.05 5.34

Girls' accessories *.................... 4.08 5.49 4.50 4.69

Girls' uniforms......................... 1.46 2.26 1.86 1.86

Girls' costumes......................... NA 2.12 2.08 2.10

Children under 2.......................... 63.60 85.67 80.39 76.55

Infant coat, jacket, snowsuit........... 3.17 2.99 3.25 3.14

Infant dresses, outerwear............... 14.98 17.87 20.75 17.87

Infant underwear *...................... 36.68 51.00 46.85 44.84

Infant nightwear, loungewear............ 3.19 3.11 4.26 3.52

Infant accessories...................... 3.06 5.15 5.28 4.50

Infant hoisery.......................... 0.41 0.10 NA 0.10

Footwear *................................ 204.13 258.04 243.05 235.07

Men's footwear *........................ 62.95 72.47 73.53 69.65

Boys' footwear *........................ 18.19 29.42 31.65 26.42

Women's footwear *...................... 104.54 128.82 115.47 116.28

Girls' footwear *....................... 18.46 27.33 22.41 22.73

Other apparel products and services....... 259.97 283.91 269.19 271.02

Material for making clothes............. 8.12 9.10 8.58 8.60

Sewing patterns and notions............. 2.15 3.00 2.56 2.57

Watches................................. 21.65 20.45 20.47 20.86

Jewelry................................. 110.35 121.45 108.73 113.51

Shoe repair and other shoe service...... 3.46 4.27 3.47 3.73

Coin-operated apparel laundry and dry

cleaning............................... 34.25 37.63 38.61 36.83

Apparel alteration and repair........... 6.05 6.23 6.02 6.10

Clothing rental......................... 4.77 4.02 3.56 4.12

Watch and jewelry repair................ 5.72 6.94 5.54 6.07

Apparel laundry and dry cleaning not

coin operated.......................... 62.72 69.99 70.94 67.88

Clothing storage........................ 0.75 0.83 0.71 0.76

Transportation................................ 5,140.21 5,235.41 5,232.14 5,202.59

Vehicle purchases (net outlay).............. 2,388.19 2,154.04 2,167.03 2,236.42

Cars and trucks, new...................... 1,391.73 1,072.55 1,095.97 1,186.75

New cars................................ 991.60 749.65 749.56 830.27

New trucks.............................. 400.13 322.90 346.42 356.48

Car and trucks, used...................... 971.12 1,060.67 1,033.39 1,021.73

Used cars............................... 754.27 742.29 737.98 744.85

Used trucks............................. 216.85 318.39 295.42 276.89

Other vehicles............................ 25.34 20.82 37.66 27.94

New motorcycles......................... 5.21 2.87 18.06 8.71

New aircraft............................ 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Used motorcycles........................ 15.86 17.95 9.04 14.28

Used aircraft........................... 4.27 NA 10.57 7.42

Gasoline and motor oil...................... 933.90 998.10 972.68 968.23

Gasoline.................................. 812.03 884.83 868.13 855.00

Diesel fuel............................... 12.01 9.23 9.86 10.37

Gasoline on out-of-town trips............. 96.47 91.98 82.43 90.29

Gasahol *................................. 0.00 NA NA 0.00

[[Page 4091]]

Motor oil................................. 12.55 11.31 11.44 11.77

Motor oil on out-of-town trips............ 0.85 0.74 0.83 0.81

Other vehicle expenses...................... 1,552.56 1,775.67 1,805.62 1,711.28

Vehicle finance charges................... 284.70 280.20 258.96 274.62

Automobile finance charges.............. 196.25 190.05 169.13 185.14

Truck finance charges................... 71.94 75.90 71.72 73.19

Motorcycle and plane finance charges.... 1.67 0.50 1.93 1.37

Other vehicle finance charges........... 14.85 13.76 16.18 14.93

Maintenance and repairs................... 568.66 641.71 627.51 612.63

Coolant, additives, brake, transmission

fluids................................. 7.15 6.94 6.77 6.95

Tires--purchased, replaced, installed... 86.22 85.76 92.70 88.23

Parts, equipment, and accessories *..... 86.80 100.00 75.63 87.48

Vehicle products *...................... 3.92 3.19 3.14 3.42

Misc. auto repair, servicing *.......... 17.18 22.31 20.13 19.87

Body work and painting.................. 34.71 30.35 32.21 32.42

Clutch, transmission repair............. 34.54 35.98 34.71 35.08

Drive shaft and rear-end repair......... 7.58 6.97 7.96 7.50

Brake work.............................. 33.05 42.57 43.87 39.83

Repair to steering or front-end......... 11.64 12.69 15.62 13.32

Repair to engine cooling system......... 22.87 24.02 24.59 23.83

Motor tune-up........................... 40.07 46.97 46.95 44.66

Lube, oil change, and oil filters....... 24.67 33.01 35.54 31.07

Front-end alignment, wheel balance...... 9.30 11.64 12.40 11.11

Shock absorber replacement.............. 6.01 9.13 8.25 7.80

Brake adjustment........................ 4.75 6.83 5.13 5.57

Gas tank repair, replacement *.......... 0.09 1.18 1.60 0.96

Repair tires and other repair work...... 29.23 33.15 33.63 32.00

Exhaust system repair................... 14.55 18.36 18.29 17.07

Electrical system repair................ 20.35 26.00 28.19 24.85

Motor repair, replacement............... 63.53 79.50 73.60 72.21

Auto repair service policy.............. 8.54 5.18 6.60 6.77

Vehicle insurance......................... 515.06 619.68 638.83 591.19

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other

charges.................................. 184.14 234.08 280.31 232.84

Leased and rented vehicles.............. 68.54 95.89 125.45 96.63

Rented vehicles....................... NA 33.77 32.93 33.35

Auto rental......................... 44.36 12.42 8.36 21.71

Auto rental, out-of-town trips...... 6.78 15.41 16.16 12.78

Truck rental........................ 12.51 2.10 2.71 5.77

Truck rental, our-of-town trips..... 3.99 2.49 5.20 3.89

Motorcycle rental................... 0.00 NA NA 0.00

Aircraft rental..................... 0.47 0.27 0.24 0.33

Motorcycle rental, out-of-town trips 0.04 0.50 0.07 0.20

Aircraft rental, out-of-town trips.. 0.40 0.58 0.20 0.39

Leased vehicles....................... NA 62.11 92.52 77.32

Car lease payments.................. NA 47.74 69.08 58.41

Cash downpayment (car lease)........ NA 2.12 8.22 5.17

Termination fee (car lease)......... NA 0.16 0.14 0.15

Truck lease payments................ NA 11.01 12.47 11.74

Cash downpayment (truck lease)...... NA 1.09 1.52 1.31

Termination fee (truck lease)....... NA NA 1.08 1.08

State and local registration.......... 67.04 75.17 87.09 76.43

This text is long and has been trimmed here. Open the source document for the complete record.