Maryland Residents Paying More For Gas Along With Food, Furniture, Clothes

MARYLAND — There's been a jump at the gas pump lately across Maryland. But residents are also paying more for a wide variety of other essential items, including food, furniture and clothes, according to federal statistics.

Gas prices have increased in Maryland and across the nation, due in large part to high crude oil prices, analysts say. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Maryland on Sunday was $3.36.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gas has increased 7 cents from a week ago and 20 cents from a month ago, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of all grades of gasoline has climbed by 36.8 percent in Maryland since September 2020, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. And it may be causing a ripple effect for other essential goods, officials said.

Households in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metropolitan area spent an average of $73,531 per year in 2019–20, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Oct. 15. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee said the figure was significantly higher than the $62,188 average expenditure level for households in the United States.

Baltimore-area households allocated their dollars similarly to the nation in four of the eight largest major components. For example, the share of expenditures for personal insurance and pensions, which accounted for 15.8 percent of the average household’s budget in the Baltimore area, was higher than the national average of 11.6 percent.

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In the Baltimore-DC region, following a 1.5-percent increase from May to July, the food index advanced 1.9 percent over the last two months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices for food at home increased 2.1 percent, and those for food away from home rose 1.6 percent. For food at home, prices were higher for items such as uncooked beef steaks, while prices were lower for several categories, including breakfast cereal and lettuce.

Food-at-home expenditures are defined as purchases of food at grocery stores and other food stores where the final purchaser is the consumer.

Over the past 18 months, food producers have had to deal with shortages, bottlenecks, and transportation, weather and labor difficulties, all of which have caused food prices to rise.

Certain industry phrases — "turbulence and volatility" and "supply chain disruption" — have underscored rising grocery bills since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Washington Post reported in September.

Other yearly price hikes in Maryland included:

• Housing: This was the largest expenditure component for Maryland households and averaged $24,972. Housing accounted for 34.0 percent of the area’s household budget, similar to the 33.8-percent U.S. average. Housing costs among the 22 metropolitan areas nationwide ranged from 39.1 percent in New York to 31.8 percent in St. Louis.
• Transportation: Baltimore-area households spent 16.2 percent of their budget on transportation, similar to the national average of 16.5 percent. Of the $11,946 in annual transportation expenditures in Maryland, 93.8 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 94.9 percent.
• Personal insurance and pensions: Maryland households spent 15.8 percent ($11,626) of their annual budget on personal insurance and pensions, the third-largest expenditure component for the area’s consumer units. The portion a local-area household spent on personal insurance and pensions was significantly above the national average of 11.6 percent.
• Food: The portion of a Baltimore region household’s budget spent on food, 10.6 percent, was significantly lower than the 12.5-percent U.S. average. Baltimore-area households spent $4,993, or 64.2 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and $2,780 (35.8 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 61.9 percent of its food budget on food at home and 38.1 percent on food away from home.

In 2022, food-at-home price increases are expected to slow down to between 1.5 and 2.5 percent, down from 2.5 to 3.5 percent overall in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.