---
kind: "section"
citation: "5 C.F.R. § 591.218"
title: "5"
number: "591.218"
heading: "How does OPM compute price indexes?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/5/591.218"
---

# §591.218. How does OPM compute price indexes?


Except for shelter and energy utilities, OPM averages by item the prices collected in each survey area. For the Washington, DC, area, OPM computes a simple average for each item based on the average prices from each DC survey area. On an item-by-item basis, OPM divides the COLA survey area average price by the DC average price and produces a price index.


## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5941; E.O. 10000, 3 CFR, 1943-1948 Comp., p. 792; and E.O. 12510, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 338.

### Source

Source: 67 FR 22340, May 3, 2002, unless otherwise noted.