Wyo. Code R. 006-0007-2
Effective Date: 12/09/1999 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 006.0007.2.12091999
Section 1. Purpose of the WCLI. The WCLI is a tool for the estimation of the comparative cost of living differences between Wyoming counties and for estimating the inflation rate within Wyoming.
Section 2. Geographical Coverage of the WCLI. Price data shall be collected in the largest city/town in every county. In addition, price data shall be collected in any city/town with a decennial population count of over 5,000 individuals and any city/town in a county with a decennial population of at least eighty percent (80%) of that county's largest city/town's decennial population.
Section 3. Frequency of the WCLI. The Division of Economic Analysis shall publish a Wyoming Cost of Living Index Report twice annually. The WCLI for the Second Quarter of the year shall be published by October 30 of the same year, and the WCLI the Fourth Quarter of year shall be published by April 15 of the following year.
Section 4. Categories within the WCLI. The WCLI shall consist of prices collected from seven (7) categories of items. Those categories are Food, Housing, Apparel, Transportation, Medical, and Recreation & Personal Care. The items in the index shall be weighted by their importance in an average household's budget. The weights for the items in the WCLI shall be derived from the weights used in the Consumer Price Index - Urban (CPI-U) as published by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the most recent 'Relative importance of components in the Consumer Price Indexes: U.S. city average, Table I'. The weights for the items in the WCLI shall be recalculated once per year prior to the calculation of the Second Quarter WCLI for the year.
Section 5. Indices Published by the Division of Economic Analysis. The Division of Economic Analysis shall publish a comparative cost of living index and an inflation index for the state of Wyoming.
Section 6. Use of Population Weights in the WCLI. Population weights will be derived from the most recent population data for each county in Wyoming from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, released on July 1, of each year. The population weights shall be calculated once per year prior to the Second Quarter WCLI.
Section 7. WCLI Program Procedures and Policies. The Division of Economic Analysis will develop and maintain a Procedures and Policies manual for the WCLI.