A State Price Index

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No cross-sectional consumer price index is currently available by state, and the BLS's cross-sectional "family budget" index for metropolitan areas is not well-suited for cross-state analyses. In this paper we propose an algorithm for constructing a state-specific Laspeyres price index using conveniently available information from the Census of Business and the Survey of Current Business. The index is calculated for each state (and for Census divisions and regions) for 1967 and 1972. Its characteristics are discussed, and it is used to deflate nominal per capita income by state. Comparing "real" income by state with nominal income by state, the former has substantially less variation cross-sectionally but greater variation over time (between 1967 and 1972).