What is the difference between CPI-U and CPI-W?

Following the first world war, there was a consumer price index created to determine the amount of money it took to live and work in a certain area based on the cost of living in that area. Now there are two different types of a consumer price index. One is called the CPI-U, which stands for consumer price index for All Urban Consumers.

The other one is called the CPI-W, which stands for the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers. Most of the workers fall under the category of CPI-U. As a matter of fact, it is about eighty percent of the population falls into this category. CPI-W is more specific, and CPI-U is broader and more general.