BVI Composition

Category Structure and Weights

The BVI is built from 32 component series grouped into 8 core spending categories. Each category is assigned a weight based on observed U.S. household spending patterns, reflecting how much a category influences the cost of living.

Below are the category weights currently used in the Core BVI:

Each category includes one or more real-world items — some tracked directly through market prices (e.g., gasoline, bacon, rent), others via index-based series (e.g., vehicle insurance, medical services, childcare) — all of which are updated monthly or aligned using a consistent methodology.

This structure supports the BVI’s modular architecture and ensures that index changes reflect real consumption, not abstract models.