Guam cost of living statistics show how prices, earnings, employment, and public investment interact across the island. The Guam Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.0% year over year in Q2 2024, while private nonsupervisory weekly earnings reached $707.16 in March 2025. The figures below identify the measurement period and source for each statistic so readers can distinguish consumer-price data from labor-market and economic measures.
Contents
- How Guam measures living costs
- Guam CPI weights and market basket
- Recent Guam CPI levels
- Purchasing power and inflation detail
- Employment, unemployment, and earnings
- GDP, consumption, and construction
- Visitors, taxes, and federal obligations
How Guam measures living costs
Guam’s Household Income & Expenditures Survey (HIES) is conducted every five years to identify changes and challenges in the cost of living. The HIES survey team describes the survey as federally funded and says it collects household income and spending data to show how living costs change over time. Guam Household Income & Expenditures Survey (HIES)
The HIES has several statistical uses. Its data can update the Consumer Price Index, measure inflation, and help determine Guam’s Gross Domestic Product. The data can also affect cost-of-living adjustments for Guam residents, income-eligibility levels for assistance programs including food stamps, and wages and benefits offered by employers. Government funding decisions for education, affordable housing, health services, transportation, and other areas can also be affected by HIES data. Guam Household Income & Expenditures Survey (HIES)
The survey design includes both an interview and expenditure recording. If selected, a Guam household is asked to complete an interview of approximately one hour and record household expenditures for one week. Those collection periods are important context: HIES is designed to capture household income and spending behavior, while the CPI tracks changes in the prices of selected items. Guam Household Income & Expenditures Survey (HIES)
Guam CPI weights and market basket
The Guam CPI market basket is currently measured from 165 items and spans eight major groups. The Q2 2024 CPI table lists 168 allocated items across those groups. Relative weights indicate how much each group contributes to the index, while allocated-item counts show how many CPI items are assigned to each group. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
| CPI group | Relative weight | Allocated items |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 15.60 | 69 |
| Housing | 32.11 | 42 |
| Apparel & Upkeep | 7.61 | 23 |
| Transportation | 8.60 | 4 |
| Medical Care | 20.42 | 5 |
| Recreation | 2.97 | 5 |
| Education & Communication | 2.77 | 6 |
| Other Goods & Services | 9.92 | 14 |
Housing has the largest relative weight in the Q2 2024 CPI table at 32.11, with 42 allocated items. Medical Care has the next-largest listed weight at 20.42 and includes 5 allocated items. Food has a 15.60 relative weight and the largest allocated-item count, with 69 items. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
The remaining groups provide additional coverage of household costs. Apparel & Upkeep has a 7.61 relative weight and 23 allocated items. Transportation has an 8.60 relative weight and 4 allocated items. Recreation has a 2.97 relative weight and 5 allocated items. Education & Communication has a 2.77 relative weight and 6 allocated items. Other Goods & Services has a 9.92 relative weight and 14 allocated items. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
Recent Guam CPI levels
Guam’s all-items CPI moved through a series of quarterly readings from Q1 2023 through Q2 2024. It was 163.6 in Q1 2023 and 164.3 in Q2 2023. The index then measured 161.5 in Q3 2023 and 162.6 in Q4 2023, before reaching 164.1 in Q1 2024 and 170.7 in Q2 2024. These are index levels, not dollar prices. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
The category readings in the two latest quarters show different movements. Food’s CPI was 188.9 in Q1 2024 and 188.8 in Q2 2024. Housing’s CPI was 143.9 and then 146.1. Transportation’s CPI was 129.0 and then 130.9. Medical Care’s CPI was 236.6 and then 267.9. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
| CPI measure | Q1 2024 | Q2 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| All items | 164.1 | 170.7 |
| Food | 188.9 | 188.8 |
| Housing | 143.9 | 146.1 |
| Transportation | 129.0 | 130.9 |
| Medical Care | 236.6 | 267.9 |
The all-items-less-food CPI measured 159.6 in Q1 2024 and 167.8 in Q2 2024. Energy measured 142.6 and 145.1, respectively. The all-items-less-food-and-energy CPI measured 166.3 in Q1 2024 and 176.9 in Q2 2024. Services measured 188.9 in Q1 2024 and 203.4 in Q2 2024. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
Purchasing power and inflation detail
The Q2 2024 CPI report states that Guam’s all-items CPI increased 4.0% year over year in Q2 2024. Over the same year-over-year comparison, all-items-less-food increased 5.2%, energy increased 1.7%, and all-items-less-food-and-energy increased 6.3%. Commodities-less-food increased 0.4%, while services increased 7.6%. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
These measures separate broad price movement from selected components. Food is excluded in the all-items-less-food measure. Food and energy are excluded in the all-items-less-food-and-energy measure. The commodities-less-food and services measures provide additional views of the Q2 2024 year-over-year change, with services showing the largest listed increase at 7.6%. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
The report also gives purchasing power of the consumer dollar against two historical bases. On the third-quarter 1996 basis, purchasing power was 0.41 in Q1 2024 and 0.40 in Q2 2024. On the fourth-quarter 2007 basis, it was 0.61 in Q1 2024 and 0.59 in Q2 2024. These figures are reported index-based purchasing-power measures, not household budgets. [Guam Q2 2024 CPI](Guam Q2 2024 CPI)
Employment, unemployment, and earnings
Guam private employment was 51,900 in March 2025. The Guam Bureau of Labor Statistics summary says private employment rose from 45,010 in March 2021 to 51,900 in March 2025, a 15.3% gain. Construction employment was 12,320 in March 2025 and rose 43.4% from March 2021 to March 2025. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
March 2025 employment also included 4,010 federal government jobs and 11,890 Government of Guam jobs. Total employment was 67,800, up 11.7% from March 2021. These employment counts describe jobs and do not represent the number of households or residents. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
Private nonsupervisory weekly earnings were $707.16 in March 2025, up 27.6% from March 2021. Guam Government weekly earnings were $1,319.48 in March 2025, up 17.9% from March 2021. The two figures refer to different employment groups, so they should not be treated as a single island-wide average. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
The unemployment rate was 4.0% in March 2024 and 4.0% in March 2025. It fell from 16.5% in March 2021 to 4.0% in March 2025. The dates matter because the unemployment rate is a point-in-time labor-market measure, while the CPI figures above are quarterly price-index measures. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
GDP, consumption, and construction
Guam GDP was $6.910 billion in 2022, and GDP rose 14.2% from 2018 to 2022. Real GDP was $5.420 billion in 2022 in chained 2012 dollars, with a 5.1% change from 2021 to 2022. The nominal GDP and real GDP figures use different measurement conventions and should remain separate. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
In 2022, Guam personal consumption expenditures were $3.450 billion in chained 2012 dollars. Government consumption expenditures and gross investment were $3.595 billion in chained 2012 dollars. Both are economic-account measures, not direct estimates of a typical family’s annual cost of living. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
Building permits totaled $373.292 million in fiscal year 2025 and rose 21.2% from FY 2021 to FY 2025. Guam Department of Defense construction contracts totaled $956.309 million in FY 2025, while DOD construction contract awards rose 102.1% from FY 2021 to FY 2025. Permit values and contract awards describe construction activity rather than completed household spending. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
Visitors, taxes, and federal obligations
Guam recorded 729,124 total visitors in FY 2025. Total visitors rose 1,083.5% from FY 2021 to FY 2025. Occupancy tax collected was $30.236 million in FY 2025 and rose 132.5% from FY 2021 to FY 2025. These fiscal-year measures show tourism activity and related tax collection, not the CPI cost of a resident’s housing or food basket. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
Federal expenditures and obligations totaled $4.119 billion in FY 2025. Department of Defense obligations were $2.638 billion, and non-defense or other obligations were $1.481 billion. These are federal fiscal measures for FY 2025; they are not personal income figures and should not be substituted for the March 2025 earnings statistics. [Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators](Guam BLS Summary Economic Indicators)
Taken together, the statistics describe several connected but distinct dimensions of Guam and island living: the CPI measures price-index movement, HIES supplies household income and spending data, labor statistics describe jobs and earnings, GDP measures economic output, and fiscal and visitor measures show activity during specified fiscal years. Keeping those definitions and dates separate is essential when interpreting Guam’s cost of living.