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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Southwest > News Release
News Release Information

26-746-DAL
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Consumer Price Index, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area — April 2026

Area prices rose 2.4 percent in March and April, up 2.8 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in April 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the energy index increased 24.6 percent, its largest increase since June 1995. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.9 percent, while the food index was up 0.5 percent over the two-month period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area all items CPI-U advanced 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The energy index rose 17.6 percent and the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.5 percent. The food index was up 3.6 percent over the same period.

  Line chart of 12-month percent changes in the CPI-U all items and all items less food and energy for Houston, not seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Food

The food index advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.6 percent, and the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, the index for fruits and vegetables (+4.1 percent) led the rise. The index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-2.3 percent) saw the largest decline over the two-month period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 3.6 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 4.2 percent, and prices for food at home rose 2.9 percent. All six major grocery store food group categories increased over the same period, led by a 9.0-percent advance in the index for fruits and vegetables.

Energy

The energy index increased 24.6 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for gasoline advanced 52.7 percent, the largest two-month increase since the series began in 1978.

From April 2025 to April 2026, energy prices rose 17.6 percent. Prices paid for gasoline increased 36.8 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for public transportation, lodging away from home, and other goods and services (+4.1 percent). In contrast, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences declined 0.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent over the year. Components contributing to the rise included public transportation, apparel (+12.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+4.8 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-8.3 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.3 percent).

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2026.

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

Effective with this release, several CPI series were rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes that were rebased is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Consumer Price Index for Houston is published bi-monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, CPI-U by expenditure category for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026		 Apr.
2025		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026

All items

 279.235 - 285.974 2.8 2.4 -

All items (1967=100)

 895.609 - 917.221 - - -

Food and beverages

 315.309 - 316.891 3.1 0.5 -

Food

 318.502 - 320.148 3.6 0.5 -

Food at home

 300.700 300.136 302.476 2.9 0.6 0.8

Cereals and bakery products

 334.550 328.722 329.626 0.9 -1.5 0.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 340.096 335.946 343.197 2.1 0.9 2.2

Dairy and related products

 241.005 240.215 241.214 0.5 0.1 0.4

Fruits and vegetables

 391.364 400.077 407.399 9.0 4.1 1.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 378.990 377.087 370.375 3.9 -2.3 -1.8

Other food at home

 245.920 246.438 247.390 1.0 0.6 0.4

Food away from home

 332.494 - 333.846 4.2 0.4 -

Alcoholic beverages

 254.063 - 254.703 -4.7 0.3 -

Housing

 278.369 - 278.977 0.9 0.2 -

Shelter

 333.964 334.326 334.859 0.8 0.3 0.2

Rent of primary residence

 330.582 328.701 329.846 0.4 -0.2 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 313.834 313.698 312.976 0.6 -0.3 -0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 313.834 313.698 312.976 0.6 -0.3 -0.2

Household furnishings and operations

 167.510 - 169.200 4.8 1.0 -

Apparel

 199.523 - 203.121 12.1 1.8 -

Transportation

 232.709 - 260.317 9.7 11.9 -

Private transportation

 234.431 - 260.409 8.8 11.1 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 99.500 - 100.091 -1.3 0.6 -

New vehicles(1)

 195.894 - 196.184 -0.5 0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 284.146 - 288.192 -2.8 1.4 -

Motor fuel

 220.465 291.304 337.062 37.3 52.9 15.7

Gasoline (all types)

 220.121 290.533 336.225 36.8 52.7 15.7

Unleaded regular(4)

 218.501 291.988 339.765 38.1 55.5 16.4

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 261.210 327.438 371.948 31.8 42.4 13.6

Unleaded premium(4)

 273.618 336.085 376.586 29.3 37.6 12.1

Medical care

 571.943 - 572.634 2.9 0.1 -

Recreation(3)

 133.235 - 133.014 0.8 -0.2 -

Education and communication(3)

 112.626 - 112.289 -8.3 -0.3 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,318.187 - 1,320.027 0.0 0.1 -

Other goods and services

 507.288 - 528.213 6.9 4.1 -

(1) Index is on a April 1978=100 base.
(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.

- Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, CPI-U by special aggregate index for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026		 Apr.
2025		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026

All items

 279.235 - 285.974 2.8 2.4 -

Food

 318.502 - 320.148 3.6 0.5 -

Energy

 195.018 224.027 243.069 17.6 24.6 8.5

All items less food and energy

 287.235 - 289.819 1.5 0.9 -

All items less energy

 291.578 - 294.039 1.7 0.8 -

All items less medical care

 264.720 - 271.689 2.9 2.6 -

All items less shelter

 257.905 - 266.966 3.9 3.5 -

Commodities

 208.206 - 219.453 5.9 5.4 -

Commodities less food

 165.151 - 179.033 7.8 8.4 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 162.207 - 176.354 8.2 8.7 -

Durables

 111.867 - 113.118 -0.3 1.1 -

Nondurables

 264.466 - 283.497 8.6 7.2 -

Nondurables less food

 217.588 - 250.329 14.6 15.0 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 215.709 - 250.620 16.1 16.2 -

Services

 350.877 - 353.491 1.1 0.7 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 364.292 - 368.904 1.5 1.3 -

Services less medical care services

 325.412 - 328.148 0.9 0.8 -

(1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.

- Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026