Update regarding data collection for the Consumer Price Index

In summer 2025, BLS announced reductions to CPI data collection across the country and a suspension of data collection in Lincoln, Nebraska; Provo, Utah; and Buffalo, New York.

In November 2025, BLS resumed recruitment, hiring, and training of CPI field staff across the nation and in the areas where collection was suspended. As BLS successfully onboards new field staff, collection is expected to resume for portions of the sample previously suspended. BLS continues to collect data by telephone, online, or by using non-survey sources to supplement in-person collection.

As BLS restores survey operations, the number of collected prices and rents used to calculate the CPI is expected to increase. Users may track the collection efforts through a new monthly publication of CPI survey response rates, including collection rates which began in June 2026. See Response Rates for the Consumer Price Indexes.

CPI variance information for calendar year 2025 can be found here: Variance Estimates for the Consumer Price Indexes. Variance information for calendar year 2026 will be published in February 2027.

Though response rates can indicate the potential for bias in survey estimates, they do not indicate the presence of bias. The most recent nonresponse bias study performed by BLS for the CPI is available here: Assessing Nonresponse Bias in the Consumer Price Index Surveys.

Last modified date: October 22, 2026