Consumer Price Index News Release

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                                        
8:30 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, January 13, 2026            USDL-26-0042
	
Technical information: (202) 691-7000  *  cpi_info@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cpi
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov 

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - DECEMBER 2025

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in
December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased
2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for shelter rose 0.4 percent in December and was the largest factor in the all items monthly increase. The
food index increased 0.7 percent over the month as did the food at home index and the food away from home index. The
index for energy rose 0.3 percent in December.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in December. Indexes that increased over the month
include recreation, airline fares, medical care, apparel, personal care, and education. The indexes for communication,
used cars and trucks, and household furnishings and operations were among the major indexes that decreased in December.

The all items index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending December, the same increase as over the 12 months ending
November. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.6 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index increased
2.3 percent for the 12 months ending December. The food index increased 3.1 percent over the last year. 

 
Food

The index for food rose 0.7 percent in December as did the index for food at home. Five of the six major grocery store
food group indexes increased in December. The index for other food at home rose 1.6 percent over the month. The cereals
and bakery products index increased 0.6 percent in December. The index for fruits and vegetables increased 0.5 percent
and the index for nonalcoholic beverages increased 0.4 percent. The dairy and related products index rose 0.9 percent
in December. In contrast, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased 0.2 percent in December, as the index
for eggs fell 8.2 percent.

The food away from home index also rose 0.7 percent in December. The index for full service meals rose 0.8 percent over
the month and the index for limited service meals increased 0.6 percent.

The index for food at home rose 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending in December. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
index rose 3.9 percent over the last 12 months. The index for other food at home increased 2.7 percent over the same
period and the index for nonalcoholic beverages rose 5.1 percent. The cereals and bakery products index increased 1.5
percent over the 12 months ending in December. The index for fruits and vegetables rose 0.5 percent over the year. In
contrast, the dairy and related products index decreased 0.9 percent over the same period.

The food away from home index rose 4.1 percent over the last year. The index for full service meals rose 4.9 percent
and the index for limited service meals rose 3.3 percent over the same period. 

Energy

The index for energy increased 0.3 percent in December. The natural gas index increased 4.4 percent over the same
period. The index for gasoline decreased 0.5 percent over the month. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices
decreased 5.3 percent in December.) The electricity index declined 0.1 percent in December.

The index for energy increased 2.3 percent over the past 12 months. The electricity index increased 6.7 percent over
the last 12 months and the natural gas index rose 10.8 percent. In contrast, the index for gasoline fell 3.4 percent
over this 12-month span.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in December. The shelter index increased 0.4 percent over
the month. The index for owners' equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent in December as did the index for rent. The lodging
away from home index rose 2.9 percent over the month.

The index for recreation increased 1.2 percent over the month, the largest 1-month increase ever reported for that
index, which was first published in 1993. The airline fares index rose 5.2 percent in December and the apparel index
rose 0.6 percent. The index for personal care rose 0.4 percent over the month and the index for education increased 0.2
percent. 

The medical care index increased 0.4 percent in December. The index for hospital services increased 1.0 percent over
the month, while the index for physicians' services rose 0.3 percent. The prescription drugs index increased 0.1
percent in December.

The communication index declined 1.9 percent in December, and the used cars and trucks index fell 1.1 percent. The
index for household furnishings and operations decreased 0.5 percent over the month, while the index for new vehicles
was unchanged in December.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.6 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index increased 3.2
percent over the last year. Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include medical care (+3.2 percent),
household furnishings and operations (+4.0 percent), recreation (+3.0 percent), and personal care (+3.7 percent).

Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.7 percent over the last 12 months to an index
level of 324.054 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index was unchanged prior to seasonal adjustment.  

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.6 percent over the last 12
months to an index level of 317.014 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index decreased 0.1 percent prior to seasonal
adjustment.  

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 2.5 percent over the last 12 months. For
the month, the index decreased 0.1 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the
past 10 to 12 months are subject to revision. 
_______________
The Consumer Price Index for January 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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		  		Upcoming CPI publication changes
			
With the publication of January 2026 CPI data on February 11, 2026, several index titles will change.

The following CPI indexes will have title changes:

* Care of invalids and elderly at home will be changed to home health care
* Technical and business school tuition and fees will be changed to technical and vocational school tuition and fixed fees
* Housing at school, excluding board will be changed to lodging while at school

More information is available in the series title change table at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/series-title-changes.htm

Following publication of December 2025 data in January 2026, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) compressed tape format files
(download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/compressed/tape.format/) will be discontinued. Revised historical unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted indexes are available in a similar format through BLS time series downloads for the following CPI
surveys:

CU: Consumer Price Index, all urban consumers
CW: Consumer Price Index, all urban wage earners and clerical workers
AP: Average Price Data
SU: Chained Consumer Price Index, all urban consumers

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Technical Note

Brief Explanation of the CPI
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services.
The CPI reflects spending patterns for each of two population groups: all urban consumers and urban
wage earners and clerical workers. The all urban consumer group represents over 90 percent of the total
U.S. population. It is based on the expenditures of almost all residents of urban or metropolitan areas,
including professionals, the self-employed, the poor, the unemployed, and retired people, as well as
urban wage earners and clerical workers. Not included in the CPI are the spending patterns of people
living in rural nonmetropolitan areas, farming families, people in the Armed Forces, and those in
institutions, such as prisons and mental hospitals. Consumer inflation for all urban consumers is
measured by two indexes, namely, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the
Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U). The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is based on the expenditures of households included in the CPI-U
definition that meet two requirements: more than one-half of the household's income must come from
clerical or wage occupations, and at least one of the household's earners must have been employed for
at least 37 weeks during the previous 12 months. The CPI-W population represents approximately 30
percent of the total U.S. population and is a subset of the CPI-U population.

The CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, doctors' and dentists'
services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are
collected each month in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and
approximately 22,000 retail establishments (department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling
stations, and other types of stores and service establishments). All taxes directly associated with the
purchase and use of items are included in the index. Prices of fuels and a few other items are obtained
every month in all 75 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every
month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods
and services are obtained by personal visit, telephone call, web, or app collection by the Bureau's
trained representatives.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are aggregated using
weights, which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local
data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. For the CPI-U and CPI-W, separate indexes are
also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and
population-size classes, and for 23 selected local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in
the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since
the base period. For the C-CPI-U, data are issued only at the national level. The CPI-U and CPI-W are
considered final when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to three
subsequent quarterly revisions.

The index measures price change from a designed reference date. For most of the CPI-U and the CPI-W,
the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals
100.  An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000. Alternatively,
that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and
services rising from $100 to $107. 

Sampling Error in the CPI

The CPI is a statistical estimate that is subject to sampling error because it is based upon a sample
of retail prices and not the complete universe of all prices. BLS calculates and publishes estimates
of the 1-month, 2-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent change standard errors annually for the CPI-U.
These standard error estimates can be used to construct confidence intervals for hypothesis testing.
For example, the estimated standard error of the 1-month percent change is 0.03 percent for the U.S.
all items CPI. This means that if we repeatedly sample from the universe of all retail prices using
the same methodology, and estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95 percent of these
estimates will be within 0.06 percent of the 1-month percentage change based on all retail prices. For
example, for a 1-month change of 0.2 percent in the all items CPI-U, we are 95 percent confident that
the actual percent change based on all retail prices would fall between 0.14 and 0.26 percent. For the
latest data, including information on how to use the estimates of standard error, 
see www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/variance-estimates/home.htm. 

Calculating Index Changes

Movements of the indexes from 1 month to another are usually expressed as percent changes rather than
changes in index points, because index point changes are affected by the level of the index in relation
to its base period, while percent changes are not. The following table shows an example of using index
values to calculate percent changes:

                            Item A                  Item B                      Item C
Year I                      112.500                 225.000                     110.000
Year II                     121.500                 243.000                     128.000
Change in index points      9.000                   18.000                      18.000
Percent change              9.0/112.500 x 100 = 8.0  18.0/225.000 x 100 = 8.0   18.0/110.000 x 100 = 16.4

Use of Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) program produces both unadjusted and seasonally adjusted data. Seasonally adjusted
data are computed using seasonal factors derived by the X-13ARIMA-SEATS seasonal adjustment method. These factors
are updated each February, and the new factors are used to revise the previous 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
The factors are available at www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/seasonal-adjustment/seasonal-factors-2025.xlsx. For more
information on data revision scheduling, please see the Factsheet on Seasonal Adjustment at
www.bls.gov/cpi/seasonal-adjustment/questions-and-answers.htm and the Timeline of Seasonal Adjustment
Methodological Changes at www.bls.gov/cpi/seasonal-adjustment/timeline-seasonal-adjustment-methodology-changes.htm.

How to Use Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data

For analyzing short-term price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted changes are usually preferred since they
eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every 
year-such as price movements resulting from weather events, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and
sales. This allows data users to focus on changes that are not typical for the time of year. 

The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay. Unadjusted
data are also used extensively for escalation purposes. Many collective bargaining contract agreements and pension
plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer Price Index before adjustment for seasonal variation.
BLS advises against the use of seasonally adjusted data in escalation agreements because seasonally adjusted series
are revised annually for five years.

Intervention Analysis

The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses intervention analysis seasonal adjustment (IASA) for some CPI series. Sometimes
extreme values or sharp movements can distort the underlying seasonal pattern of price change. Intervention
analysis seasonal adjustment is a process by which the distortions caused by such unusual events are estimated and
removed from the data prior to calculation of seasonal factors. The resulting seasonal factors, which more
accurately represent the seasonal pattern, are then applied to the unadjusted data.

For example, this procedure was used for the motor fuel series to offset the effects of the 2009 return to normal
pricing after the worldwide economic downturn in 2008. Retaining this outlier data during seasonal factor
calculation would distort the computation of the seasonal portion of the time series data for motor fuel, so it was
estimated and removed from the data prior to seasonal adjustment. Following that, seasonal factors were calculated
based on this "prior adjusted" data. These seasonal factors represent a clearer picture of the seasonal pattern in
the data. The last step is for motor fuel seasonal factors to be applied to the unadjusted data.

For the seasonal factors introduced for January 2025, BLS adjusted 63 series using intervention analysis seasonal
adjustment, including selected food and beverage items, motor fuels and vehicles.

Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Indexes

Seasonally adjusted data, including the U.S. city average all items index levels, are subject to revision for up to
5 years after their original release. Every year, economists in the CPI calculate new seasonal factors for
seasonally adjusted series and apply them to the last 5 years of data. Seasonally adjusted indexes beyond the last
5 years of data are considered to be final and not subject to revision. For January 2025, revised seasonal factors
and seasonally adjusted indexes for 2020 to 2024 were calculated and published. For series which are directly
adjusted using the Census X-13ARIMA-SEATS seasonal adjustment software, the seasonal factors for 2024 will be
applied to data for 2025 to produce the seasonally adjusted 2025 indexes. Series which are indirectly seasonally
adjusted by summing seasonally adjusted component series have seasonal factors which are derived and are therefore
not available in advance.

Determining Seasonal Status

Each year the seasonal status of every series is reevaluated based upon certain statistical criteria. Using these
criteria, BLS economists determine whether a series should change its status from "not seasonally adjusted" to
"seasonally adjusted", or vice versa. If any of the 81 components of the U.S. city average all items index change
their seasonal adjustment status from seasonally adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not seasonally adjusted data
will be used in the aggregation of the dependent series for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes
before that period will not be changed. For 2025, 34 of the 81 components of the U.S. city average all items index
are not seasonally adjusted.

Contact Information

For additional information about the CPI visit www.bls.gov/cpi or contact the CPI Information and Analysis Section
at 202-691-7000 or cpi_info@bls.gov. 

For additional information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI visit www.bls.gov/cpi/seasonal-adjustment/home.htm

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