The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was up 1.5 percent for the two months ending in February 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that all items less food and energy index advanced 1.2 percent after decreasing 0.2 percent in December. The energy index and food index also saw increases. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The Baltimore area all items CPI-U advanced 3.2 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent, as did the food index. The energy index was up 1.7 percent over the same period.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, February 2022–February 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2022	9.3	7.6
Apr 2022	9.1	7.1
Jun 2022	10.6	7.9
Aug 2022	10.2	8.8
Oct 2022	8.4	7.0
Dec 2022	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.1	5.8
Apr 2023	5.3	5.4
Jun 2023	2.8	4.2
Aug 2023	3.1	3.1
Oct 2023	2.2	2.4
Dec 2023	2.1	2.0
Feb 2024	2.6	2.7
Apr 2024	2.9	2.8
Jun 2024	3.0	2.9
Aug 2024	3.0	3.6
Oct 2024	3.4	3.9
Dec 2024	3.4	4.0
Feb 2025	3.2	3.3

The food index increased 1.4 percent from December to February. The index for food at home advanced 1.5 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery categories. Prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 5.5 percent, the highest increase since June 2021 (+6.5 percent). Whereas dairy and related products recorded lower prices at 3.8 percent, its largest decline since the index began in February 2018. The food away from home index was up 1.2 percent.

The food index rose 3.3 percent over the year. Similarly, the food away from home index increased 3.4 percent and the food at home index advanced 3.2 percent. Four of the six major grocery indexes were up over the year, as seen in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+10.3 percent); and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+8.0 percent).

The energy index advanced 6.9 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices increased 6.2 percent.

The energy index rose 1.7 percent from February 2024 to February 2025, following a series of published index declines from August to December 2024. Over the year, the gasoline index decreased 5.8 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent from December to February. The index for shelter increased, up 1.7 percent over the bi-monthly period, as the index for owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence rose 1.0 percent. Other increases within all items less food and energy included apparel (+6.9 percent), recreation (+1.2 percent), and education and communication (1.1 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year. The shelter index (+4.1 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence (+3.4 percent) index. Additional index increases included recreation (+6.7 percent) and medical care (+2.0 percent). In contrast, the apparel index decreased, down 7.3 percent for the same period.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2025 for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

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 Baltimore area 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.

Percent changes for all-items data previously found in Table A of this release can be accessed in Chart 1 for this release and its attendant data table. A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties, as well as Baltimore City, in Maryland.

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

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for February 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Feb. 2024	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025
All items		316.753	-	321.541	3.2	1.5	-
All items (1967=100)		947.383	-	961.702	-	-	-
Food and beverages		338.691	-	343.028	3.1	1.3	-
Food		339.221	-	343.981	3.3	1.4	-
Food at home		299.153	297.868	303.673	3.2	1.5	1.9
Cereals and bakery products		366.460	370.959	373.399	5.3	1.9	0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		317.336	319.861	334.779	10.3	5.5	4.7
Dairy and related products		276.667	278.903	266.218	-2.8	-3.8	-4.5
Fruits and vegetables		317.570	314.809	323.596	0.3	1.9	2.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		231.514	232.150	236.316	8.0	2.1	1.8
Other food at home		274.787	267.573	272.790	-1.7	-0.7	1.9
Food away from home		394.874	-	399.703	3.4	1.2	-
Alcoholic beverages		327.684	-	327.212	1.0	-0.1	-
Housing		320.891	-	326.506	3.7	1.7	-
Shelter		377.815	380.283	384.148	4.1	1.7	1.0
Rent of primary residence		441.779	442.699	444.057	3.9	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		398.624	400.426	402.608	3.4	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		398.624	400.426	402.608	3.4	1.0	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		136.304	-	133.701	-2.9	-1.9	-
Apparel		114.563	-	122.435	-7.3	6.9	-
Transportation		280.980	-	284.504	3.9	1.3	-
Private transportation		287.706	-	291.231	4.9	1.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		135.088	-	135.299	0.6	0.2	-
New vehicles(1)		276.392	-	277.917	0.1	0.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		320.234	-	321.975	1.7	0.5	-
Motor fuel		256.490	283.268	272.362	-6.0	6.2	-3.9
Gasoline (all types)		250.594	276.741	266.051	-5.8	6.2	-3.9
Unleaded regular(4)		251.460	279.099	267.860	-6.1	6.5	-4.0
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		280.972	303.420	293.975	-4.3	4.6	-3.1
Unleaded premium(4)		271.443	291.176	282.706	-4.2	4.1	-2.9
Medical care		511.383	-	513.385	2.0	0.4	-
Recreation(3)		153.083	-	154.925	6.7	1.2	-
Education and communication(3)		161.240	-	163.078	-1.1	1.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,432.433	-	1,432.433	3.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services		562.915	-	569.646	4.7	1.2	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a March 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 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. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by special aggregate index for February 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Feb. 2024	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025
All items		316.753	-	321.541	3.2	1.5	-
Food		339.221	-	343.981	3.3	1.4	-
Energy		280.069	304.614	299.502	1.7	6.9	-1.7
All items less food and energy		319.064	-	322.740	3.3	1.2	-
All items less energy		321.652	-	325.455	3.3	1.2	-
All items less medical care		307.083	-	311.989	3.3	1.6	-
All items less shelter		294.164	-	298.333	2.7	1.4	-
Commodities		226.587	-	230.862	-0.3	1.9	-
Commodities less food		182.135	-	186.056	-2.5	2.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		177.641	-	181.668	-2.6	2.3	-
Durables		129.847	-	130.393	-2.0	0.4	-
Nondurables		273.828	-	281.021	0.5	2.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		218.465	-	228.270	-2.6	4.5	-
Nondurables less food		224.497	-	233.546	-2.4	4.0	-
Services		405.075	-	410.468	5.3	1.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		451.146	-	455.305	6.7	0.9	-
Services less medical care services		394.601	-	400.640	5.5	1.5	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.