The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was up 0.3 percent for the two months ending in August 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the all items less food and energy index advanced 0.2 percent, as the index for shelter rose. Since August, the energy index increased 1.8 percent, and the food index had no change in the same period. (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 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent, and the food index increased 3.1 percent. The energy index increased 1.4 percent over the same period.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Apr 2025	3.0	3.6
Jun 2025	3.0	3.5
Aug 2025	2.8	2.9

The food index remained unchanged from June to August. The food at home index declined 0.1 percent. Within food at home, prices for other food at home decreased 3.9 percent. In comparison, the index for food away from home advanced 0.1 percent.

The food index rose 3.1 percent over the year. Prices for the food away from home index increased 4.6 percent and the food at home index advanced 2.3 percent. Three of the six major food sub-indexes were up over the year, as seen in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+11.0 percent); and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+8.2 percent).

The energy index increased 1.8 percent over the August two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices increased 1.1 percent.

The energy index increased 1.4 percent from August 2024 to August 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index decreased 6.0 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent during the two-month period ending in August. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for household furnishings and operations (+2.0 percent) and shelter (+1.0 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for other goods and services (-3.2 percent) and medical care (-2.5 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.9 percent over the year. The shelter index (+4.4 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.3 percent) index. Other increases include the household furnishings and operations index (+7.1 percent), medical care (+3.5 percent) and recreation (+3.3 percent). In contrast, the apparel index decreased, down 6.1 percent for the same period.

The Consumer Price Index for October 2025 for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 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 August 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Aug. 2025	Aug. 2024	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025
All items		325.409	-	326.294	2.8	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)		973.270	-	975.919	-	-	-
Food and beverages		344.401	-	345.300	3.0	0.3	-
Food		345.411	-	345.338	3.1	0.0	-
Food at home		300.912	300.399	300.640	2.3	-0.1	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		359.706	365.240	365.675	-1.4	1.7	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		331.543	329.585	336.323	11.0	1.4	2.0
Dairy and related products		265.735	273.704	269.196	-1.7	1.3	-1.6
Fruits and vegetables		314.586	319.694	319.263	1.8	1.5	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		234.041	231.816	236.484	8.2	1.0	2.0
Other food at home		276.632	270.845	265.810	-3.3	-3.9	-1.9
Food away from home		410.207	-	410.577	4.6	0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages		327.921	-	339.732	2.0	3.6	-
Housing		331.035	-	335.205	5.1	1.3	-
Shelter		388.368	390.324	392.254	4.4	1.0	0.5
Rent of primary residence		447.430	449.858	451.168	3.6	0.8	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		408.539	409.128	410.953	4.3	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		408.539	409.128	410.953	4.3	0.6	0.4
Household furnishings and operations		141.651	-	144.457	7.1	2.0	-
Apparel		118.126	-	120.177	-6.1	1.7	-
Transportation		283.852	-	282.083	-1.0	-0.6	-
Private transportation		293.077	-	292.679	0.2	-0.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		137.134	-	136.977	2.0	-0.1	-
New vehicles(1)		278.053	-	277.832	0.5	-0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		330.450	-	332.794	5.3	0.7	-
Motor fuel		273.650	277.840	276.739	-5.7	1.1	-0.4
Gasoline (all types)		267.329	271.400	270.306	-6.0	1.1	-0.4
Unleaded regular(4)		269.024	273.345	272.217	-6.1	1.2	-0.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		296.868	298.961	297.658	-5.7	0.3	-0.4
Unleaded premium(4)		284.714	287.829	286.847	-5.0	0.7	-0.3
Medical care		554.315	-	540.339	3.5	-2.5	-
Recreation(3)		154.794	-	154.084	3.3	-0.5	-
Education and communication(3)		160.592	-	162.137	-0.9	1.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,432.433	-	1,479.664	4.2	3.3	-
Other goods and services		615.378	-	595.893	4.8	-3.2	-
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 August 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Aug. 2025	Aug. 2024	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025
All items		325.409	-	326.294	2.8	0.3	-
Food		345.411	-	345.338	3.1	0.0	-
Energy		296.931	303.978	302.208	1.4	1.8	-0.6
All items less food and energy		327.462	-	328.134	2.9	0.2	-
All items less energy		329.800	-	330.387	2.9	0.2	-
All items less medical care		314.137	-	315.707	2.8	0.5	-
All items less shelter		302.100	-	301.663	2.0	-0.1	-
Commodities		231.319	-	233.065	0.9	0.8	-
Commodities less food		186.203	-	188.400	-0.6	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		181.800	-	183.731	-0.7	1.1	-
Durables		131.592	-	132.479	1.3	0.7	-
Nondurables		280.576	-	282.805	0.8	0.8	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		226.199	-	229.636	-2.0	1.5	-
Nondurables less food		231.676	-	235.657	-1.7	1.7	-
Services		417.395	-	417.574	3.9	0.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		466.067	-	461.182	3.4	-1.0	-
Services less medical care services		404.163	-	405.867	4.1	0.4	-
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.