The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region was unchanged in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Food prices edged up 0.4 percent while the all items less food and energy also did not change over the month. Energy prices were down 1.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The Northeast all items CPI-U increased 3.2 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.4 percent over the year, accounting for over eighty-five percent of the twelve-month all items increase. Food prices rose 2.8 percent and energy prices increased 1.1 percent over the year.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, March 2022–March 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3
Jun 2023	2.2	3.8
Jul 2023	2.6	4.0
Aug 2023	2.8	3.7
Sep 2023	3.0	3.5
Oct 2023	2.7	3.4
Nov 2023	2.5	3.5
Dec 2023	2.6	3.5
Jan 2024	2.5	3.5
Feb 2024	2.4	3.2
Mar 2024	3.4	4.0
Apr 2024	3.6	4.1
May 2024	3.9	4.3
Jun 2024	3.8	4.3
Jul 2024	3.6	3.9
Aug 2024	3.4	4.0
Sep 2024	3.4	4.2
Oct 2024	3.5	4.4
Nov 2024	3.5	4.3
Dec 2024	3.5	3.9
Jan 2025	3.7	4.1
Feb 2025	3.9	4.2
Mar 2025	3.2	3.4

Food prices increased 0.4 percent in March, as the index for food at home rose 0.5 percent. Prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery food groups increased, including dairy and related products (+2.4 percent). Within the food at home category, groceries that had price increases over the month included uncooked ground beef and snacks. The index for food away from home was up 0.4 percent over the month.

Food prices rose 2.8 percent over the year. The index for food away from home advanced 3.8 percent, while the index for food at home increased 2.2 percent. Much of the rise in the food at home index came from a 7.8-percent advance in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.

The energy index was down 1.1 percent over the month, with a 1.7-percent decline in gasoline prices and a 1.0-percent decrease in electricity prices. The utility (piped) gas service index increased 1.1 percent in March.

The energy index increased 1.1 percent from March 2024 to March 2025, with rises in the utility (piped) gas service index (+16.7 percent) and the electricity index (+6.9 percent). Meanwhile, prices for gasoline were down 7.5 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy remained unchanged in March. The shelter index decrease of 0.1 percent reflected a 0.3-percent increase in both the owners’ equivalent rent of residences and the rent of primary residences indexes, combined with a decline in prices for lodging away from home. The apparel index rose 1.8 percent over the month.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.4 percent over the year, led by a 4.9-percent increase in prices for shelter. Within the shelter index, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index rose 5.7 percent, and the rent of primary residence index was up 5.6 percent.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 the Northeast region is published 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.

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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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. Northeast region CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025
All items		329.989	332.009	332.049	3.2	0.6	0.0
All items (December 1977 = 100)		519.632	522.812	522.876	-	-	-
Food and beverages		334.091	334.947	336.415	2.8	0.7	0.4
Food		336.722	337.561	339.037	2.8	0.7	0.4
Food at home		312.813	313.430	314.865	2.2	0.7	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		385.319	388.373	388.698	0.9	0.9	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		328.088	332.768	335.051	7.8	2.1	0.7
Dairy and related products		280.729	277.503	284.201	3.6	1.2	2.4
Fruits and vegetables		352.790	348.065	346.088	-2.3	-1.9	-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		232.537	233.693	233.459	3.3	0.4	-0.1
Other food at home		279.104	279.799	281.730	0.8	0.9	0.7
Food away from home		379.443	380.690	382.235	3.8	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		297.913	299.016	300.369	2.8	0.8	0.5
Housing		363.129	365.796	365.171	4.8	0.6	-0.2
Shelter		359.714	361.995	363.701	5.3	1.1	0.5
Rent of primary residence		451.349	452.655	454.054	5.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		465.000	466.778	468.164	5.7	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		464.541	466.305	467.691	5.7	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities		320.765	325.334	323.324	7.4	0.8	-0.6
Household energy		288.345	292.158	289.911	7.6	0.5	-0.8
Energy services		286.870	290.880	289.980	9.8	1.1	-0.3
Electricity		294.063	298.310	295.460	6.9	0.5	-1.0
Utility (piped) gas service		252.812	256.083	259.020	16.7	2.5	1.1
Household furnishings and operations		146.213	147.007	146.566	1.3	0.2	-0.3
Apparel		132.060	135.211	137.607	0.2	4.2	1.8
Transportation		264.999	264.945	264.316	0.9	-0.3	-0.2
Private transportation		264.368	264.575	264.218	1.5	-0.1	-0.1
New and used motor vehicles(2)		125.883	125.567	125.432	0.2	-0.4	-0.1
New vehicles		174.691	174.804	174.938	0.1	0.1	0.1
New cars(3)		164.295	164.665	165.019	0.3	0.4	0.2
Used cars and trucks		194.003	194.120	194.535	0.8	0.3	0.2
Motor fuel		267.730	269.724	265.201	-7.5	-0.9	-1.7
Gasoline (all types)		267.174	269.063	264.517	-7.5	-1.0	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		261.005	262.921	258.225	-8.0	-1.1	-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		298.614	300.638	296.649	-5.6	-0.7	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		298.172	299.860	296.246	-5.1	-0.6	-1.2
Medical care		578.674	583.024	582.998	1.7	0.7	0.0
Medical care commodities		427.195	426.655	425.037	2.2	-0.5	-0.4
Medical care services		622.869	628.765	629.253	1.5	1.0	0.1
Professional services		429.889	434.287	434.095	1.3	1.0	0.0
Recreation(2)		144.277	146.670	146.875	3.7	1.8	0.1
Education and communication(2)		158.512	159.094	159.123	2.4	0.4	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		1,475.318	1,479.232	1,479.463	4.9	0.3	0.0
Other goods and services		614.452	619.696	622.444	2.0	1.3	0.4
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Northeast region CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025
All items		329.989	332.009	332.049	3.2	0.6	0.0
Food		336.722	337.561	339.037	2.8	0.7	0.4
Energy		280.420	283.512	280.359	1.1	0.0	-1.1
All items less food and energy		341.099	343.272	343.356	3.4	0.7	0.0
All items less energy		338.620	340.586	340.873	3.3	0.7	0.1
All items less medical care		319.091	321.006	321.050	3.3	0.6	0.0
All items less shelter		288.911	290.579	290.800	2.3	0.7	0.1
Commodities		228.493	229.414	229.727	0.6	0.5	0.1
Commodities less food		178.983	179.885	179.777	-0.9	0.4	-0.1
Commodities less food & beverages		174.544	175.433	175.289	-1.1	0.4	-0.1
Durables		120.201	120.349	120.384	0.0	0.2	0.0
Nondurables		278.101	279.551	280.058	0.9	0.7	0.2
Nondurables less food & beverages		223.655	225.700	225.256	-1.8	0.7	-0.2
Nondurables less food		228.033	230.017	229.685	-1.4	0.7	-0.1
Services		427.385	430.471	430.243	4.6	0.7	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)		419.191	422.435	422.422	4.2	0.8	0.0
Services less medical care services		413.932	416.822	416.543	4.9	0.6	-0.1
Footnotes (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.