The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was up 1.4 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the all items less food and energy index rose 1.3 percent as shelter prices increased 1.2 percent. The energy index advanced 4.9 percent, and the food index increased 0.7 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The Philadelphia-area all items CPI-U advanced 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy also rose 3.1 percent. The food index increased 3.3 percent, and the energy index increased 2.6 percent over the same period.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, February 2022–February 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2022	7.3	5.9
Apr 2022	8.4	6.3
Jun 2022	8.8	5.6
Aug 2022	8.1	5.8
Oct 2022	7.8	5.8
Dec 2022	6.4	5.2
Feb 2023	6.9	6.3
Apr 2023	4.7	5.0
Jun 2023	3.1	4.6
Aug 2023	3.9	4.6
Oct 2023	3.5	4.4
Dec 2023	3.9	4.7
Feb 2024	3.4	4.2
Apr 2024	4.1	4.6
Jun 2024	3.6	4.0
Aug 2024	3.4	4.0
Oct 2024	3.4	4.0
Dec 2024	3.3	3.6
Feb 2025	3.1	3.1

The food index was up 0.7 percent for the two months ending in February. The index for food at home also rose 0.7 percent, with higher prices in 3 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Within food at home, prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs advanced 4.7 percent. The food away from home index increased 0.7 percent.

The food index rose 3.3 percent over the year as the food away from home index increased 4.7 percent. The food at home index advanced 2.4 percent in the same period. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year, led by meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index, up 11.4 percent.

The energy index increased 4.9 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices increased 3.9 percent.

The energy index increased 2.6 percent from February 2024 to February 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index declined 5.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent from December to February. The index for shelter continued to increase, up 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences rose 1.1 percent. Further price increases included medical care (+1.7 percent), and public transportation.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. The shelter index, up 4.2 percent, was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index advancing 5.1 percent. The medical care index rose 2.7 percent, and the education and communication index increased 1.6 percent, over the year. In contrast, apparel was down 2.2 percent.

The April 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington-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 the Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County 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. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-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		316.543	-	320.935	3.1	1.4	-
All items (1967=100)		914.477	-	927.162	-	-	-
Food and beverages		306.734	-	308.897	3.2	0.7	-
Food		309.783	-	311.911	3.3	0.7	-
Food at home		312.761	308.101	314.853	2.4	0.7	2.2
Cereals and bakery products		423.192	396.604	405.299	-4.3	-4.2	2.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		351.056	359.097	367.451	11.4	4.7	2.3
Dairy and related products		246.621	242.417	244.539	-0.1	-0.8	0.9
Fruits and vegetables		298.251	296.873	302.929	-2.1	1.6	2.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		229.835	212.434	222.532	3.4	-3.2	4.8
Other food at home		293.734	294.066	298.922	2.2	1.8	1.7
Food away from home		297.154	-	299.259	4.7	0.7	-
Alcoholic beverages		260.797	-	263.383	2.2	1.0	-
Housing		340.331	-	345.455	4.0	1.5	-
Shelter		423.488	424.441	428.505	4.2	1.2	1.0
Rent of primary residence		401.166	402.983	404.877	5.2	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		437.266	438.335	442.047	5.1	1.1	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		437.266	438.335	442.047	5.1	1.1	0.8
Household furnishings and operations		141.253	-	143.549	-1.5	1.6	-
Apparel		110.617	-	114.220	-2.2	3.3	-
Transportation		275.180	-	280.441	4.7	1.9	-
Private transportation		285.911	-	289.821	3.4	1.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.382	-	133.386	-0.1	0.0	-
New vehicles(1)		238.195	-	238.662	-0.2	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		342.105	-	343.966	1.7	0.5	-
Motor fuel		278.366	290.343	289.284	-5.1	3.9	-0.4
Gasoline (all types)		274.844	286.628	285.569	-5.1	3.9	-0.4
Unleaded regular(4)		268.686	280.954	279.809	-5.2	4.1	-0.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		294.541	303.603	303.013	-4.5	2.9	-0.2
Unleaded premium(4)		294.462	303.046	302.499	-4.3	2.7	-0.2
Medical care		596.289	-	606.573	2.7	1.7	-
Recreation(3)		137.140	-	137.857	-1.2	0.5	-
Education and communication(3)		141.115	-	141.067	1.6	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,194.464	-	1,196.262	3.3	0.2	-
Other goods and services		693.098	-	719.074	2.5	3.7	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Index is on a December 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. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-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		316.543	-	320.935	3.1	1.4	-
Food		309.783	-	311.911	3.3	0.7	-
Energy		249.551	261.357	261.791	2.6	4.9	0.2
All items less food and energy		332.295	-	336.493	3.1	1.3	-
All items less energy		326.236	-	330.099	3.1	1.2	-
All items less medical care		304.606	-	308.750	3.2	1.4	-
All items less shelter		279.656	-	283.935	2.5	1.5	-
Commodities		221.256	-	223.470	0.3	1.0	-
Commodities less food		179.178	-	181.398	-2.1	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		175.759	-	177.959	-2.4	1.3	-
Durables		126.530	-	126.464	-3.2	-0.1	-
Nondurables		263.510	-	267.188	1.3	1.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		218.082	-	223.702	-1.4	2.6	-
Nondurables less food		220.875	-	226.241	-1.1	2.4	-
Services		410.842	-	417.222	4.6	1.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		404.779	-	413.141	5.2	2.1	-
Services less medical care services		396.058	-	402.122	4.8	1.5	-
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.