The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson increased 3.4 percent for the 12 months ending in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that both the index for all items less food and energy and the food index rose 3.3 percent over the year. Energy prices advanced 4.8 percent over the same period.

BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations. BLS is unable to retroactively collect these data. For a few indexes, BLS uses nonsurvey data sources instead of survey data to make the index calculations. BLS was able to retroactively acquire most of the nonsurvey data for October. Accordingly, all analysis in this release is over the year and not seasonally adjusted.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Oct 2025	-	-
Dec 2025	3.4	3.3
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations

Food prices advanced 3.3 percent over the year. The index for food away from home increased 4.7 percent, and the index for food at home rose 2.5 percent. Within the food at home category, five of the six major food sub-indexes advanced over the year, with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs up 6.5 percent.

The energy index rose 4.8 percent from December 2024 to December 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index declined 3.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent over the year. The shelter index (3.9 percent) was the largest contributor to the advance, with higher prices in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (3.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (3.2 percent) categories. Other annual increases include the medical care index (6.4 percent), other goods and services (6.7 percent) and household furnishings and operations (4.1 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for February 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 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 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.

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 December 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025
All items		-	-	327.542	3.4	-	-
All items (1967=100)		-	-	979.651	-	-	-
Food and beverages		-	-	350.133	3.4	-	-
Food		-	-	350.376	3.3	-	-
Food at home		-	307.112	306.496	2.5	-	-0.2
Cereals and bakery products		-	374.635	379.962	3.7	-	1.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		-	338.885	337.839	6.5	-	-0.3
Dairy and related products		-	272.504	268.978	-2.8	-	-1.3
Fruits and vegetables		-	324.161	323.218	1.8	-	-0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		-	239.261	238.658	3.1	-	-0.3
Other food at home		-	277.175	275.661	0.3	-	-0.5
Food away from home		-	-	413.337	4.7	-	-
Alcoholic beverages		-	-	342.187	4.4	-	-
Housing		-	-	335.763	4.6	-	-
Shelter		-	393.178	392.556	3.9	-	-0.2
Rent of primary residence		-	455.972	455.994	3.2	-	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		-	412.456	412.750	3.5	-	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		-	412.456	412.750	3.5	-	0.1
Household furnishings and operations		-	-	141.829	4.1	-	-
Apparel		-	-	117.692	2.7	-	-
Transportation		-	-	281.708	0.3	-	-
Private transportation		-	-	288.599	0.3	-	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		-	-	135.589	0.4	-	-
New vehicles(1)		277.260	-	275.915	-0.2	-0.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		330.594	-	325.714	1.7	-1.5	-
Motor fuel		-	267.819	248.645	-3.1	-	-7.2
Gasoline (all types)		257.092	261.562	242.792	-3.1	-5.6	-7.2
Unleaded regular(4)		258.501	263.414	243.694	-3.1	-5.7	-7.5
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		286.635	288.204	272.144	-3.1	-5.1	-5.6
Unleaded premium(4)		275.162	277.528	262.575	-3.3	-4.6	-5.4
Medical care		-	-	544.054	6.4	-	-
Recreation(3)		-	-	155.994	1.9	-	-
Education and communication(3)		-	-	163.033	1.1	-	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		-	-	1,480.891	3.4	-	-
Other goods and services		-	-	600.505	6.7	-	-
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. NOTE: October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Table 2. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by special aggregate index for December 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025
All items		-	-	327.542	3.4	-	-
Food		-	-	350.376	3.3	-	-
Energy		-	318.897	293.614	4.8	-	-7.9
All items less food and energy		-	-	329.669	3.3	-	-
All items less energy		-	-	332.329	3.3	-	-
All items less medical care		-	-	316.838	3.2	-	-
All items less shelter		-	-	303.350	3.1	-	-
Commodities		-	-	231.865	2.3	-	-
Commodities less food		-	-	185.415	1.8	-	-
Commodities less food & beverages		-	-	180.609	1.7	-	-
Durables		-	-	130.609	0.6	-	-
Nondurables		-	-	282.614	3.2	-	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		-	-	224.962	3.0	-	-
Nondurables less food		-	-	231.494	3.1	-	-
Services		-	-	420.966	3.9	-	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		-	-	469.045	4.0	-	-
Services less medical care services		-	-	409.675	3.8	-	-
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. NOTE: October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.