The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was down 0.2 percent from June to August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the all items less food and energy index declined as did the food index, while the energy index increased. (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 increased 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent, the energy index was up 16.8 percent, and the food index advanced 2.4 percent over the same period.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, August 2023–August 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Feb 2026	1.7	2.9
Apr 2026	3.6	2.7
Jun 2026	2.7	1.9
Aug 2026	2.3	1.4
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The food index decreased 0.2 percent for the two months ending in August. The index for food at home was unchanged as prices for the grocery categories were a mix of increases and decreases. The food away from home index decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

The food index rose 2.4 percent over the year. The food at home index was up 3.5 percent as prices increased for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.7 percent); other food at home (+4.4 percent); and cereals and bakery products (+4.9 percent). The food away from home index advanced 0.7 percent.

The energy index increased 1.8 percent over the August two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices were up 3.7 percent.

The energy index rose 16.8 percent from August 2025 to August 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index advanced 26.6 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.3 percent from June to August. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for medical care (-5.2 percent), apparel (-2.2 percent) and recreation (-1.5 percent). In contrast, prices were higher for shelter (+0.6 percent) and education and communication (+1.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.4 percent over the year. The shelter index was up 2.6 percent, with increases in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+3.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+3.3 percent) indexes. Other price increases include other goods and services (+5.9 percent), education and communication (+3.3 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (+1.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for medical care (-3.1 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for October 2026 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 10, 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 Baltimore 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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		334.324	-	333.784	2.3	-0.2	-
All items (1967=100)		999.936	-	998.319	-	-	-
Food and beverages		353.940	-	353.746	2.4	-0.1	-
Food		354.286	-	353.553	2.4	-0.2	-
Food at home		311.230	313.925	311.122	3.5	0.0	-0.9
Cereals and bakery products		380.686	392.917	383.747	4.9	0.8	-2.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		346.473	343.652	345.504	2.7	-0.3	0.5
Dairy and related products		279.491	279.653	274.063	1.8	-1.9	-2.0
Fruits and vegetables		329.989	332.017	327.508	2.6	-0.8	-1.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		243.696	253.191	244.190	3.3	0.2	-3.6
Other food at home		275.647	275.577	277.435	4.4	0.6	0.7
Food away from home		415.392	-	413.488	0.7	-0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages		344.539	-	351.668	3.5	2.1	-
Housing		343.718	-	345.398	3.0	0.5	-
Shelter		399.887	401.550	402.341	2.6	0.6	0.2
Rent of primary residence		460.128	462.982	466.212	3.3	1.3	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		421.782	422.937	425.195	3.5	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		421.782	422.937	425.195	3.5	0.8	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		147.201	-	145.590	0.8	-1.1	-
Apparel		124.033	-	121.256	0.9	-2.2	-
Transportation		286.366	-	288.954	2.4	0.9	-
Private transportation		294.647	-	298.614	2.0	1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		138.646	-	138.937	1.4	0.2	-
New vehicles(1)		279.517	-	279.673	0.7	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		323.172	-	326.137	-2.0	0.9	-
Motor fuel		338.172	347.319	350.666	26.7	3.7	1.0
Gasoline (all types)		330.254	339.193	342.311	26.6	3.7	0.9
Unleaded regular(4)		333.803	343.149	346.052	27.1	3.7	0.8
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		361.227	368.633	371.878	24.9	2.9	0.9
Unleaded premium(4)		342.808	350.336	355.184	23.8	3.6	1.4
Medical care		552.265	-	523.420	-3.1	-5.2	-
Recreation(3)		159.103	-	156.681	1.7	-1.5	-
Education and communication(3)		165.213	-	167.546	3.3	1.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,498.010	-	1,503.429	1.6	0.4	-
Other goods and services		632.096	-	630.992	5.9	-0.2	-
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 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		334.324	-	333.784	2.3	-0.2	-
Food		354.286	-	353.553	2.4	-0.2	-
Energy		346.722	353.091	352.938	16.8	1.8	0.0
All items less food and energy		333.649	-	332.640	1.4	-0.3	-
All items less energy		336.291	-	335.327	1.5	-0.3	-
All items less medical care		323.546	-	324.370	2.7	0.3	-
All items less shelter		309.943	-	308.226	2.2	-0.6	-
Commodities		237.872	-	237.198	1.8	-0.3	-
Commodities less food		192.074	-	191.432	1.6	-0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		187.365	-	186.515	1.5	-0.5	-
Durables		131.167	-	130.108	-1.8	-0.8	-
Nondurables		292.510	-	292.308	3.4	-0.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		241.543	-	241.323	5.1	-0.1	-
Nondurables less food		247.055	-	247.319	4.9	0.1	-
Services		428.312	-	427.948	2.5	-0.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		476.413	-	472.077	2.4	-0.9	-
Services less medical care services		416.000	-	418.397	3.1	0.6	-
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.