The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was up 1.7 percent for the two months ending in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the energy index rose 14.8 percent, as the food and all items less food and energy indexes increased for the same period. (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 4.8 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent. The energy index increased 21.6 percent, and the food index was up 3.1 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, April 2023–April 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Apr 2025	2.9	3.1
Jun 2025	3.3	3.3
Aug 2025	3.3	3.2
Oct 2025	-	-
Dec 2025	3.9	3.7
Feb 2026	3.5	3.5
Apr 2026	4.8	3.8
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

From February to April, the food index was up 1.0 percent. The index for food at home rose 1.4 percent, with higher prices in fruits and vegetables (5.3 percent). The food away from home index increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

The food index rose 3.1 percent over the year. The food away from home index increased 2.3 percent. In comparison, the food at home index advanced 3.5 percent. Five of the six major food group subindexes rose over the year, with prices decreasing 3.0 percent for meats, poultry, fish and eggs.

The energy index increased 14.8 percent over the two-month pricing period ending in April. Gasoline prices advanced 37.1 percent.

The energy index increased 21.6 percent from April 2025 to April 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index was up 31.7 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent from February to April. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for household furnishings and operations (3.5 percent), shelter (0.2 percent), and public transportation. In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-1.9 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent over the year. The shelter index (3.4 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the increases in the owners’ equivalent rent of primary residences (4.6 percent) and rent of primary residence (4.7 percent) indexes. Other price increases included medical care (3.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (5.4 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for June 2026 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 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 Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, 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.

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Table 1. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		332.301	-	338.030	4.8	1.7	-
All items (1967=100)		960.000	-	976.551	-	-	-
Food and beverages		314.613	-	317.508	3.0	0.9	-
Food		317.731	-	320.900	3.1	1.0	-
Food at home		318.624	320.507	323.173	3.5	1.4	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		410.774	413.449	416.129	2.5	1.3	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		360.971	356.731	358.902	-3.0	-0.6	0.6
Dairy and related products		237.864	240.121	243.888	0.4	2.5	1.6
Fruits and vegetables		303.846	314.607	319.815	7.7	5.3	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		244.490	247.930	244.279	8.6	-0.1	-1.5
Other food at home		304.368	302.855	307.155	5.5	0.9	1.4
Food away from home		306.915	-	307.771	2.3	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		267.212	-	267.052	2.1	-0.1	-
Housing		362.196	-	364.529	4.5	0.6	-
Shelter		444.381	448.292	445.444	3.4	0.2	-0.6
Rent of primary residence		421.585	421.884	425.896	4.7	1.0	1.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		459.770	460.805	465.155	4.6	1.2	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		459.770	460.805	465.155	4.6	1.2	0.9
Household furnishings and operations		154.156	-	159.551	5.4	3.5	-
Apparel		117.545	-	117.746	3.5	0.2	-
Transportation		287.254	-	310.924	10.7	8.2	-
Private transportation		293.583	-	317.629	9.5	8.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.493	-	134.100	-0.6	0.5	-
New vehicles(1)		240.876	-	241.398	0.6	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		331.739	-	336.143	-2.7	1.3	-
Motor fuel		276.748	338.943	379.339	31.8	37.1	11.9
Gasoline (all types)		273.102	334.473	374.327	31.7	37.1	11.9
Unleaded regular(4)		266.357	329.172	369.086	32.5	38.6	12.1
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		293.545	347.036	386.526	28.4	31.7	11.4
Unleaded premium(4)		296.195	346.730	384.340	27.8	29.8	10.8
Medical care		625.404	-	630.168	3.3	0.8	-
Recreation(3)		142.339	-	139.704	0.7	-1.9	-
Education and communication(3)		141.411	-	142.507	1.7	0.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,261.717	-	1,261.717	5.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services		744.865	-	736.828	2.4	-1.1	-
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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		332.301	-	338.030	4.8	1.7	-
Food		317.731	-	320.900	3.1	1.0	-
Energy		280.254	305.320	321.736	21.6	14.8	5.4
All items less food and energy		348.429	-	351.377	3.8	0.8	-
All items less energy		341.090	-	344.037	3.7	0.9	-
All items less medical care		319.789	-	325.551	4.9	1.8	-
All items less shelter		293.531	-	301.379	5.6	2.7	-
Commodities		226.624	-	234.433	5.1	3.4	-
Commodities less food		183.064	-	191.853	5.9	4.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages		179.540	-	188.557	6.1	5.0	-
Durables		128.813	-	129.530	1.8	0.6	-
Nondurables		270.469	-	282.992	6.4	4.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		223.561	-	243.718	9.8	9.0	-
Nondurables less food		226.425	-	245.213	9.3	8.3	-
Services		435.782	-	439.902	4.6	0.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		435.512	-	443.549	6.0	1.8	-
Services less medical care services		420.080	-	424.095	4.6	1.0	-
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.