The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was down 0.7 percent for the two months ending in 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 also declined 0.7 percent, as the food and energy indexes decreased 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 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent. The energy index increased 17.6 percent, and the food index was up 2.1 percent.

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jun 2026	5.4	4.7
Aug 2026	4.2	3.5
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

From June to August, the food index declined 0.6 percent. The index for food at home was down 1.1 percent, with lower prices in fruits and vegetables (-5.3 percent). The food away from home index increased 0.2 percent for the same period.

The food index rose 2.1 percent over the year. The food away from home index advanced 2.5 percent. In comparison, the food at home index increased 1.7 percent, as prices were up 6.1 percent for other food at home and 7.4 percent for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials.

The energy index decreased 0.5 percent over the two-month pricing period ending in August. Gasoline prices were down 0.5 percent.

The energy index rose 17.6 percent from August 2025 to August 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index was up 29.4 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.7 percent from June to August. Within the same period, declines included the shelter (-1.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.8 percent), and public transportation indexes. In contrast, the index for education and communication rose 2.7 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent over the year. The shelter index (4.4 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the price increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of primary residences (4.4 percent) sub-index. Other price increases included medical care (3.1 percent) and household furnishings and operations (1.8 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 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.

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

Table 1. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-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		342.280	-	340.008	4.2	-0.7	-
All items (1967=100)		988.828	-	982.263	-	-	-
Food and beverages		319.799	-	317.788	2.0	-0.6	-
Food		323.159	-	321.284	2.1	-0.6	-
Food at home		326.086	321.679	322.617	1.7	-1.1	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		414.902	410.148	411.532	-0.5	-0.8	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		371.861	371.490	368.645	-2.9	-0.9	-0.8
Dairy and related products		243.910	242.117	244.642	0.4	0.3	1.0
Fruits and vegetables		319.997	306.257	303.071	-0.9	-5.3	-1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		237.114	233.006	242.129	7.4	2.1	3.9
Other food at home		313.886	312.220	312.205	6.1	-0.5	0.0
Food away from home		308.910	-	309.656	2.5	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages		269.583	-	266.200	0.1	-1.3	-
Housing		376.283	-	371.856	4.7	-1.2	-
Shelter		461.579	447.405	455.318	4.4	-1.4	1.8
Rent of primary residence		429.656	428.741	428.306	4.2	-0.3	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		467.493	468.716	468.552	4.4	0.2	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		467.493	468.716	468.552	4.4	0.2	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		162.318	-	160.944	1.8	-0.8	-
Apparel		117.634	-	118.824	2.4	1.0	-
Transportation		305.128	-	301.215	6.9	-1.3	-
Private transportation		311.040	-	311.709	6.3	0.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		135.111	-	134.963	-0.4	-0.1	-
New vehicles(1)		241.773	-	242.282	0.8	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		345.244	-	348.412	-2.0	0.9	-
Motor fuel		380.008	375.155	378.150	29.5	-0.5	0.8
Gasoline (all types)		375.021	370.232	373.162	29.4	-0.5	0.8
Unleaded regular(4)		368.912	364.249	366.988	30.0	-0.5	0.8
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		392.572	386.488	390.137	27.6	-0.6	0.9
Unleaded premium(4)		389.413	384.259	388.058	26.7	-0.3	1.0
Medical care		625.103	-	625.319	3.1	0.0	-
Recreation(3)		141.288	-	140.225	1.7	-0.8	-
Education and communication(3)		141.607	-	145.395	1.4	2.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,268.613	-	1,298.008	4.9	2.3	-
Other goods and services		738.707	-	745.514	3.4	0.9	-
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 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		342.280	-	340.008	4.2	-0.7	-
Food		323.159	-	321.284	2.1	-0.6	-
Energy		325.403	324.265	323.622	17.6	-0.5	-0.2
All items less food and energy		356.090	-	353.651	3.5	-0.7	-
All items less energy		348.392	-	346.049	3.3	-0.7	-
All items less medical care		330.181	-	327.808	4.3	-0.7	-
All items less shelter		300.717	-	300.071	4.0	-0.2	-
Commodities		234.319	-	234.354	4.0	0.0	-
Commodities less food		190.989	-	191.631	4.8	0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		187.594	-	188.355	5.0	0.4	-
Durables		128.986	-	129.736	0.7	0.6	-
Nondurables		283.268	-	282.680	5.3	-0.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		242.291	-	242.921	8.8	0.3	-
Nondurables less food		244.052	-	244.412	8.1	0.1	-
Services		448.095	-	443.737	4.2	-1.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		441.794	-	439.790	3.9	-0.5	-
Services less medical care services		432.820	-	428.201	4.2	-1.1	-
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.