The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that prices for the energy index increased 12.7 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area all items CPI-U rose 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent, as the energy index advanced 16.5 percent and the food index was up 4.5 percent for the same period.

Food

Food prices increased 1.2 percent from January to March. Prices for food at home were up 1.0 percent with higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, up 6.9 percent for the same period. Prices for food away from home rose 1.4 percent.

Food prices advanced 4.5 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 5.1 percent as prices for 5 of the 6 major food subindexes rose. Prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials were up 21.4 percent, the highest over-the-year increase for the food subindex since collection began in 2018. Prices for food away from home increased 3.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 12.7 percent for the two months ending in March. Gasoline prices were up 25.5 percent.

Energy prices advanced 16.5 percent from March 2024 to March 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index rose 19.4 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.6 percent), household furnishings and operations (+1.7 percent), and public transportation. In contrast, prices continued to lower for new and used motor vehicles (-0.6 percent) as prices for used cars and trucks decreased 1.2 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+3.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (+5.2 percent), and other goods and services (+5.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-3.4 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.7 percent) as prices for used cars and trucks decreased 3.3 percent over the year.

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2026.

Technical Note

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 Washington 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

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