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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Mid-Atlantic > News Release
News Release Information

26-752-PHI
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington — April 2026

Area prices up 1.7 percent over the two months, up 4.8 percent over the year

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.

Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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).

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

With the publication of April 2026 data on May 12, 2026, several CPI series were rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes that were rebased is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm.


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 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 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026