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News Release Information

25-1175-PHI
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson – June 2025

Area prices were up 0.3 percent over the past two months, up 3.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was up 0.3 percent for the two months ending in June 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that all items less food and energy index advanced 0.5 percent, as the indexes for other goods and services and shelter rose. The energy index and food index both 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 Baltimore area all items CPI-U advanced 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending in June. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent, and the food index increased 3.4 percent. The energy index was down 3.2 percent over the same period.

Food

The food index decreased 0.1 percent from April to June. The food at home index declined 0.3 percent, with lower prices in 5 of the 6 major food categories. Within food at home, prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials decreased 3.9 percent, and prices for fruits and vegetables were down 1.3 percent. Whereas other food at home recorded higher prices at 2.5 percent. In comparison, the index for food away from home advanced 0.2 percent.

The food index rose 3.4 percent over the year. Prices for the food away from home index increased 4.6 percent and the food at home index advanced 2.8 percent. Three of the six major food sub-indexes were up over the year, as seen in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+10.2 percent); and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+6.6 percent).

Energy

The energy index fell 1.3 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices decreased 1.7 percent.

The energy index decreased 3.2 percent from June 2024 to June 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index decreased 12.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent during the two-month period ending in June. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for other goods and services (+8.6 percent) and shelter (+0.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-3.5 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent over the year. The shelter index (+4.3 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.1 percent) index. Prices for medical care were up 6.8 percent— due to higher prices for medical care services, while prices for other goods and services increased 12.3 percent. In contrast, the apparel index decreased, down 5.6 percent for the same period.

The Consumer Price Index for August 2025 for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

Publication updates and changes

In accordance with annual practice, relative importance weights have been updated and are available online in the CPI Supplemental Table of Contents.

Effective with the January 2025 data release, several indexes and average price series were discontinued. More information is available on the CPI discontinued series page. Direct any inquiries to the CPI office using one of the CPI contact information options listed online.

 


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 Baltimore area 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.

Percent changes for all-items data previously found in Table A of this release can be accessed in Chart 1 for this release and its attendant data table. A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

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.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for June 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data
Apr.
2025
May
2025
Jun.
2025
Jun.
2024
Apr.
2025
May
2025

All items

324.513 - 325.409 3.0 0.3 -

All items (1967=100)

970.591 - 973.270 - - -

Food and beverages

344.783 - 344.401 3.1 -0.1 -

Food

345.905 - 345.411 3.4 -0.1 -

Food at home

301.911 297.148 300.912 2.8 -0.3 1.3

Cereals and bakery products

361.934 369.446 359.706 -1.5 -0.6 -2.6

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

332.253 319.645 331.543 10.2 -0.2 3.7

Dairy and related products

270.281 257.249 265.735 -2.9 -1.7 3.3

Fruits and vegetables

318.799 319.322 314.586 0.0 -1.3 -1.5

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

243.423 235.957 234.041 6.6 -3.9 -0.8

Other food at home

270.010 267.647 276.632 0.9 2.5 3.4

Food away from home

409.547 - 410.207 4.6 0.2 -

Alcoholic beverages

327.036 - 327.921 -0.1 0.3 -

Housing

328.581 - 331.035 4.5 0.7 -

Shelter

386.182 387.849 388.368 4.3 0.6 0.1

Rent of primary residence

444.577 446.301 447.430 3.5 0.6 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

406.671 407.886 408.539 4.1 0.5 0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

406.671 407.886 408.539 4.1 0.5 0.2

Household furnishings and operations

135.963 - 141.651 3.8 4.2 -

Apparel

122.352 - 118.126 -5.6 -3.5 -

Transportation

286.717 - 283.852 -1.2 -1.0 -

Private transportation

293.046 - 293.077 -0.7 0.0 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

136.612 - 137.134 1.0 0.4 -

New vehicles(1)

279.225 - 278.053 0.3 -0.4 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

323.345 - 330.450 3.1 2.2 -

Motor fuel

278.501 271.608 273.650 -12.2 -1.7 0.8

Gasoline (all types)

272.086 265.363 267.329 -12.3 -1.7 0.7

Unleaded regular(4)

274.095 266.861 269.024 -12.8 -1.9 0.8

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

299.446 294.261 296.868 -10.3 -0.9 0.9

Unleaded premium(4)

288.198 283.892 284.714 -9.8 -1.2 0.3

Medical care

549.828 - 554.315 6.8 0.8 -

Recreation(3)

155.286 - 154.794 4.0 -0.3 -

Education and communication(3)

161.797 - 160.592 -0.7 -0.7 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,432.433 - 1,432.433 3.5 0.0 -

Other goods and services

566.560 - 615.378 12.3 8.6 -

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 June 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data
Apr.
2025
May
2025
Jun.
2025
Jun.
2024
Apr.
2025
May
2025

All items

324.513 - 325.409 3.0 0.3 -

Food

345.905 - 345.411 3.4 -0.1 -

Energy

300.971 297.324 296.931 -3.2 -1.3 -0.1

All items less food and energy

325.989 - 327.462 3.5 0.5 -

All items less energy

328.554 - 329.800 3.5 0.4 -

All items less medical care

313.409 - 314.137 2.8 0.2 -

All items less shelter

301.766 - 302.100 2.4 0.1 -

Commodities

231.353 - 231.319 -0.4 0.0 -

Commodities less food

186.098 - 186.203 -2.6 0.1 -

Commodities less food & beverages

181.717 - 181.800 -2.7 0.0 -

Durables

130.452 - 131.592 -0.4 0.9 -

Nondurables

281.850 - 280.576 -0.2 -0.5 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

228.281 - 226.199 -4.4 -0.9 -

Nondurables less food

233.544 - 231.676 -4.1 -0.8 -

Services

415.672 - 417.395 5.0 0.4 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

464.935 - 466.067 5.8 0.2 -

Services less medical care services

402.910 - 404.163 4.6 0.3 -

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2025