The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was up 0.8 percent from August to October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Food

The food index was unchanged for the two months ending in October. Prices for food at home fell 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent for the same period.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.3 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices advanced 3.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent from August to October. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+1.0 percent), medical care (+3.0 percent), and recreation (+3.2 percent). In contrast, indexes for household furnishings and operations (-1.6 percent) and apparel (-2.4 percent) declined.

The Consumer Price Index for November 2026 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). The December 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 13, 2027.

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 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 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.

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Table 1. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for October 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Oct. 2026	Oct. 2025	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026
All items		333.784	-	336.317	-	0.8	-
All items (1967=100)		998.319	-	1,005.895	-	-	-
Food and beverages		353.746	-	354.028	-	0.1	-
Food		353.553	-	353.665	-	0.0	-
Food at home		311.122	309.566	309.853	-	-0.4	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		383.747	382.596	366.745	-	-4.4	-4.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		345.504	334.895	338.598	-	-2.0	1.1
Dairy and related products		274.063	263.174	274.432	-	0.1	4.3
Fruits and vegetables		327.508	325.721	332.061	-	1.4	1.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		244.190	255.314	254.291	-	4.1	-0.4
Other food at home		277.435	278.386	276.930	-	-0.2	-0.5
Food away from home		413.488	-	416.284	-	0.7	-
Alcoholic beverages		351.668	-	354.260	-	0.7	-
Housing		345.398	-	347.113	-	0.5	-
Shelter		402.341	403.604	406.562	-	1.0	0.7
Rent of primary residence		466.212	466.240	468.252	-	0.4	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		425.195	426.483	430.311	-	1.2	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		425.195	426.483	430.311	-	1.2	0.9
Household furnishings and operations		145.590	-	143.193	-	-1.6	-
Apparel		121.256	-	118.341	-	-2.4	-
Transportation		288.954	-	291.954	-	1.0	-
Private transportation		298.614	-	302.463	-	1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		138.937	-	137.854	-	-0.8	-
New vehicles(1)		279.673	-	279.849	0.9	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		326.137	-	319.321	-3.4	-2.1	-
Motor fuel		350.666	366.768	361.861	-	3.2	-1.3
Gasoline (all types)		342.311	357.918	353.064	37.3	3.1	-1.4
Unleaded regular(4)		346.052	362.328	357.518	38.3	3.3	-1.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		371.878	385.873	381.169	33.0	2.5	-1.2
Unleaded premium(4)		355.184	368.504	362.792	31.8	2.1	-1.6
Medical care		523.420	-	539.372	-	3.0	-
Recreation(3)		156.681	-	161.719	-	3.2	-
Education and communication(3)		167.546	-	167.775	-	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,503.429	-	1,536.534	-	2.2	-
Other goods and services		630.992	-	628.859	-	-0.3	-
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. Note: October 2026 12-month percent change values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Table 2. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U by special aggregate index for October 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Oct. 2026	Oct. 2025	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026
All items		333.784	-	336.317	-	0.8	-
Food		353.553	-	353.665	-	0.0	-
Energy		350.070	356.599	351.046	-	0.3	-1.6
All items less food and energy		332.640	-	335.764	-	0.9	-
All items less energy		335.327	-	337.976	-	0.8	-
All items less medical care		324.370	-	326.254	-	0.6	-
All items less shelter		308.226	-	310.106	-	0.6	-
Commodities		237.198	-	238.969	-	0.7	-
Commodities less food		191.432	-	193.769	-	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		186.515	-	188.837	-	1.2	-
Durables		130.108	-	130.579	-	0.4	-
Nondurables		292.308	-	294.945	-	0.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		241.323	-	246.498	-	2.1	-
Nondurables less food		247.319	-	252.297	-	2.0	-
Services		427.948	-	431.229	-	0.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		472.077	-	474.056	-	0.4	-
Services less medical care services		418.397	-	420.871	-	0.6	-
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. Note: October 2026 12-month percent change values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.