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

26-1517-PHI
Friday, September 11, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson — August 2026

Area prices were down 0.2 percent over the past two months, up 2.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson was down 0.2 percent from June to 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 declined as did the food index, while the energy index increased. (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 increased 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent, the energy index was up 16.8 percent, and the food index advanced 2.4 percent over the same period.

Food

The food index decreased 0.2 percent for the two months ending in August. The index for food at home was unchanged as prices for the grocery categories were a mix of increases and decreases. The food away from home index decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

The food index rose 2.4 percent over the year. The food at home index was up 3.5 percent as prices increased for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.7 percent); other food at home (+4.4 percent); and cereals and bakery products (+4.9 percent). The food away from home index advanced 0.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.8 percent over the August two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices were up 3.7 percent.

The energy index rose 16.8 percent from August 2025 to August 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index advanced 26.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.3 percent from June to August. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for medical care (-5.2 percent), apparel (-2.2 percent) and recreation (-1.5 percent). In contrast, prices were higher for shelter (+0.6 percent) and education and communication (+1.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.4 percent over the year. The shelter index was up 2.6 percent, with increases in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+3.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+3.3 percent) indexes. Other price increases include other goods and services (+5.9 percent), education and communication (+3.3 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (+1.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for medical care (-3.1 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for October 2026 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


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.

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

Table 1. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, 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

 334.324 - 333.784 2.3 -0.2 -

All items (1967=100)

 999.936 - 998.319 - - -

Food and beverages

 353.940 - 353.746 2.4 -0.1 -

Food

 354.286 - 353.553 2.4 -0.2 -

Food at home

 311.230 313.925 311.122 3.5 0.0 -0.9

Cereals and bakery products

 380.686 392.917 383.747 4.9 0.8 -2.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 346.473 343.652 345.504 2.7 -0.3 0.5

Dairy and related products

 279.491 279.653 274.063 1.8 -1.9 -2.0

Fruits and vegetables

 329.989 332.017 327.508 2.6 -0.8 -1.4

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 243.696 253.191 244.190 3.3 0.2 -3.6

Other food at home

 275.647 275.577 277.435 4.4 0.6 0.7

Food away from home

 415.392 - 413.488 0.7 -0.5 -

Alcoholic beverages

 344.539 - 351.668 3.5 2.1 -

Housing

 343.718 - 345.398 3.0 0.5 -

Shelter

 399.887 401.550 402.341 2.6 0.6 0.2

Rent of primary residence

 460.128 462.982 466.212 3.3 1.3 0.7

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 421.782 422.937 425.195 3.5 0.8 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 421.782 422.937 425.195 3.5 0.8 0.5

Household furnishings and operations

 147.201 - 145.590 0.8 -1.1 -

Apparel

 124.033 - 121.256 0.9 -2.2 -

Transportation

 286.366 - 288.954 2.4 0.9 -

Private transportation

 294.647 - 298.614 2.0 1.3 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 138.646 - 138.937 1.4 0.2 -

New vehicles(1)

 279.517 - 279.673 0.7 0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 323.172 - 326.137 -2.0 0.9 -

Motor fuel

 338.172 347.319 350.666 26.7 3.7 1.0

Gasoline (all types)

 330.254 339.193 342.311 26.6 3.7 0.9

Unleaded regular(4)

 333.803 343.149 346.052 27.1 3.7 0.8

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 361.227 368.633 371.878 24.9 2.9 0.9

Unleaded premium(4)

 342.808 350.336 355.184 23.8 3.6 1.4

Medical care

 552.265 - 523.420 -3.1 -5.2 -

Recreation(3)

 159.103 - 156.681 1.7 -1.5 -

Education and communication(3)

 165.213 - 167.546 3.3 1.4 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,498.010 - 1,503.429 1.6 0.4 -

Other goods and services

 632.096 - 630.992 5.9 -0.2 -

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 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

 334.324 - 333.784 2.3 -0.2 -

Food

 354.286 - 353.553 2.4 -0.2 -

Energy

 346.722 353.091 352.938 16.8 1.8 0.0

All items less food and energy

 333.649 - 332.640 1.4 -0.3 -

All items less energy

 336.291 - 335.327 1.5 -0.3 -

All items less medical care

 323.546 - 324.370 2.7 0.3 -

All items less shelter

 309.943 - 308.226 2.2 -0.6 -

Commodities

 237.872 - 237.198 1.8 -0.3 -

Commodities less food

 192.074 - 191.432 1.6 -0.3 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 187.365 - 186.515 1.5 -0.5 -

Durables

 131.167 - 130.108 -1.8 -0.8 -

Nondurables

 292.510 - 292.308 3.4 -0.1 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 241.543 - 241.323 5.1 -0.1 -

Nondurables less food

 247.055 - 247.319 4.9 0.1 -

Services

 428.312 - 427.948 2.5 -0.1 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 476.413 - 472.077 2.4 -0.9 -

Services less medical care services

 416.000 - 418.397 3.1 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, September 11, 2026