U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

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

25-367-PHI
Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington — February 2025

Area prices up 1.4 percent over the two months, up 3.1 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was up 1.4 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the all items less food and energy index rose 1.3 percent as shelter prices increased 1.2 percent. The energy index advanced 4.9 percent, and the food index increased 0.7 percent. (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 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy also rose 3.1 percent. The food index increased 3.3 percent, and the energy index increased 2.6 percent over the same period.

Food

The food index was up 0.7 percent for the two months ending in February. The index for food at home also rose 0.7 percent, with higher prices in 3 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Within food at home, prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs advanced 4.7 percent. The food away from home index increased 0.7 percent.

The food index rose 3.3 percent over the year as the food away from home index increased 4.7 percent. The food at home index advanced 2.4 percent in the same period. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year, led by meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index, up 11.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.9 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices increased 3.9 percent.

The energy index increased 2.6 percent from February 2024 to February 2025. Over the year, the gasoline index declined 5.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent from December to February. The index for shelter continued to increase, up 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences rose 1.1 percent. Further price increases included medical care (+1.7 percent), and public transportation.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. The shelter index, up 4.2 percent, was the largest contributor to the increase, due in part to the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index advancing 5.1 percent. The medical care index rose 2.7 percent, and the education and communication index increased 1.6 percent, over the year. In contrast, apparel was down 2.2 percent.

The April 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington-Area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13, 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 the Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, 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.

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. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, CPI-U by expenditure category for February 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Dec.
2024		 Jan.
2025		 Feb.
2025		 Feb.
2024		 Dec.
2024		 Jan.
2025

All items

 316.543 - 320.935 3.1 1.4 -

All items (1967=100)

 914.477 - 927.162 - - -

Food and beverages

 306.734 - 308.897 3.2 0.7 -

Food

 309.783 - 311.911 3.3 0.7 -

Food at home

 312.761 308.101 314.853 2.4 0.7 2.2

Cereals and bakery products

 423.192 396.604 405.299 -4.3 -4.2 2.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 351.056 359.097 367.451 11.4 4.7 2.3

Dairy and related products

 246.621 242.417 244.539 -0.1 -0.8 0.9

Fruits and vegetables

 298.251 296.873 302.929 -2.1 1.6 2.0

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 229.835 212.434 222.532 3.4 -3.2 4.8

Other food at home

 293.734 294.066 298.922 2.2 1.8 1.7

Food away from home

 297.154 - 299.259 4.7 0.7 -

Alcoholic beverages

 260.797 - 263.383 2.2 1.0 -

Housing

 340.331 - 345.455 4.0 1.5 -

Shelter

 423.488 424.441 428.505 4.2 1.2 1.0

Rent of primary residence

 401.166 402.983 404.877 5.2 0.9 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 437.266 438.335 442.047 5.1 1.1 0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 437.266 438.335 442.047 5.1 1.1 0.8

Household furnishings and operations

 141.253 - 143.549 -1.5 1.6 -

Apparel

 110.617 - 114.220 -2.2 3.3 -

Transportation

 275.180 - 280.441 4.7 1.9 -

Private transportation

 285.911 - 289.821 3.4 1.4 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 133.382 - 133.386 -0.1 0.0 -

New vehicles(1)

 238.195 - 238.662 -0.2 0.2 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 342.105 - 343.966 1.7 0.5 -

Motor fuel

 278.366 290.343 289.284 -5.1 3.9 -0.4

Gasoline (all types)

 274.844 286.628 285.569 -5.1 3.9 -0.4

Unleaded regular(4)

 268.686 280.954 279.809 -5.2 4.1 -0.4

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 294.541 303.603 303.013 -4.5 2.9 -0.2

Unleaded premium(4)

 294.462 303.046 302.499 -4.3 2.7 -0.2

Medical care

 596.289 - 606.573 2.7 1.7 -

Recreation(3)

 137.140 - 137.857 -1.2 0.5 -

Education and communication(3)

 141.115 - 141.067 1.6 0.0 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,194.464 - 1,196.262 3.3 0.2 -

Other goods and services

 693.098 - 719.074 2.5 3.7 -

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

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Dec.
2024		 Jan.
2025		 Feb.
2025		 Feb.
2024		 Dec.
2024		 Jan.
2025

All items

 316.543 - 320.935 3.1 1.4 -

Food

 309.783 - 311.911 3.3 0.7 -

Energy

 249.551 261.357 261.791 2.6 4.9 0.2

All items less food and energy

 332.295 - 336.493 3.1 1.3 -

All items less energy

 326.236 - 330.099 3.1 1.2 -

All items less medical care

 304.606 - 308.750 3.2 1.4 -

All items less shelter

 279.656 - 283.935 2.5 1.5 -

Commodities

 221.256 - 223.470 0.3 1.0 -

Commodities less food

 179.178 - 181.398 -2.1 1.2 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 175.759 - 177.959 -2.4 1.3 -

Durables

 126.530 - 126.464 -3.2 -0.1 -

Nondurables

 263.510 - 267.188 1.3 1.4 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 218.082 - 223.702 -1.4 2.6 -

Nondurables less food

 220.875 - 226.241 -1.1 2.4 -

Services

 410.842 - 417.222 4.6 1.6 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 404.779 - 413.141 5.2 2.1 -

Services less medical care services

 396.058 - 402.122 4.8 1.5 -

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: Wednesday, March 12, 2025