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

26-1408-PHI
Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria — July 2026

Area prices were up 0.3 percent over the past two months, up 4.0 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in July 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted food index prices were up 1.0 percent. The all items less food and energy index and the energy index also saw increases for the same period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area all items CPI-U rose 4.0 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent, as the energy index advanced 22.9 percent and the food index was up 5.0 percent for the same period.

Food

Food prices increased 1.0 percent from May to July, as did prices for food away from home. Prices for food at home were up 1.0 percent as well, with higher prices for other food at home (+3.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+3.7 percent).

Food prices advanced 5.0 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 5.6 percent as prices for five of the six major food subindexes rose. Within the food at home index, nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials prices were up 17.6 percent, and other food at home prices rose 7.5 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 4.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in July. Gasoline prices declined 9.9 percent.

Energy prices advanced 22.9 percent from July 2025 to July 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index was up 24.8 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles (+1.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (+1.8 percent), and other goods and services (+2.3 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-3.3 percent) and shelter (-0.2 percent) for the same period.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+2.8 percent), household furnishings and operations (+8.6 percent), and other goods and services (+11.4 percent). In contrast, prices for recreation decreased 3.8 percent over the year.

The September 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on October 14, 2026.


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 Washington 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

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. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U by expenditure category for July 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 May
2026		 Jun.
2026		 Jul.
2026		 Jul.
2025		 May
2026		 Jun.
2026

All items

 334.707 - 335.716 4.0 0.3 -

All items (1967=100)

 988.148 - 991.128 - - -

Food and beverages

 328.137 - 331.208 4.7 0.9 -

Food

 338.696 - 342.151 5.0 1.0 -

Food at home

 313.553 315.428 316.730 5.6 1.0 0.4

Cereals and bakery products

 420.340 437.613 435.972 3.1 3.7 -0.4

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 347.147 338.257 344.780 2.8 -0.7 1.9

Dairy and related products

 294.974 290.474 291.453 -2.4 -1.2 0.3

Fruits and vegetables

 311.627 311.265 313.645 6.8 0.6 0.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 310.417 315.906 309.715 17.6 -0.2 -2.0

Other food at home

 256.204 262.828 263.826 7.5 3.0 0.4

Food away from home

 373.363 - 377.208 4.2 1.0 -

Alcoholic beverages

 230.578 - 230.512 1.7 0.0 -

Housing

 355.746 - 358.621 4.6 0.8 -

Shelter

 421.657 422.933 420.950 2.8 -0.2 -0.5

Rent of primary residence

 445.206 446.328 445.589 1.5 0.1 -0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 434.857 435.370 434.875 3.1 0.0 -0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 434.857 435.370 434.875 3.1 0.0 -0.1

Household furnishings and operations

 140.896 - 143.491 8.6 1.8 -

Apparel

 171.964 - 166.279 7.8 -3.3 -

Transportation

 291.609 - 286.280 4.7 -1.8 -

Private transportation

 295.507 - 292.410 1.9 -1.0 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 126.360 - 127.675 -0.6 1.0 -

New vehicles(1)

 228.328 - 228.625 0.3 0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 395.126 - 403.929 -1.8 2.2 -

Motor fuel

 412.847 375.388 371.624 24.3 -10.0 -1.0

Gasoline (all types)

 408.212 371.430 367.782 24.8 -9.9 -1.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

 400.280 362.547 358.886 25.3 -10.3 -1.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 413.717 385.177 381.266 22.9 -7.8 -1.0

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

 429.822 401.462 398.232 21.7 -7.3 -0.8

Medical care

 526.942 - 531.607 -0.4 0.9 -

Recreation(3)

 133.244 - 134.565 -3.8 1.0 -

Education and communication(3)

 174.562 - 176.096 3.2 0.9 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)

 102.188 - 102.385 0.1 0.2 -

Other goods and services

 587.135 - 600.406 11.4 2.3 -

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=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.
(6) Indexes on a December 2024=100 base.

- Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U by special aggregate index for July 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 May
2026		 Jun.
2026		 Jul.
2026		 Jul.
2025		 May
2026		 Jun.
2026

All items

 334.707 - 335.716 4.0 0.3 -

Food

 338.696 - 342.151 5.0 1.0 -

Energy

 345.320 337.576 347.148 22.9 0.5 2.8

All items less food and energy

 341.181 - 341.703 2.8 0.2 -

All items less energy

 339.677 - 340.659 3.1 0.3 -

All items less medical care

 325.739 - 326.579 4.4 0.3 -

All items less shelter

 298.572 - 300.200 4.6 0.5 -

Commodities

 223.818 - 223.955 4.9 0.1 -

Commodities less food

 175.983 - 175.054 4.8 -0.5 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 173.684 - 172.718 5.1 -0.6 -

Durables

 118.559 - 119.919 2.1 1.1 -

Nondurables

 281.377 - 280.219 6.2 -0.4 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 238.164 - 232.483 8.6 -2.4 -

Nondurables less food

 236.404 - 231.350 7.7 -2.1 -

Services

 434.457 - 436.435 3.5 0.5 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 463.408 - 469.149 4.3 1.2 -

Services less medical care services

 423.294 - 425.388 3.8 0.5 -

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: Wednesday, August 12, 2026