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

26-243-PHI
Friday, February 13, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

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

Area prices were up 0.8 percent over the past two months, up 2.7 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in January 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent. (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 advanced 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending in January. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the year. Both food prices and energy prices increased 4.0 percent in the same period.

Food

Food prices advanced 1.7 percent for the two months ending in January. Prices for food at home advanced 2.4 percent with higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, up 12.4 percent for the same period. Prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent.

Food prices increased 4.0 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 4.4 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.4 percent for the two months ending in January. Gasoline prices declined 4.0 percent.

Energy prices advanced 4.0 percent over the year. Over the year, the gasoline index declined 7.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.9 percent) and apparel (+5.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-1.4 percent) as prices for used cars and trucks decreased 4.7 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+3.2 percent) and other goods and services (+8.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-4.3 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent) as prices for used cars and trucks decreased 2.1 percent over the year.

The March 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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 January 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Nov.
2025		 Dec.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Jan.
2025		 Nov.
2025		 Dec.
2025

All items

 324.286 - 326.890 2.7 0.8 -

All items (1967=100)

 957.381 - 965.071 - - -

Food and beverages

 319.237 - 323.912 3.8 1.5 -

Food

 328.506 - 333.957 4.0 1.7 -

Food at home

 302.604 303.470 309.748 4.4 2.4 2.1

Cereals and bakery products

 426.863 419.547 430.244 2.2 0.8 2.5

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 340.986 339.802 337.611 2.7 -1.0 -0.6

Dairy and related products

 295.557 295.546 293.624 0.9 -0.7 -0.7

Fruits and vegetables

 287.650 290.488 304.184 6.4 5.7 4.7

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 267.094 272.763 300.260 13.2 12.4 10.1

Other food at home

 252.838 254.768 255.802 3.8 1.2 0.4

Food away from home

 364.553 - 367.182 3.4 0.7 -

Alcoholic beverages

 232.269 - 230.565 0.8 -0.7 -

Housing

 344.725 - 348.667 3.9 1.1 -

Shelter

 411.028 412.009 414.687 3.2 0.9 0.6

Rent of primary residence

 442.768 442.978 443.341 2.7 0.1 0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 424.803 427.389 428.903 3.6 1.0 0.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 424.803 427.389 428.903 3.6 1.0 0.4

Household furnishings and operations

 135.019 - 136.072 4.0 0.8 -

Apparel

 157.869 - 166.797 9.1 5.7 -

Transportation

 277.089 - 272.930 0.8 -1.5 -

Private transportation

 284.128 - 279.497 -1.5 -1.6 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 127.630 - 125.852 -1.1 -1.4 -

New vehicles(1)

 227.738 - 227.914 0.1 0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 409.744 - 390.672 -2.1 -4.7 -

Motor fuel

 287.607 276.968 276.120 -7.6 -4.0 -0.3

Gasoline (all types)

 283.393 272.832 272.043 -7.6 -4.0 -0.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

 274.588 263.820 263.038 -8.1 -4.2 -0.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 302.448 294.054 293.547 -5.3 -2.9 -0.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

 319.752 311.430 310.632 -4.8 -2.9 -0.3

Medical care

 533.981 - 534.197 0.1 0.0 -

Recreation(3)

 129.841 - 133.232 -4.3 2.6 -

Education and communication(3)

 170.862 - 171.209 1.3 0.2 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,731.497 - 1,744.713 1.9 0.8 -

Other goods and services

 575.814 - 575.799 8.9 0.0 -

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.

- 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 January 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Nov.
2025		 Dec.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Jan.
2025		 Nov.
2025		 Dec.
2025

All items

 324.286 - 326.890 2.7 0.8 -

Food

 328.506 - 333.957 4.0 1.7 -

Energy

 277.301 274.256 281.045 4.0 1.4 2.5

All items less food and energy

 334.338 - 336.412 2.4 0.6 -

All items less energy

 332.342 - 334.928 2.7 0.8 -

All items less medical care

 314.515 - 317.226 3.0 0.9 -

All items less shelter

 288.365 - 290.541 2.5 0.8 -

Commodities

 215.218 - 216.710 2.0 0.7 -

Commodities less food

 168.332 - 168.473 0.7 0.1 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 165.623 - 165.852 0.7 0.1 -

Durables

 118.107 - 116.927 -0.6 -1.0 -

Nondurables

 266.362 - 270.237 3.1 1.5 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 216.170 - 219.413 2.2 1.5 -

Nondurables less food

 217.092 - 219.748 2.0 1.2 -

Services

 423.039 - 426.646 3.1 0.9 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 450.673 - 454.424 3.3 0.8 -

Services less medical care services

 410.964 - 414.880 3.5 1.0 -

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, February 13, 2026