The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area fell 0.7 percent for the two months ending in July 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the energy index decreased 9.6 percent. The all items less food and energy index was down 0.4 percent, while the food index rose 0.8 percent over the two-month period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area all items CPI-U increased 3.9 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent, and the energy index was up 17.2 percent. The food index rose 3.4 percent over the same period.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, July 2023–July 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jul 2023	4.7	5.8
Sep 2023	5.4	5.4
Nov 2023	4.5	4.8
Jan 2024	3.5	4.1
Mar 2024	2.8	3.4
May 2024	2.6	2.7
Jul 2024	1.9	2.4
Sep 2024	1.4	2.0
Nov 2024	2.0	2.5
Jan 2025	2.3	2.4
Mar 2025	1.9	2.3
May 2025	2.2	2.7
Jul 2025	2.1	2.7
Sep 2025	3.1	3.7
Nov 2025	2.2	2.7
Jan 2026	2.6	3.3
Mar 2026	4.2	4.2
May 2026	5.0	4.7
Jul 2026	3.9	3.5

The food index increased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in July. The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 1.0 percent, and the index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.6 percent for the same period. Within the food at home index, the categories for cereals and bakery products (+4.4 percent) and dairy and related products (+2.7 percent) led the increases. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined 0.9 percent over the same period.

Food prices were up 3.4 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home increased 4.1 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 2.9 percent. Five of the six grocery store categories rose over the year, with the index for fruits and vegetables (+7.3 percent) leading the increases.

The energy index declined 9.6 percent for the two months ending in July. The index for gasoline was down 14.4 percent.

From July 2025 to July 2026, energy prices increased 17.2 percent. Gasoline prices were up 25.6 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.4 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for lodging away from home, public transportation, and apparel (-3.6 percent). In contrast, prices were higher for medical care (+2.8 percent), education and communication (+3.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+2.9 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners' equivalent rent of residences (+2.7 percent), public transportation, and medical care services. In contrast, prices were lower for lodging away from home.

The September 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

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 Denver 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, Core Based Statistical Area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

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Table 1. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, 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		351.621	-	349.209	3.9	-0.7	-
All items (1967=100)		1,172.509	-	1,164.467	-	-	-
Food and beverages		319.795	-	322.140	3.6	0.7	-
Food		327.716	-	330.311	3.4	0.8	-
Food at home		286.210	284.218	287.973	2.9	0.6	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		338.650	359.121	353.450	4.9	4.4	-1.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		301.003	299.690	298.310	2.0	-0.9	-0.5
Dairy and related products		238.212	235.969	244.554	5.3	2.7	3.6
Fruits and vegetables		330.936	323.683	331.585	7.3	0.2	2.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		199.004	195.815	198.418	-0.3	-0.3	1.3
Other food at home		251.085	246.024	251.512	0.9	0.2	2.2
Food away from home		387.713	-	391.674	4.1	1.0	-
Alcoholic beverages		251.184	-	250.817	7.4	-0.1	-
Housing		354.513	-	351.163	2.6	-0.9	-
Shelter		414.936	406.595	409.398	2.0	-1.3	0.7
Rent of primary residence		411.339	411.376	412.153	0.3	0.2	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		412.982	412.581	413.591	2.7	0.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		412.982	412.581	413.591	2.7	0.1	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		153.810	-	158.218	6.3	2.9	-
Apparel		126.961	-	122.394	11.3	-3.6	-
Transportation		374.815	-	361.505	5.8	-3.6	-
Private transportation		367.941	-	359.160	3.1	-2.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.207	-	134.723	-0.9	1.1	-
New vehicles(1)		259.258	-	259.674	0.5	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		357.430	-	366.659	-2.4	2.6	-
Motor fuel		377.541	324.949	322.904	25.8	-14.5	-0.6
Gasoline (all types)		372.726	320.887	318.974	25.6	-14.4	-0.6
Unleaded regular(4)		363.458	311.126	309.077	26.2	-15.0	-0.7
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		368.611	320.300	318.554	24.7	-13.6	-0.5
Unleaded premium(4)		402.798	353.885	352.570	23.3	-12.5	-0.4
Medical care		773.349	-	794.869	3.8	2.8	-
Recreation(3)		196.027	-	197.438	3.5	0.7	-
Education and communication(3)		130.655	-	134.649	4.2	3.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		103.498	-	104.356	3.5	0.8	-
Other goods and services		508.841	-	500.261	3.1	-1.7	-
(1) Indexes is on a January 1978=100 base. (2) Index is on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Index 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. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, 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		351.621	-	349.209	3.9	-0.7	-
Food		327.716	-	330.311	3.4	0.8	-
Energy		281.557	256.105	254.406	17.2	-9.6	-0.7
All items less food and energy		369.032	-	367.505	3.5	-0.4	-
All items less energy		361.539	-	360.606	3.4	-0.3	-
All items less medical care		331.974	-	328.740	3.9	-1.0	-
All items less shelter		321.060	-	320.050	4.9	-0.3	-
Commodities		222.393	-	221.511	4.4	-0.4	-
Commodities less food		179.473	-	177.535	5.2	-1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		176.488	-	174.516	5.1	-1.1	-
Durables		129.448	-	132.514	1.7	2.4	-
Nondurables		275.817	-	271.120	5.9	-1.7	-
Nondurables less food		234.588	-	223.786	9.6	-4.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		233.385	-	221.764	9.8	-5.0	-
Services		467.036	-	463.146	3.5	-0.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		538.734	-	537.699	5.4	-0.2	-
Services less medical care services		441.053	-	435.524	3.4	-1.3	-
(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.