The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the St. Louis area increased 0.2 percent for the two months ending in August 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that prices for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent. The index for food declined 0.1 percent, and the index for energy fell 1.1 percent over the two-month period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The St. Louis area all items CPI-U rose 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. Energy prices advanced 12.9 percent, and food prices were up 2.1 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, St. Louis, MO-IL, August 2023–August 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2023	3.1	3.7
Oct 2023	3.1	3.8
Dec 2023	2.8	3.6
Feb 2024	3.6	4.8
Apr 2024	4.0	4.2
Jun 2024	3.4	4.3
Aug 2024	3.3	4.1
Oct 2024	2.6	3.5
Dec 2024	3.1	3.4
Feb 2025	2.0	2.2
Apr 2025	2.2	2.9
Jun 2025	2.5	3.0
Aug 2025	2.6	3.2
Oct 2025	-	-
Dec 2025	2.0	1.8
Feb 2026	2.4	2.3
Apr 2026	3.5	2.4
Jun 2026	2.9	1.9
Aug 2026	2.9	2.2
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Food prices declined 0.1 percent for the two months ending in August. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) declined 0.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period. Within the food at home index, the category for other food at home (-0.9 percent) led the declines, while the category for cereals and bakery products (+1.0 percent) led the increases.

Food prices rose 2.1 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.7 percent, and prices for food at home increased 1.0 percent. Four of the six grocery store categories rose over the twelve-month period. The category for fruits and vegetables led the increases in the food at home index, rising 3.7 percent.

The energy index declined 1.1 percent for the two months ending in August. Gasoline prices were down 2.0 percent.

From August 2025 to August 2026, energy prices rose 12.9 percent. Gasoline prices were up 29.6 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.4 percent), tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+3.8 percent), and recreation (+1.1 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for public transportation, lodging away from home, and medical care commodities.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 percent over the year. Components contributing to the rise included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.8 percent), rent of primary residence (+4.0 percent), and medical care services. In contrast, prices were lower for medical care commodities, recreation (-1.0 percent), and used cars and trucks (-2.6 percent).

The October 2026 Consumer Price Index for the St. Louis area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 10, 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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis, MO-IL, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release includes Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties in Illinois; and Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, and Warren counties and St. Louis City in Missouri.

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. St. Louis, MO-IL, 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		302.095	-	302.675	2.9	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)		897.271	-	898.995	-	-	-
Food and beverages		345.572	-	345.026	2.2	-0.2	-
Food		345.524	-	345.133	2.1	-0.1	-
Food at home		302.849	303.591	302.269	1.0	-0.2	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products		255.643	248.070	258.143	-1.0	1.0	4.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		298.813	297.965	299.865	1.4	0.4	0.6
Dairy and related products		188.504	189.766	190.502	3.9	1.1	0.4
Fruits and vegetables		446.160	453.846	443.639	3.7	-0.6	-2.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		249.587	245.384	246.704	4.0	-1.2	0.5
Other food at home		319.011	324.858	316.293	-2.1	-0.9	-2.6
Food away from home		419.395	-	419.370	3.7	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages		317.533	-	314.466	4.5	-1.0	-
Housing		306.724	-	309.234	3.0	0.8	-
Shelter		362.938	364.138	366.846	4.2	1.1	0.7
Rent of primary residence		331.815	333.395	335.203	4.0	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		381.492	384.118	386.854	4.8	1.4	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		381.492	384.118	386.854	4.8	1.4	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		150.215	-	149.898	0.6	-0.2	-
Apparel		148.333	-	146.679	4.0	-1.1	-
Transportation		263.329	-	259.798	4.2	-1.3	-
Private transportation		268.450	-	266.921	4.7	-0.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		118.304	-	117.981	-0.1	-0.3	-
New vehicles(1)		263.762	-	264.572	0.7	0.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		402.453	-	401.920	-2.6	-0.1	-
Motor fuel		375.628	358.284	368.305	30.1	-1.9	2.8
Gasoline (all types)		367.378	350.739	359.931	29.6	-2.0	2.6
Unleaded regular(4)		353.083	336.862	345.765	30.0	-2.1	2.6
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		446.529	426.714	437.948	27.6	-1.9	2.6
Unleaded premium(4)		385.048	369.883	378.824	26.4	-1.6	2.4
Medical care		547.672	-	546.856	1.6	-0.1	-
Recreation(3)		136.763	-	138.325	-1.0	1.1	-
Education and communication(3)		154.922	-	156.842	2.2	1.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,476.042	-	1,532.418	5.7	3.8	-
Other goods and services		423.783	-	429.914	5.3	1.4	-
(1) Index is on a March 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) 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. St. Louis, MO-IL, 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		302.095	-	302.675	2.9	0.2	-
Food		345.524	-	345.133	2.1	-0.1	-
Energy		337.800	327.820	334.065	12.9	-1.1	1.9
All items less food and energy		297.573	-	298.689	2.2	0.4	-
All items less energy		304.203	-	305.101	2.3	0.3	-
All items less medical care		289.748	-	290.395	3.1	0.2	-
All items less shelter		283.344	-	282.808	2.4	-0.2	-
Commodities		238.324	-	237.175	3.4	-0.5	-
Commodities less food		192.157	-	190.833	3.5	-0.7	-
Commodities less food & beverages		187.097	-	185.824	3.5	-0.7	-
Durables		121.415	-	121.342	-0.9	-0.1	-
Nondurables		306.147	-	304.116	5.3	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food		270.803	-	267.435	8.2	-1.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		265.578	-	262.229	8.4	-1.3	-
Services		367.998	-	370.520	2.6	0.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		381.797	-	382.777	1.0	0.3	-
Services less medical care services		349.798	-	352.308	2.5	0.7	-
(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.