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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Mountain-Plains > News Release
News Release Information

26-1512-KAN
Friday, September 11, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Consumer Price Index, St. Louis area — August 2026

Area prices rose 0.2 percent in July and August, up 2.9 percent over the year

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.

  Line chart of 12-month percent changes in the CPI-U all items and all items less food and energy for St. Louis, not seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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.


				
				

        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 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.








        

	

    
 

    	
Last Modified Date:  Friday, September 11, 2026