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

26-896-KAN
Wednesday, June 10, 2026

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

Consumer Price Index, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area — May 2026

Area prices rose 1.8 percent in April and May, up 5.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area advanced 1.8 percent for the two months ending in May 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent, and the index for energy rose 15.0 percent. The index for food was up 0.4 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 5.0 percent for the 12 months ending in May. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.7 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 25.3 percent, while food prices were up 1.8 percent.

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

The food index increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in May. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 0.7 percent, and the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.2 percent for the same period. Within the food at home index, the index for fruits and vegetables (+5.7 percent) led the rise. The indexes for other food at home (-1.1 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-2.9 percent) declined over the two-month period.

The index for food rose 1.8 percent over the year. The index for food away from home increased 2.9 percent, and the food at home index advanced 1.1 percent. A 4.0-percent rise in the index for fruits and vegetables contributed most to the 12-month increase in the food at home category.

Energy

The energy index rose 15.0 percent for the two months ending in May. The index for gasoline increased 24.3 percent for the same period.

From May 2025 to May 2026, energy prices advanced 25.3 percent. Gasoline prices were up 41.8 percent over the 12-month period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for public transportation, owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.7 percent), and other goods and services (+2.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-2.7 percent) and medical care (-0.9 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.7 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.2 percent), public transportation, and recreation (+5.6 percent).

The July 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

Effective with this release, several CPI series were rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes that were rebased is available at https://www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm.


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 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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services

Table 1. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, CPI-U by expenditure category for May 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026		 May
2026		 May
2025		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026

All items

 345.416 - 351.621 5.0 1.8 -

All items (1967=100)

 1,151.818 - 1,172.509 - - -

Food and beverages

 318.338 - 319.795 2.2 0.5 -

Food

 326.251 - 327.716 1.8 0.4 -

Food at home

 284.322 283.601 286.210 1.1 0.7 0.9

Cereals and bakery products

 348.868 349.082 338.650 0.0 -2.9 -3.0

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 296.518 300.494 301.003 0.3 1.5 0.2

Dairy and related products

 239.470 232.826 238.212 -1.4 -0.5 2.3

Fruits and vegetables

 313.133 326.721 330.936 4.0 5.7 1.3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 195.712 200.655 199.004 0.8 1.7 -0.8

Other food at home

 253.933 243.867 251.085 1.4 -1.1 3.0

Food away from home

 387.057 - 387.713 2.9 0.2 -

Alcoholic beverages

 249.721 - 251.184 8.0 0.6 -

Housing

 352.695 - 354.513 3.7 0.5 -

Shelter

 411.650 408.877 414.936 3.8 0.8 1.5

Rent of primary residence

 411.436 410.721 411.339 0.2 0.0 0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 410.017 411.746 412.982 4.2 0.7 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 410.017 411.746 412.982 4.2 0.7 0.3

Household furnishings and operations

 158.017 - 153.810 2.8 -2.7 -

Apparel

 123.746 - 126.961 13.9 2.6 -

Transportation

 348.623 - 374.815 10.8 7.5 -

Private transportation

 352.760 - 367.941 6.9 4.3 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 132.336 - 133.207 -1.0 0.7 -

New vehicles(1)

 258.964 - 259.258 0.2 0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 348.456 - 357.430 -2.5 2.6 -

Motor fuel

 304.161 326.298 377.541 42.4 24.1 15.7

Gasoline (all types)

 299.772 320.729 372.726 41.8 24.3 16.2

Unleaded regular(4)

 290.191 311.359 363.458 43.2 25.2 16.7

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 299.683 319.255 368.611 39.9 23.0 15.5

Unleaded premium(4)

 332.498 352.174 402.798 37.0 21.1 14.4

Medical care

 780.537 - 773.349 3.1 -0.9 -

Recreation(3)

 194.025 - 196.027 5.6 1.0 -

Education and communication(3)

 129.616 - 130.655 0.2 0.8 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 103.530 - 103.498 3.6 0.0 -

Other goods and services

 496.930 - 508.841 4.9 2.4 -

(1) Index 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) 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. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, CPI-U by special aggregate index for May 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026		 May
2026		 May
2025		 Mar.
2026		 Apr.
2026

All items

 345.416 - 351.621 5.0 1.8 -

Food

 326.251 - 327.716 1.8 0.4 -

Energy

 244.769 254.380 281.557 25.3 15.0 10.7

All items less food and energy

 364.086 - 369.032 4.7 1.4 -

All items less energy

 357.110 - 361.539 4.3 1.2 -

All items less medical care

 325.372 - 331.974 5.2 2.0 -

All items less shelter

 313.608 - 321.060 5.7 2.4 -

Commodities

 218.386 - 222.393 4.3 1.8 -

Commodities less food

 174.841 - 179.473 5.9 2.6 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 171.792 - 176.488 5.9 2.7 -

Durables

 129.687 - 129.448 -0.5 -0.2 -

Nondurables

 268.258 - 275.817 6.8 2.8 -

Nondurables less food

 221.902 - 234.588 13.7 5.7 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 219.818 - 233.385 14.2 6.2 -

Services

 458.882 - 467.036 5.3 1.8 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 523.164 - 538.734 7.8 3.0 -

Services less medical care services

 432.268 - 441.053 5.4 2.0 -

(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, June 10, 2026