The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area increased 1.2 percent for the two months ending in September 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent, and the index for energy rose 5.8 percent. The index for food was up 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area all items CPI-U increased 4.0 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The index for all items less food and energy was up 3.6 percent over the year. Energy prices advanced 18.9 percent, while food prices rose 3.1 percent.

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Sep 2026	4.0	3.6

View Chart Data

Food

The food index rose 1.1 percent for the two months ending in September. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 1.5 percent, and the food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.5 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, the indexes for other food at home (+2.7 percent), fruits and vegetables (+2.5 percent), and meats, poultry, fish and eggs (+2.0 percent) contributed most to the increase. The index for dairy and related products fell 2.0 percent over the two-month period.

Food prices advanced 3.1 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home rose 3.8 percent, and prices for food at home increased 2.7 percent. Five of the six grocery store categories rose over the year, with the index for fruits and vegetables (+8.1 percent) leading the increases.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.8 percent for the two months ending in September. The gasoline index increased 8.2 percent over the two-month period.

From September 2025 to September 2026, energy prices advanced 18.9 percent. Over the same period, gasoline prices increased 29.0 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.0 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+1.5 percent) and apparel (+3.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-1.0 percent) and other goods and services (-0.8 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+2.7 percent), medical care (+3.0 percent), and education and communication (+3.8 percent).

The November 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 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 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 September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All items		349.209	-	353.428	4.0	1.2	-
All items (1967=100)		1,164.467	-	1,178.536	-	-	-
Food and beverages		322.140	-	325.375	3.3	1.0	-
Food		330.311	-	333.831	3.1	1.1	-
Food at home		287.973	288.763	292.337	2.7	1.5	1.2
Cereals and bakery products		353.450	354.384	355.171	1.1	0.5	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		298.310	299.467	304.375	-0.3	2.0	1.6
Dairy and related products		244.554	241.696	239.691	3.2	-2.0	-0.8
Fruits and vegetables		331.585	335.508	339.819	8.1	2.5	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		198.418	198.494	198.790	0.5	0.2	0.1
Other food at home		251.512	252.150	258.211	3.1	2.7	2.4
Food away from home		391.674	-	393.559	3.8	0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages		250.817	-	251.008	5.8	0.1	-
Housing		351.163	-	355.591	2.6	1.3	-
Shelter		409.398	409.339	415.540	2.4	1.5	1.5
Rent of primary residence		412.153	411.927	413.112	0.9	0.2	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		413.591	414.185	416.064	2.7	0.6	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		413.591	414.185	416.064	2.7	0.6	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		158.218	-	157.161	3.6	-0.7	-
Apparel		122.394	-	126.977	8.5	3.7	-
Transportation		361.505	-	373.094	9.0	3.2	-
Private transportation		359.160	-	362.291	3.7	0.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		134.723	-	134.696	-0.1	0.0	-
New vehicles(1)		259.674	-	259.812	0.3	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		366.659	-	365.891	-1.4	-0.2	-
Motor fuel		322.904	352.971	351.581	30.1	8.9	-0.4
Gasoline (all types)		318.974	348.022	345.045	29.0	8.2	-0.9
Unleaded regular(4)		309.077	338.494	335.432	29.8	8.5	-0.9
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		318.554	345.391	342.100	27.4	7.4	-1.0
Unleaded premium(4)		352.570	379.583	377.044	26.0	6.9	-0.7
Medical care		794.869	-	795.478	3.0	0.1	-
Recreation(3)		197.438	-	195.478	1.4	-1.0	-
Education and communication(3)		134.649	-	134.020	3.8	-0.5	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		104.356	-	104.139	0.6	-0.2	-
Other goods and services		500.261	-	496.351	1.2	-0.8	-
(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 September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All items		349.209	-	353.428	4.0	1.2	-
Food		330.311	-	333.831	3.1	1.1	-
Energy		254.406	268.837	269.224	18.9	5.8	0.1
All items less food and energy		367.505	-	371.180	3.6	1.0	-
All items less energy		360.606	-	364.243	3.5	1.0	-
All items less medical care		328.740	-	333.033	4.1	1.3	-
All items less shelter		320.050	-	323.388	4.9	1.0	-
Commodities		221.511	-	223.225	3.6	0.8	-
Commodities less food		177.535	-	178.605	4.0	0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		174.516	-	175.605	3.9	0.6	-
Durables		132.514	-	130.730	-0.1	-1.3	-
Nondurables		271.120	-	276.046	5.5	1.8	-
Nondurables less food		223.786	-	229.919	9.2	2.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		221.764	-	228.364	9.5	3.0	-
Services		463.146	-	469.769	4.2	1.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		537.699	-	544.845	6.2	1.3	-
Services less medical care services		435.524	-	442.429	4.2	1.6	-
(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.