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

26-744-KAN
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

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

Consumer Price Index, St. Louis area – April 2026

Area prices rose 2.3 percent in March and April, up 3.5 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the St. Louis area advanced 2.3 percent for the two months ending in April 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the energy index increased 22.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent, and the index for food was up 0.1 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 advanced 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 21.0 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 St. Louis, not seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Food

The food index increased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 0.5 percent, and the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) declined 0.5 percent for the same period. Within the food at home index, the categories for other food at home (+1.7 percent) and fruits and vegetables (+2.3 percent) led the increases. The index for cereals and bakery products declined 2.2 percent over the same period.

Food prices were up 1.8 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home increased 2.4 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 1.3 percent. Four of the six grocery store categories rose over the year, with the index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+7.4 percent) leading the increases.

Energy

The energy index advanced 22.5 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for gasoline increased 44.0 percent, the largest two-month rise since the index began in March 1978. 

From April 2025 to April 2026, energy prices advanced 21.0 percent. Gasoline prices were up 32.1 percent over the 12-month period. This was the largest over-the-year increase since August 2022.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.6 percent), medical care services, and public transportation. In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations and apparel, with both indexes declining 0.9 percent in March and April.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+2.5 percent), medical care services, and household furnishings and operations (+6.2 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-2.1 percent).

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the St. Louis area is scheduled to be released on July 14, 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 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 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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)



Expenditure category


Indexes
Percent change from:




Historical
data		
Feb.
2026		
Mar.
2026		
Apr.
2026		
Apr.
2025		
Feb.
2026		
Mar.
2026		








All items





293.679
-
300.496
3.5
2.3
-






All items (1967=100)





872.276
-
892.524
-
-
-






Food and beverages





343.706
-
345.093
1.9
0.4
-






Food





344.769
-
345.025
1.8
0.1
-






Food at home





302.225
302.807
303.819
1.3
0.5
0.3






Cereals and bakery products





263.389
264.353
257.631
-0.4
-2.2
-2.5






Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs





301.943
300.536
299.796
-0.6
-0.7
-0.2






Dairy and related products





189.173
189.692
190.480
2.3
0.7
0.4






Fruits and vegetables





434.596
431.112
444.437
0.5
2.3
3.1






Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)





244.263
237.922
245.771
7.4
0.6
3.3






Other food at home





316.817
323.386
322.070
0.6
1.7
-0.4






Food away from home





418.410
-
416.132
2.4
-0.5
-






Alcoholic beverages





297.432
-
317.414
5.1
6.7
-






Housing





297.852
-
301.350
3.3
1.2
-






Shelter





353.239
354.501
358.780
2.2
1.6
1.2






Rent of primary residence





322.661
323.401
328.436
1.9
1.8
1.6






Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)





371.708
373.162
377.630
2.5
1.6
1.2






Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)





371.708
373.162
377.630
2.5
1.6
1.2






Household furnishings and operations





153.128
-
151.794
6.2
-0.9
-






Apparel





153.277
-
151.935
6.4
-0.9
-






Transportation





241.695
-
263.378
5.1
9.0
-






Private transportation





246.252
-
267.853
4.9
8.8
-






New and used motor vehicles(3)





114.329
-
115.477
-2.3
1.0
-






New vehicles(1)





262.608
-
263.336
0.0
0.3
-






Used cars and trucks(1)





385.786
-
390.781
-2.1
1.3
-






Motor fuel





262.065
328.996
377.731
32.9
44.1
14.8






Gasoline (all types)





256.458
321.776
369.417
32.1
44.0
14.8






Unleaded regular(4)





245.082
308.940
355.345
32.5
45.0
15.0






Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)





319.814
392.036
445.617
29.8
39.3
13.7






Unleaded premium(4)





282.439
340.356
384.496
28.3
36.1
13.0






Medical care





539.145
-
551.282
4.1
2.3
-






Recreation(3)





139.252
-
140.056
0.7
0.6
-






Education and communication(3)





154.853
-
154.452
3.3
-0.3
-






Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)





1,476.042
-
1,476.042
3.7
0.0
-






Other goods and services





403.561
-
415.117
2.1
2.9
-









(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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)



Special aggregate index


Indexes
Percent change from:




Historical
data		
Feb.
2026		
Mar.
2026		
Apr.
2026		
Apr.
2025		
Feb.
2026		
Mar.
2026		








All items





293.679
-
300.496
3.5
2.3
-






Food





344.769
-
345.025
1.8
0.1
-






Energy





261.410
295.345
320.336
21.0
22.5
8.5






All items less food and energy





293.393
-
297.086
2.4
1.3
-






All items less energy





300.521
-
303.715
2.4
1.1
-






All items less medical care





281.354
-
287.903
3.4
2.3
-






All items less shelter





275.312
-
282.597
4.0
2.6
-






Commodities





230.098
-
238.102
4.1
3.5
-






Commodities less food





182.046
-
192.033
4.9
5.5
-






Commodities less food & beverages





177.316
-
186.974
5.0
5.4
-






Durables





120.023
-
120.112
-0.2
0.1
-






Nondurables





292.546
-
307.152
6.1
5.0
-






Nondurables less food





246.719
-
273.039
10.5
10.7
-






Nondurables less food & beverages





241.535
-
267.913
10.8
10.9
-






Services





359.540
-
364.878
3.1
1.5
-






Services less rent of shelter(1)





374.635
-
379.815
3.9
1.4
-






Services less medical care services





341.559
-
346.045
2.7
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.








        

	

    
 

    	
Last Modified Date:  Tuesday, May 12, 2026