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Wednesday, June 11, 2025
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Boston area advanced 1.1 percent for the two months ending in May 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Mark J. Maggi noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)
The Boston area all items CPI-U advanced 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending in May. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.2 percent, and the food index increased 3.5 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 1.8 percent over the same period.
FoodFood prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in May. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.0 percent. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.7 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups.
Food prices rose 3.5 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home advanced 6.2 percent, and prices for food at home rose 1.4 percent.
EnergyThe energy index ticked up 0.1 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices inched up 0.1 percent.
The energy index decreased 1.8 percent from May 2024 to May 2025. Over the year, gasoline prices fell 16.0 percent.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent during the two-month period. The index for shelter advanced 2.4 percent. Within shelter, prices increased for lodging away from home, as well as for owners’ equivalent rent (+0.7 percent) and for rent of primary residence (+0.7 percent). Other expenditures with higher prices included household furnishings and operations (+2.1 percent) and motor vehicle insurance. In contrast, the index for recreation declined 1.8 percent.
The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent over the year. Prices for shelter rose 4.9 percent, with higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent (+4.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+4.7 percent). A 2.7-percent increase in prices for education and communication included a 4.8-percent rise in tuition, other school fees, and childcare. The index for new and used motor vehicles, a category that includes leased cars and trucks, rose 2.9 percent.
The Consumer Price Index for July 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
In accordance with annual practice, relative importance weights have been updated and are available online in the CPI Supplemental Table of Contents.
Effective with the January 2025 data release, several indexes and average price series were discontinued. More information is available on the CPI discontinued series page. Direct any inquiries to the CPI office using one of the CPI contact information options listed online.
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 Boston 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Core Based Statistical Area includes Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts and Rockingham and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.
Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Expenditure category |
Indexes | Percent change from: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data |
Mar. 2025 |
Apr. 2025 |
May 2025 |
May 2024 |
Mar. 2025 |
Apr. 2025 |
|
All items |
343.972 | - | 347.897 | 3.0 | 1.1 | - | |
All items (1967=100) |
999.764 | - | 1,011.171 | - | - | - | |
Food and beverages |
353.157 | - | 355.564 | 3.5 | 0.7 | - | |
Food |
357.557 | - | 360.553 | 3.5 | 0.8 | - | |
Food at home |
313.993 | 314.037 | 316.254 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | |
Cereals and bakery products |
388.118 | 385.592 | 386.247 | -1.6 | -0.5 | 0.2 | |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs |
348.746 | 341.487 | 345.884 | 6.9 | -0.8 | 1.3 | |
Dairy and related products |
364.085 | 361.982 | 366.648 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 1.3 | |
Fruits and vegetables |
361.699 | 353.262 | 370.991 | -0.3 | 2.6 | 5.0 | |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1) |
206.189 | 216.843 | 208.500 | 2.7 | 1.1 | -3.8 | |
Other food at home |
243.904 | 247.107 | 246.797 | -0.5 | 1.2 | -0.1 | |
Food away from home |
436.344 | - | 440.614 | 6.2 | 1.0 | - | |
Alcoholic beverages |
309.947 | - | 304.951 | 3.5 | -1.6 | - | |
Housing |
377.019 | - | 385.409 | 4.9 | 2.2 | - | |
Shelter |
447.566 | 455.081 | 458.520 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 0.8 | |
Rent of primary residence |
468.119 | 469.733 | 471.244 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | |
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2) |
479.347 | 480.378 | 482.652 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | |
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2) |
479.347 | 480.378 | 482.652 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | |
Household furnishings and operations |
143.626 | - | 146.674 | 0.0 | 2.1 | - | |
Apparel |
143.418 | - | 141.501 | 3.3 | -1.3 | - | |
Transportation |
235.305 | - | 236.659 | -2.0 | 0.6 | - | |
Private transportation |
244.545 | - | 246.680 | -1.2 | 0.9 | - | |
New and used motor vehicles(3) |
141.322 | - | 142.079 | 2.9 | 0.5 | - | |
New vehicles(1) |
240.186 | - | 241.329 | 0.2 | 0.5 | - | |
Used cars and trucks(1) |
424.099 | - | 430.468 | 1.5 | 1.5 | - | |
Motor fuel |
264.481 | 262.111 | 264.686 | -15.9 | 0.1 | 1.0 | |
Gasoline (all types) |
261.908 | 259.559 | 262.112 | -16.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | |
Unleaded regular(4) |
249.960 | 247.674 | 250.211 | -16.8 | 0.1 | 1.0 | |
302.120 | 299.504 | 302.050 | -12.9 | 0.0 | 0.9 | ||
Unleaded premium(4) |
303.306 | 300.862 | 303.210 | -11.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 | |
Medical care |
765.023 | - | 766.193 | 1.2 | 0.2 | - | |
Recreation(3) |
118.385 | - | 116.213 | -0.5 | -1.8 | - | |
Education and communication(3) |
180.396 | - | 180.887 | 2.7 | 0.3 | - | |
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1) |
1,589.441 | - | 1,589.441 | 4.8 | 0.0 | - | |
Other goods and services |
668.975 | - | 672.799 | 4.4 | 0.6 | - | |
Footnotes |
|||||||
- Data not available. |
Special aggregate index |
Indexes | Percent change from: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data |
Mar. 2025 |
Apr. 2025 |
May 2025 |
May 2024 |
Mar. 2025 |
Apr. 2025 |
|
All items |
343.972 | - | 347.897 | 3.0 | 1.1 | - | |
Food |
357.557 | - | 360.553 | 3.5 | 0.8 | - | |
Energy |
311.521 | 298.019 | 311.705 | -1.8 | 0.1 | 4.6 | |
All items less food and energy |
352.331 | - | 356.762 | 3.2 | 1.3 | - | |
All items less energy |
351.689 | - | 355.897 | 3.3 | 1.2 | - | |
All items less medical care |
327.898 | - | 331.885 | 3.1 | 1.2 | - | |
All items less shelter |
304.334 | - | 305.220 | 1.8 | 0.3 | - | |
Commodities |
229.586 | - | 230.559 | 0.5 | 0.4 | - | |
Commodities less food |
174.849 | - | 175.010 | -1.6 | 0.1 | - | |
Commodities less food & beverages |
169.467 | - | 169.790 | -1.9 | 0.2 | - | |
Durables |
118.579 | - | 119.375 | -1.4 | 0.7 | - | |
Nondurables |
288.065 | - | 289.081 | 1.1 | 0.4 | - | |
Nondurables less food |
230.891 | - | 230.209 | -1.9 | -0.3 | - | |
Nondurables less food & beverages |
225.734 | - | 225.365 | -2.5 | -0.2 | - | |
Services |
447.271 | - | 453.821 | 4.2 | 1.5 | - | |
Services less rent of shelter(1) |
461.628 | - | 462.322 | 3.2 | 0.2 | - | |
Services less medical care services |
424.233 | - | 430.932 | 4.5 | 1.6 | - | |
- Data not available. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025