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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Northeast > News Release
News Release Information

26-613-BOS
Friday, April 10, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (646) 264-3600

Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton — March 2026

Area prices up 0.7 percent over the two months, 2.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Boston-Cambridge-Newton was up 0.7 percent from January to March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Michael G. Phinney noted that the indexes for all items less food and energy (+0.5 percent), food (+1.4 percent), and energy (+1.6 percent) advanced over the bi-monthly period. (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 2.0 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent. Over the same period, the indexes for food and energy increased 2.5 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

  Line chart of 12-month percent changes in the Consumer Price Index CPI-U for all items and all items less food and energy for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, March 2023 to March 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Food

The food index advanced 1.4 percent from January to March. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 2.5 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. In comparison, the food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) declined 0.3 percent.

The food index rose 2.5 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 2.2 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 2.8 percent. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year, with increases ranging from 5.2 percent for fruits and vegetables to 11.4 percent for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.6 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices advanced 19.4 percent.

The energy index rose 4.9 percent from March 2025 to March 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index advanced 18.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent from January to March. Within shelter (+0.7 percent), prices rose for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.8 percent), rent of primary residence (+0.1 percent), and lodging away from home. Other indexes contributing to the increase included medical care (+0.7 percent), apparel (+2.1 percent), and airline fares.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent over the year. The shelter index (+2.3 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, reflecting increases in owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.3 percent) and rent of primary residence (+3.4 percent). Other categories with increases included tuition, other school fees, and childcare, which rose 5.2 percent.

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Boston area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


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 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.

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

Table 1. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Mar.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026

All items

 348.343 - 350.705 2.0 0.7 -

All items (1967=100)

 1,012.467 - 1,019.333 - - -

Food and beverages

 357.355 - 361.248 2.3 1.1 -

Food

 361.694 - 366.618 2.5 1.4 -

Food at home

 313.195 318.252 320.888 2.2 2.5 0.8

Cereals and bakery products

 378.694 386.513 379.293 -2.3 0.2 -1.9

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 328.894 338.319 333.510 -4.4 1.4 -1.4

Dairy and related products

 356.836 359.091 353.783 -2.8 -0.9 -1.5

Fruits and vegetables

 379.648 375.126 380.660 5.2 0.3 1.5

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 224.123 230.571 229.618 11.4 2.5 -0.4

Other food at home

 242.520 246.021 258.572 6.0 6.6 5.1

Food away from home

 450.082 - 448.596 2.8 -0.3 -

Alcoholic beverages

 313.699 - 309.466 -0.2 -1.3 -

Housing

 384.671 - 384.709 2.0 0.0 -

Shelter

 454.572 457.884 457.938 2.3 0.7 0.0

Rent of primary residence

 483.368 483.483 483.919 3.4 0.1 0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 496.263 498.639 500.127 4.3 0.8 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 496.263 498.639 500.127 4.3 0.8 0.3

Household furnishings and operations

 149.111 - 148.975 3.7 -0.1 -

Apparel

 128.934 - 131.624 -8.2 2.1 -

Transportation

 237.971 - 243.964 3.7 2.5 -

Private transportation

 246.133 - 251.416 2.8 2.1 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 139.484 - 139.014 -1.6 -0.3 -

New vehicles(1)

 240.448 - 241.004 0.3 0.2 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

 411.932 - 406.964 -4.0 -1.2 -

Motor fuel

 262.138 261.030 312.996 18.3 19.4 19.9

Gasoline (all types)

 259.582 258.484 309.936 18.3 19.4 19.9

Unleaded regular(4)

 247.246 246.061 297.724 19.1 20.4 21.0

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 302.867 302.063 348.344 15.3 15.0 15.3

Unleaded premium(4)

 303.545 303.136 347.478 14.6 14.5 14.6

Medical care

 752.354 - 757.409 -1.0 0.7 -

Recreation(3)

 121.580 - 120.866 2.1 -0.6 -

Education and communication(3)

 184.798 - 185.806 3.0 0.5 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,662.595 - 1,671.844 5.2 0.6 -

Other goods and services

 687.612 - 699.674 4.6 1.8 -

Footnotes
(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. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Mar.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026

All items

 348.343 - 350.705 2.0 0.7 -

Food

 361.694 - 366.618 2.5 1.4 -

Energy

 321.742 290.909 326.840 4.9 1.6 12.4

All items less food and energy

 356.474 - 358.300 1.7 0.5 -

All items less energy

 355.821 - 358.048 1.8 0.6 -

All items less medical care

 332.819 - 335.078 2.2 0.7 -

All items less shelter

 307.614 - 309.577 1.7 0.6 -

Commodities

 228.885 - 233.427 1.7 2.0 -

Commodities less food

 172.226 - 176.286 0.8 2.4 -

Commodities less food & beverages

 166.648 - 171.019 0.9 2.6 -

Durables

 117.946 - 117.992 -0.5 0.0 -

Nondurables

 287.417 - 295.498 2.6 2.8 -

Nondurables less food

 226.024 - 236.134 2.3 4.5 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

 220.184 - 231.909 2.7 5.3 -

Services

 456.113 - 456.158 2.0 0.0 -

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 473.612 - 468.706 1.5 -1.0 -

Services less medical care services

 433.738 - 433.031 2.1 -0.2 -

Footnotes
(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, April 10, 2026