The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Boston area was up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in July 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Mark J. Maggi noted that prices rose for all items less food and energy (+0.7 percent), while prices declined for energy (-4.9 percent) and food (-0.5 percent). (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Boston area all items CPI-U rose 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent. Energy prices increased 16.0 percent, and food prices increased 3.1 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, July 2023–July 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jul 2023	2.8	4.0
Sep 2023	2.6	3.0
Nov 2023	2.4	3.4
Jan 2024	2.0	3.0
Mar 2024	3.3	4.4
May 2024	4.0	4.5
Jul 2024	3.5	3.7
Sep 2024	3.4	4.2
Nov 2024	3.1	3.7
Jan 2025	3.9	4.4
Mar 2025	2.5	2.9
May 2025	3.0	3.2
Jul 2025	3.2	3.5
Sep 2025	3.3	3.3
Nov 2025	2.8	3.0
Jan 2026	1.4	1.5
Mar 2026	2.0	1.7
May 2026	3.2	1.9
Jul 2026	3.7	3.0

Food prices declined 0.5 percent for the two months ending in July. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) fell 1.0 percent, with lower prices in all six major grocery store food groups. Conversely, prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.3 percent.

Food prices increased 3.1 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 3.2 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 2.8 percent. Among the six major grocery store food groups, dairy and related products (-2.9 percent) recorded the only price decrease over the year.

The energy index decreased 4.9 percent for the two months ending in July. Gasoline prices declined 9.2 percent.

The energy index increased 16.0 percent from July 2025 to July 2026. Over the year, the gasoline index advanced 30.5 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent during the two-month period. The shelter index (+1.6 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, with increases in owners’ equivalent rent (+1.0 percent), rent of primary residence (+0.8 percent), and lodging away from home. Prices also rose for new and used motor vehicles (+1.1 percent) and medical care (+0.8 percent). In contrast, apparel prices, often down this time of year, fell 6.0 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+4.7 percent) and education and communication (+4.5 percent). Within shelter, prices rose for owners’ equivalent rent (+3.9 percent), rent of primary residence (+3.3 percent), and lodging away from home.

The September 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Boston area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	May 2026	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Jul. 2025	May 2026	Jun. 2026
All items		359.056	-	359.707	3.7	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)		1,043.607	-	1,045.500	-	-	-
Food and beverages		367.926	-	365.929	2.8	-0.5	-
Food		373.774	-	371.836	3.1	-0.5	-
Food at home		328.839	324.334	325.514	3.2	-1.0	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		386.449	386.304	384.620	1.1	-0.5	-0.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		349.517	334.349	346.012	1.4	-1.0	3.5
Dairy and related products		358.238	355.160	352.034	-2.9	-1.7	-0.9
Fruits and vegetables		395.579	383.407	393.021	7.4	-0.6	2.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		231.531	233.455	230.327	4.8	-0.5	-1.3
Other food at home		261.886	262.409	258.140	4.7	-1.4	-1.6
Food away from home		453.607	-	454.850	2.8	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		312.229	-	309.840	0.3	-0.8	-
Housing		395.326	-	400.046	4.4	1.2	-
Shelter		468.708	470.085	476.313	4.7	1.6	1.3
Rent of primary residence		487.943	489.296	491.717	3.3	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		504.053	506.267	509.059	3.9	1.0	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		504.053	506.267	509.059	3.9	1.0	0.6
Household furnishings and operations		148.812	-	147.718	-0.6	-0.7	-
Apparel		133.892	-	125.851	-6.9	-6.0	-
Transportation		256.789	-	252.257	6.5	-1.8	-
Private transportation		264.319	-	260.792	5.1	-1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		139.948	-	141.454	-1.2	1.1	-
New vehicles(1)		241.260	-	241.995	0.4	0.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		415.575	-	426.627	-2.7	2.7	-
Motor fuel		391.155	368.380	355.303	30.5	-9.2	-3.5
Gasoline (all types)		387.349	364.797	351.849	30.5	-9.2	-3.5
Unleaded regular(4)		375.196	351.822	338.655	31.4	-9.7	-3.7
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		423.474	406.348	394.426	27.3	-6.9	-2.9
Unleaded premium(4)		416.394	400.695	390.413	25.8	-6.2	-2.6
Medical care		754.926	-	760.966	-0.1	0.8	-
Recreation(3)		120.321	-	119.524	1.3	-0.7	-
Education and communication(3)		186.334	-	187.637	4.5	0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		107.327	-	108.080	5.1	0.7	-
Other goods and services		710.296	-	715.434	3.8	0.7	-
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. (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. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U by special aggregate index for July 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	May 2026	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Jul. 2025	May 2026	Jun. 2026
All items		359.056	-	359.707	3.7	0.2	-
Food		373.774	-	371.836	3.1	-0.5	-
Energy		383.422	368.313	364.562	16.0	-4.9	-1.0
All items less food and energy		363.487	-	365.982	3.0	0.7	-
All items less energy		363.476	-	365.377	3.0	0.5	-
All items less medical care		343.772	-	344.233	4.0	0.1	-
All items less shelter		317.007	-	314.647	3.1	-0.7	-
Commodities		239.467	-	236.605	2.3	-1.2	-
Commodities less food		181.512	-	178.622	1.6	-1.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		176.332	-	173.426	1.7	-1.6	-
Durables		117.728	-	119.507	-1.1	1.5	-
Nondurables		306.579	-	299.615	3.6	-2.3	-
Nondurables less food		249.708	-	239.346	4.0	-4.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		246.784	-	235.458	4.7	-4.6	-
Services		466.531	-	470.737	4.3	0.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		478.707	-	477.986	3.6	-0.2	-
Services less medical care services		444.270	-	448.299	4.7	0.9	-
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.