The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area rose 0.7 percent in February, 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), energy (+3.0 percent), and food (+0.6 percent) advanced over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The New York area all items CPI-U advanced 3.2 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Over the same period, the indexes for food and energy increased 3.4 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, February 2023–February 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2023	6.0	5.6
Mar 2023	4.6	5.1
Apr 2023	3.7	4.4
May 2023	3.5	5.1
Jun 2023	2.5	3.8
Jul 2023	3.2	4.4
Aug 2023	3.5	4.5
Sep 2023	3.7	4.1
Oct 2023	3.5	4.0
Nov 2023	3.0	3.9
Dec 2023	2.9	3.4
Jan 2024	3.1	3.7
Feb 2024	2.9	3.4
Mar 2024	3.4	3.5
Apr 2024	3.8	3.9
May 2024	3.9	4.0
Jun 2024	4.2	4.4
Jul 2024	4.1	4.3
Aug 2024	3.7	4.4
Sep 2024	3.8	4.5
Oct 2024	4.0	4.7
Nov 2024	4.3	5.2
Dec 2024	4.3	4.7
Jan 2025	4.0	4.4
Feb 2025	4.2	4.4
Mar 2025	3.8	4.2
Apr 2025	3.9	4.3
May 2025	3.4	3.6
Jun 2025	3.5	3.6
Jul 2025	3.2	3.1
Aug 2025	3.2	3.0
Sep 2025	3.0	2.8
Oct 2025	-	-
Nov 2025	3.0	2.5
Dec 2025	3.4	3.2
Jan 2026	2.9	2.8
Feb 2026	3.2	3.1
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The food index advanced 0.6 percent in February. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.8 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent.

The food index rose 3.4 percent from February 2025 to February 2026. Prices for food at home rose 3.4 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 3.5 percent. All six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year, with increases ranging from 0.9 percent in cereals and bakery products to 7.2 percent in fruits and vegetables.

The energy index advanced 3.0 percent in February, following a 0.7-percent decrease in January. Gasoline prices increased 0.9 percent after four consecutive months of decline.

Energy prices rose 5.0 percent over the year. In contrast, gasoline prices decreased 4.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in February. Within shelter (+0.4 percent), prices for lodging away from home rose, and prices ticked up for owners’ equivalent rent and rent of primary residence (+0.1 percent each). Other indexes contributing to the increase included apparel (+2.7 percent), medical care (+0.5 percent), and airline fares.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. The shelter index (+3.9 percent) was the largest contributor to the increase, reflecting increases in owners’ equivalent rent (+3.9 percent), rent of primary residence (+3.7 percent), and lodging away from home.

The Consumer Price Index for March 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 10, 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 New York is published 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, CPI-U by expenditure category for February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		350.003	350.947	353.366	3.2	1.0	0.7
All items (1967=100)		1,011.811	1,014.540	1,021.531	-	-	-
Food and beverages		352.305	353.288	355.299	3.2	0.8	0.6
Food		354.588	355.665	357.858	3.4	0.9	0.6
Food at home		331.683	332.699	335.211	3.4	1.1	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		397.307	400.859	390.748	0.9	-1.7	-2.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		342.993	342.361	346.886	1.1	1.1	1.3
Dairy and related products		281.394	282.557	280.535	2.4	-0.3	-0.7
Fruits and vegetables		383.073	387.010	395.208	7.2	3.2	2.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		338.262	346.477	352.063	7.1	4.1	1.6
Other food at home		297.085	294.386	297.176	2.8	0.0	0.9
Food away from home		399.692	400.890	402.531	3.5	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		313.677	313.576	313.484	0.4	-0.1	0.0
Housing		390.710	390.747	393.104	4.4	0.6	0.6
Shelter		486.062	486.339	488.397	3.9	0.5	0.4
Rent of primary residence		495.917	496.869	497.593	3.7	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		501.375	502.974	503.468	3.9	0.4	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		500.754	502.351	502.845	3.9	0.4	0.1
Household furnishings and operations		148.586	147.543	146.184	4.8	-1.6	-0.9
Apparel		123.775	128.471	131.946	2.1	6.6	2.7
Transportation		288.510	290.455	294.524	2.9	2.1	1.4
Private transportation		292.820	292.240	292.457	1.3	-0.1	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)		126.266	126.014	125.252	-0.4	-0.8	-0.6
New vehicles(1)		258.806	259.851	260.202	0.9	0.5	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		362.995	351.444	346.074	-3.5	-4.7	-1.5
Motor fuel		241.452	235.641	237.777	-4.3	-1.5	0.9
Gasoline (all types)		240.322	234.536	236.658	-4.3	-1.5	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		235.630	229.679	231.836	-4.7	-1.6	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		264.274	258.932	260.861	-3.0	-1.3	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		274.407	269.447	271.428	-2.1	-1.1	0.7
Medical care		571.262	571.091	573.761	0.8	0.4	0.5
Recreation(3)		159.526	160.720	161.013	-2.6	0.9	0.2
Education and communication(3)		167.828	167.181	167.418	1.1	-0.2	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,484.394	1,484.404	1,484.404	3.7	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		526.742	528.352	527.542	4.6	0.2	-0.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 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. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		350.003	350.947	353.366	3.2	1.0	0.7
Food		354.588	355.665	357.858	3.4	0.9	0.6
Energy		274.426	272.501	280.711	5.0	2.3	3.0
All items less food and energy		363.695	364.888	366.894	3.1	0.9	0.5
All items less energy		360.168	361.335	363.359	3.1	0.9	0.6
All items less medical care		340.112	341.108	343.517	3.4	1.0	0.7
All items less shelter		295.445	296.677	299.266	2.8	1.3	0.9
Commodities		229.421	230.399	231.614	1.7	1.0	0.5
Commodities less food		166.178	167.068	167.816	0.3	1.0	0.4
Commodities less food & beverages		160.728	161.657	162.439	0.3	1.1	0.5
Durables		111.577	111.240	109.983	-1.0	-1.4	-1.1
Nondurables		275.770	277.357	279.751	2.2	1.4	0.9
Nondurables less food		204.600	206.503	208.944	0.4	2.1	1.2
Nondurables less food & beverages		197.793	199.852	202.492	0.5	2.4	1.3
Services		451.988	452.891	456.340	3.9	1.0	0.8
Services less rent of shelter(1)		428.304	429.986	435.311	4.1	1.6	1.2
Services less medical care services		438.114	439.076	442.472	4.1	1.0	0.8
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.