The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area rose 0.8 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Michael G. Phinney noted that the index for energy was the largest contributor to the over-the-month increase. (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 4.0 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent. Over the same period, the energy index rose 17.1 percent, and the food index increased 3.3 percent.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Mar 2026	4.0	3.3
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.2 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) ticked up 0.1 percent.

Food prices rose 3.3 percent over the year. Prices for food at home rose 3.2 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent.

The energy index increased 9.5 percent over the month. Gasoline prices advanced 21.4 percent.

Energy prices rose 17.1 percent from March 2025 to March 2026. Gasoline prices increased 18.2 percent after three consecutive months of over-the-year declines.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for medical care (+1.5 percent) and apparel (+1.3 percent). Shelter prices inched up 0.1 percent, with increases of 0.2 percent for owners’ equivalent rent and 0.4 percent for rent of primary residence. Prices for lodging away from home declined. Prices were also lower for recreation (-1.2 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year. A 3.9-percent rise in shelter prices included increases in owners’ equivalent rent (+3.7 percent), rent of primary residence (+3.7 percent), and prices for lodging away from home. Other categories with increases included household furnishings and operations (+6.7 percent) and airline fares.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2026 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 12, 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.

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Table 1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, 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		350.947	353.366	356.169	4.0	1.5	0.8
All items (1967=100)		1,014.540	1,021.531	1,029.634	-	-	-
Food and beverages		353.288	355.299	355.870	3.1	0.7	0.2
Food		355.665	357.858	358.434	3.3	0.8	0.2
Food at home		332.699	335.211	335.931	3.2	1.0	0.2
Cereals and bakery products		400.859	390.748	391.429	3.0	-2.4	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		342.361	346.886	340.735	-1.1	-0.5	-1.8
Dairy and related products		282.557	280.535	287.109	2.0	1.6	2.3
Fruits and vegetables		387.010	395.208	406.106	10.9	4.9	2.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		346.477	352.063	348.598	5.3	0.6	-1.0
Other food at home		294.386	297.176	298.248	1.6	1.3	0.4
Food away from home		400.890	402.531	402.854	3.4	0.5	0.1
Alcoholic beverages		313.576	313.484	313.975	0.2	0.1	0.2
Housing		390.747	393.104	394.850	5.1	1.1	0.4
Shelter		486.339	488.397	488.890	3.9	0.5	0.1
Rent of primary residence		496.869	497.593	499.433	3.7	0.5	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		502.974	503.468	504.582	3.7	0.3	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		502.351	502.845	503.957	3.7	0.3	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		147.543	146.184	147.387	6.7	-0.1	0.8
Apparel		128.471	131.946	133.621	1.1	4.0	1.3
Transportation		290.455	294.524	305.372	6.4	5.1	3.7
Private transportation		292.240	292.457	305.584	5.5	4.6	4.5
New and used motor vehicles(3)		126.014	125.252	125.544	-0.5	-0.4	0.2
New vehicles(1)		259.851	260.202	260.777	1.2	0.4	0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		351.444	346.074	347.222	-3.3	-1.2	0.3
Motor fuel		235.641	237.777	288.597	18.2	22.5	21.4
Gasoline (all types)		234.536	236.658	287.225	18.2	22.5	21.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		229.679	231.836	283.993	18.9	23.6	22.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		258.932	260.861	305.087	14.9	17.8	17.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		269.447	271.428	314.516	15.0	16.7	15.9
Medical care		571.091	573.761	582.640	2.6	2.0	1.5
Recreation(3)		160.720	161.013	159.005	-3.5	-1.1	-1.2
Education and communication(3)		167.181	167.418	167.404	0.9	0.1	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,484.404	1,484.404	1,484.587	3.7	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		528.352	527.542	527.578	4.5	-0.1	0.0
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 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		350.947	353.366	356.169	4.0	1.5	0.8
Food		355.665	357.858	358.434	3.3	0.8	0.2
Energy		272.501	280.711	307.478	17.1	12.8	9.5
All items less food and energy		364.888	366.894	368.071	3.3	0.9	0.3
All items less energy		361.335	363.359	364.436	3.3	0.9	0.3
All items less medical care		341.108	343.517	346.043	4.1	1.4	0.7
All items less shelter		296.677	299.266	303.064	4.1	2.2	1.3
Commodities		230.399	231.614	235.782	3.5	2.3	1.8
Commodities less food		167.068	167.816	173.274	3.8	3.7	3.3
Commodities less food & beverages		161.657	162.439	168.099	4.1	4.0	3.5
Durables		111.240	109.983	110.580	-0.1	-0.6	0.5
Nondurables		277.357	279.751	285.485	4.2	2.9	2.0
Nondurables less food		206.503	208.944	218.315	5.2	5.7	4.5
Nondurables less food & beverages		199.852	202.492	212.561	5.8	6.4	5.0
Services		452.891	456.340	457.913	4.2	1.1	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		429.986	435.311	438.303	4.7	1.9	0.7
Services less medical care services		439.076	442.472	443.369	4.2	1.0	0.2
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.