The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Boston area declined 0.3 percent for the two months ending in July 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 decreased 0.4 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 increased 3.2 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.3 percent. In contrast, energy prices declined 0.8 percent.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, July 2022–July 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jul 2022	7.0	3.9
Sep 2022	8.1	5.9
Nov 2022	7.0	4.7
Jan 2023	6.4	4.6
Mar 2023	4.7	4.1
May 2023	3.6	4.3
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

Food prices were unchanged for the two months ending in July. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.4 percent, while prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) decreased 0.3 percent.

Food prices rose 3.3 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home rose 6.9 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent.

The energy index increased 0.9 percent over the two-month pricing period. Gasoline prices rose 2.9 percent.

The energy index decreased 0.8 percent from July 2024 to July 2025. Over the year, gasoline prices fell 11.8 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.4 percent during the two-month period. The index for shelter decreased 0.8 percent. Within shelter, prices rose for owners’ equivalent rent (+1.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+1.0 percent) but fell for lodging away from home. Prices for apparel declined 4.5 percent. Index components with price increases included recreation (+1.5 percent) and personal care.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent over the year. A 4.9-percent advance in prices for shelter included a 5.7-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent and a 5.2-percent increase in rent of primary residence. Prices also rose for tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+5.0 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for September 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 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.

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.

Table 1. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U by expenditure category for July 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	May 2025	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Jul. 2024	May 2025	Jun. 2025
All items		347.897	-	346.856	3.2	-0.3	-
All items (1967=100)		1,011.171	-	1,008.145	-	-	-
Food and beverages		355.564	-	355.997	3.3	0.1	-
Food		360.553	-	360.709	3.3	0.0	-
Food at home		316.254	312.266	315.457	0.5	-0.3	1.0
Cereals and bakery products		386.247	376.335	380.340	-1.6	-1.5	1.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		345.884	341.173	341.083	4.4	-1.4	0.0
Dairy and related products		366.648	360.830	362.371	-3.9	-1.2	0.4
Fruits and vegetables		370.991	361.544	366.103	-3.5	-1.3	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		208.500	217.790	219.739	10.8	5.4	0.9
Other food at home		246.797	242.395	246.632	-0.7	-0.1	1.7
Food away from home		440.614	-	442.348	6.9	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		304.951	-	308.927	3.5	1.3	-
Housing		385.409	-	383.363	4.8	-0.5	-
Shelter		458.520	460.143	454.924	4.9	-0.8	-1.1
Rent of primary residence		471.244	473.343	476.161	5.2	1.0	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		482.652	486.094	490.131	5.7	1.5	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		482.652	486.094	490.131	5.7	1.5	0.8
Household furnishings and operations		146.674	-	148.571	-0.1	1.3	-
Apparel		141.501	-	135.137	4.2	-4.5	-
Transportation		236.659	-	236.829	-0.4	0.1	-
Private transportation		246.680	-	248.071	-0.7	0.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		142.079	-	143.102	2.7	0.7	-
New vehicles(1)		241.329	-	241.134	0.3	-0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		430.468	-	438.667	3.9	1.9	-
Motor fuel		264.686	268.938	272.315	-11.8	2.9	1.3
Gasoline (all types)		262.112	266.325	269.668	-11.8	2.9	1.3
Unleaded regular(4)		250.211	254.401	257.669	-12.4	3.0	1.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		302.050	305.446	309.719	-9.5	2.5	1.4
Unleaded premium(4)		303.210	307.116	310.458	-8.6	2.4	1.1
Medical care		766.193	-	761.717	-	-0.6	-
Recreation(3)		116.213	-	117.995	0.8	1.5	-
Education and communication(3)		180.887	-	179.631	1.9	-0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,589.441	-	1,601.906	5.0	0.8	-
Other goods and services		672.799	-	688.935	6.1	2.4	-
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 July 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	May 2025	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Jul. 2024	May 2025	Jun. 2025
All items		347.897	-	346.856	3.2	-0.3	-
Food		360.553	-	360.709	3.3	0.0	-
Energy		311.705	316.430	314.355	-0.8	0.9	-0.7
All items less food and energy		356.762	-	355.244	3.5	-0.4	-
All items less energy		355.897	-	354.625	3.5	-0.4	-
All items less medical care		331.885	-	330.962	3.3	-0.3	-
All items less shelter		305.220	-	305.291	2.2	0.0	-
Commodities		230.559	-	231.193	1.0	0.3	-
Commodities less food		175.010	-	175.819	-0.7	0.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages		169.790	-	170.494	-0.9	0.4	-
Durables		119.375	-	120.854	-0.5	1.2	-
Nondurables		289.081	-	289.077	1.5	0.0	-
Nondurables less food		230.209	-	230.066	-0.8	-0.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		225.365	-	224.921	-1.3	-0.2	-
Services		453.821	-	451.300	4.3	-0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		462.322	-	461.207	3.5	-0.2	-
Services less medical care services		430.932	-	428.193	4.5	-0.6	-
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.