The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the South region increased 0.3 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all items less food and energy also increased 0.3 percent over the month, as did the index for food. The energy index rose 0.4 percent in February. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The South all items CPI-U rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending February, after increasing 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending January. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.6 percent over the last 12 months. The food index increased 2.5 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The energy index fell 1.5 percent over the last year.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, South region, February 2022–February 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2022	8.4	7.0
Mar 2022	9.1	7.1
Apr 2022	8.8	6.8
May 2022	9.2	6.7
Jun 2022	9.8	6.7
Jul 2022	9.4	6.8
Aug 2022	8.9	7.1
Sep 2022	8.7	7.4
Oct 2022	8.1	7.1
Nov 2022	7.7	6.9
Dec 2022	7.0	6.5
Jan 2023	6.9	6.3
Feb 2023	6.4	6.2
Mar 2023	5.3	6.3
Apr 2023	5.5	6.3
May 2023	4.4	6.0
Jun 2023	3.3	5.5
Jul 2023	3.4	5.0
Aug 2023	4.1	4.8
Sep 2023	4.2	4.6
Oct 2023	3.7	4.5
Nov 2023	3.4	4.4
Dec 2023	3.7	4.2
Jan 2024	3.4	4.3
Feb 2024	3.7	4.4
Mar 2024	3.8	4.0
Apr 2024	3.3	3.6
May 2024	3.2	3.3
Jun 2024	2.9	3.1
Jul 2024	2.9	3.1
Aug 2024	2.3	2.9
Sep 2024	2.1	3.0
Oct 2024	2.5	3.1
Nov 2024	2.7	3.1
Dec 2024	2.8	3.1
Jan 2025	2.8	3.1
Feb 2025	2.3	2.6

The index for food rose 0.3 percent in February. The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent over the month. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.2 percent in February. Two of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.8 percent).

The index for food rose 2.5 percent over the last 12 months. The food away from home index increased 3.4 percent over the last year. The food at home index rose 1.9 percent over the same period, as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased. Within the food at home category, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 7.8 percent over the last 12 months.

The energy index rose 0.4 percent in February. The gasoline index rose 0.3 percent over the month. The natural gas index increased 1.6 percent over the month and the index for electricity rose 0.3 percent over the same period.  

The energy index declined 1.5 percent over the past 12 months. The gasoline index declined fell 4.8 percent over this 12-month span. The index for electricity rose 1.5 percent over the last year and the index for natural gas increased 7.4 percent over the same period.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in February. Indexes with notable increases in February include apparel (+3.6 percent), household furnishings and operations (+1.5 percent), and owners’ equivalent rent (+0.1 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.6 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index (+3.8 percent) was the largest contributor to the total 12-month increase in the all items less food and energy index. The index for owners’ equivalent rent increased 4.1 percent over the last year. The index for rent increased 3.2 percent over this 12-month span.

The Consumer Price Index for March 2025 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, April 10, 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 the South region 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.

Percent changes for all-items data previously found in Table A of this release can be accessed in Chart 1 for this release and its attendant data table. A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

The South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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. South region CPI-U by expenditure category for February 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Feb. 2024	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025
All items		307.007	308.911	309.987	2.3	1.0	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		498.008	501.097	502.841	-	-	-
Food and beverages		325.992	327.036	328.168	2.5	0.7	0.3
Food		330.073	331.153	332.184	2.5	0.6	0.3
Food at home		306.954	308.419	309.178	1.9	0.7	0.2
Cereals and bakery products		365.374	364.203	364.199	-0.3	-0.3	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		329.596	332.387	338.264	7.8	2.6	1.8
Dairy and related products		272.589	273.284	271.069	1.4	-0.6	-0.8
Fruits and vegetables		334.692	337.438	337.066	0.5	0.7	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		217.754	219.920	221.381	1.7	1.7	0.7
Other food at home		273.108	273.801	272.751	-0.4	-0.1	-0.4
Food away from home		369.237	369.651	371.150	3.4	0.5	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		269.247	269.794	272.329	1.7	1.1	0.9
Housing		317.522	319.245	320.187	3.3	0.8	0.3
Shelter		373.130	375.110	375.491	3.8	0.6	0.1
Rent of primary residence		397.871	399.187	399.556	3.2	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		376.766	377.962	378.516	4.1	0.5	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		376.712	377.904	378.452	4.1	0.5	0.1
Fuels and utilities		303.759	306.607	308.516	2.9	1.6	0.6
Household energy		245.621	248.618	249.875	2.2	1.7	0.5
Energy services		245.786	248.737	249.917	2.3	1.7	0.5
Electricity		240.320	242.739	243.408	1.5	1.3	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service		261.965	268.071	272.405	7.4	4.0	1.6
Household furnishings and operations		146.094	146.431	148.686	0.0	1.8	1.5
Apparel		137.510	136.315	141.255	-1.6	2.7	3.6
Transportation		267.912	271.853	272.026	0.5	1.5	0.1
Private transportation		269.273	273.766	274.432	0.5	1.9	0.2
New and used motor vehicles(2)		125.347	125.747	125.720	-0.9	0.3	0.0
New vehicles		184.718	185.208	185.302	-0.5	0.3	0.1
New cars(3)		182.129	182.540	182.601	-0.8	0.3	0.0
Used cars and trucks		179.453	180.527	180.621	0.4	0.7	0.1
Motor fuel		250.291	256.748	257.597	-5.0	2.9	0.3
Gasoline (all types)		249.110	255.461	256.203	-4.8	2.8	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		241.754	248.160	248.887	-5.1	3.0	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		286.623	292.753	293.810	-3.7	2.5	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		283.828	289.408	290.174	-3.2	2.2	0.3
Medical care		538.866	540.213	541.981	2.5	0.6	0.3
Medical care commodities		383.606	385.185	386.288	1.6	0.7	0.3
Medical care services		590.713	591.964	593.959	2.7	0.5	0.3
Professional services		410.421	407.914	409.288	3.1	-0.3	0.3
Recreation(2)		139.410	141.371	141.944	1.9	1.8	0.4
Education and communication(2)		140.499	140.613	140.617	-0.4	0.1	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		1,558.500	1,555.193	1,555.388	3.1	-0.2	0.0
Other goods and services		539.419	540.928	545.193	3.7	1.1	0.8
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. South region CPI-U by special aggregate index for February 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Feb. 2024	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025
All items		307.007	308.911	309.987	2.3	1.0	0.3
Food		330.073	331.153	332.184	2.5	0.6	0.3
Energy		242.627	247.205	248.242	-1.5	2.3	0.4
All items less food and energy		313.100	314.866	315.963	2.6	0.9	0.3
All items less energy		315.112	316.782	317.869	2.6	0.9	0.3
All items less medical care		294.071	295.995	297.031	2.2	1.0	0.4
All items less shelter		281.901	283.789	285.162	1.4	1.2	0.5
Commodities		218.912	219.937	221.003	-0.1	1.0	0.5
Commodities less food		175.091	176.054	177.083	-1.5	1.1	0.6
Commodities less food & beverages		172.215	173.183	174.174	-1.6	1.1	0.6
Durables		124.514	124.840	125.027	-2.0	0.4	0.1
Nondurables		271.811	273.339	275.077	0.8	1.2	0.6
Nondurables less food		225.828	227.702	229.988	-1.1	1.8	1.0
Nondurables less food & beverages		223.604	225.561	227.836	-1.2	1.9	1.0
Services		395.979	398.781	399.857	3.6	1.0	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		422.211	426.208	428.267	3.4	1.4	0.5
Services less medical care services		377.430	380.324	381.320	3.7	1.0	0.3
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.