The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the South region increased 0.3 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all items less food and energy also rose 0.3 percent in August, as did the index for food. In contrast, the energy index declined 0.1 percent in August. (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 2.6 percent for the 12 months ending August, after increasing 2.3 percent over the 12 months ending July. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.8 percent over the last 12 months. The food index rose 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending August. The energy index declined 0.9 percent over the last year.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Mar 2025	1.9	2.4
Apr 2025	2.0	2.5
May 2025	2.0	2.5
Jun 2025	2.3	2.6
Jul 2025	2.3	2.8
Aug 2025	2.6	2.8

The index for food rose 0.3 percent in August. The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent in August. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.3 percent over the month. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased in August, including nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+1.5 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+0.8 percent).

The food index increased 3.1 percent over the last 12 months. The food away from home index rose 4.1 percent over the past year. The food at home index increased 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending August. All six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the past year, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+6.5 percent).

The energy index declined 0.1 percent in August. The electricity index decreased 0.2 percent over the month, and the gasoline index declined 0.1 percent. In contrast, the natural gas index increased 1.0 percent in August.

The energy index decreased 0.9 percent over the past 12 months. The gasoline index fell 8.3 percent over this 12-month span. The index for electricity rose 6.7 percent over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas increased 12.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in August. The shelter index rose 0.6 percent over the month. The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.7 percent in August and the index for rent increased 0.5 percent. The index for apparel (+1.3 percent) was among the indexes with a notable increase in August. Recreation (-0.6 percent) was among the indexes to decline over the month.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.8 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index increased 3.6 percent over the last year. The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 4.0 percent over this 12-month period.

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 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 August 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Aug. 2025	Aug. 2024	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025
All items		312.330	312.771	313.558	2.6	0.4	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		506.642	507.358	508.635	-	-	-
Food and beverages		330.654	331.541	332.827	3.0	0.7	0.4
Food		334.834	335.831	336.987	3.1	0.6	0.3
Food at home		310.100	311.025	311.876	2.4	0.6	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		364.382	366.173	362.655	0.1	-0.5	-1.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		337.984	341.231	343.911	6.5	1.8	0.8
Dairy and related products		274.490	275.522	276.707	2.3	0.8	0.4
Fruits and vegetables		333.190	335.092	333.272	0.5	0.0	-0.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		222.133	223.217	226.613	4.3	2.0	1.5
Other food at home		276.042	274.552	275.564	0.8	-0.2	0.4
Food away from home		376.770	377.892	379.571	4.1	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		272.535	271.886	274.977	1.9	0.9	1.1
Housing		324.219	324.834	326.425	4.0	0.7	0.5
Shelter		378.263	379.145	381.544	3.6	0.9	0.6
Rent of primary residence		401.626	402.108	403.967	2.7	0.6	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		382.117	383.260	385.952	4.0	1.0	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		382.039	383.174	385.859	4.0	1.0	0.7
Fuels and utilities		320.373	320.661	320.998	6.6	0.2	0.1
Household energy		262.125	262.340	262.359	7.2	0.1	0.0
Energy services		262.732	262.952	262.949	7.4	0.1	0.0
Electricity		258.255	258.292	257.871	6.7	-0.1	-0.2
Utility (piped) gas service		271.350	272.722	275.372	12.3	1.5	1.0
Household furnishings and operations		152.834	152.754	152.386	3.9	-0.3	-0.2
Apparel		140.726	138.186	139.992	-1.4	-0.5	1.3
Transportation		272.061	272.599	272.277	0.0	0.1	-0.1
Private transportation		275.010	275.659	275.518	0.0	0.2	-0.1
New and used motor vehicles(2)		127.632	127.990	127.762	2.1	0.1	-0.2
New vehicles		185.514	185.602	185.694	0.6	0.1	0.0
New cars(3)		183.202	183.168	183.232	0.8	0.0	0.0
Used cars and trucks		185.435	186.875	187.854	5.8	1.3	0.5
Motor fuel		258.219	258.470	258.098	-8.2	0.0	-0.1
Gasoline (all types)		257.221	257.138	256.833	-8.3	-0.2	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		249.771	249.577	249.233	-8.7	-0.2	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		295.565	296.257	296.255	-6.7	0.2	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		292.038	292.689	292.656	-5.9	0.2	0.0
Medical care		546.841	547.622	546.376	3.0	-0.1	-0.2
Medical care commodities		385.914	385.747	384.544	-0.2	-0.4	-0.3
Medical care services		600.675	601.792	600.540	3.7	0.0	-0.2
Professional services		414.216	415.541	415.649	3.9	0.3	0.0
Recreation(2)		141.542	141.543	140.747	1.8	-0.6	-0.6
Education and communication(2)		140.925	141.163	141.347	-0.7	0.3	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		1,567.451	1,569.837	1,578.661	1.9	0.7	0.6
Other goods and services		549.868	551.410	552.677	3.3	0.5	0.2
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 August 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025	Aug. 2025	Aug. 2024	Jun. 2025	Jul. 2025
All items		312.330	312.771	313.558	2.6	0.4	0.3
Food		334.834	335.831	336.987	3.1	0.6	0.3
Energy		254.699	254.927	254.760	-0.9	0.0	-0.1
All items less food and energy		317.838	318.217	319.056	2.8	0.4	0.3
All items less energy		319.848	320.312	321.193	2.8	0.4	0.3
All items less medical care		299.238	299.660	300.545	2.5	0.4	0.3
All items less shelter		287.346	287.606	287.728	1.9	0.1	0.0
Commodities		222.467	222.634	223.238	0.7	0.3	0.3
Commodities less food		178.118	178.023	178.431	-0.7	0.2	0.2
Commodities less food & beverages		175.223	175.141	175.487	-0.8	0.2	0.2
Durables		126.249	126.569	126.774	1.0	0.4	0.2
Nondurables		276.509	276.495	277.382	0.6	0.3	0.3
Nondurables less food		230.467	229.664	230.339	-2.0	-0.1	0.3
Nondurables less food & beverages		228.331	227.518	228.051	-2.3	-0.1	0.2
Services		403.095	403.816	404.788	3.6	0.4	0.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		432.077	432.649	431.575	3.6	-0.1	-0.2
Services less medical care services		384.262	384.947	386.079	3.6	0.5	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.