The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the South region increased 1.3 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The energy index rose 14.2 percent over the month. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in March, and the food index rose 0.1 percent. (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 advanced 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending March, after increasing 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index rose 13.2 percent for the 12 months ending March. The food index increased 2.5 percent over the last year.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, South region, March 2023–March 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Sep 2025	2.7	2.7
Oct 2025	-	-
Nov 2025	2.2	2.1
Dec 2025	2.2	2.2
Jan 2026	1.9	2.0
Feb 2026	1.8	1.9
Mar 2026	3.0	2.2
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The food index rose 0.1 percent in March. The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.3 percent over the month. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) was unchanged in March.

The food index increased 2.5 percent over the last 12 months. The food away from home index rose 3.6 percent over the past year. The food at home index increased 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending March as prices increased in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups, including other food at home (+2.9 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+5.9 percent).

The energy index rose 14.2 percent in March, largely due to a 28.2-percent increase in the gasoline index. The index for electricity rose 2.2 percent over the month. In contrast, the index for natural gas declined 0.4 percent over the same period.

The energy index advanced 13.2 percent for the 12 months ending March, led by a 21.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity (+4.3 percent) and the natural gas (+8.3 percent) indexes also increased over the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in March. The shelter index increased 0.4 percent over the month. The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent in March.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent over the last 12 months. The shelter index increased 2.5 percent over the last year. The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 2.7 percent over the same period.

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 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.

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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. South region 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		314.740	315.689	319.643	3.0	1.6	1.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		510.552	512.091	518.506
Food and beverages		336.155	336.576	337.016	2.5	0.3	0.1
Food		340.422	340.877	341.299	2.5	0.3	0.1
Food at home		314.766	315.037	315.028	1.8	0.1	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		369.508	370.555	367.797	1.0	-0.5	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		343.643	343.370	343.031	0.4	-0.2	-0.1
Dairy and related products		272.677	272.906	269.386	-0.8	-1.2	-1.3
Fruits and vegetables		337.640	335.493	336.830	1.1	-0.2	0.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		232.045	232.797	234.840	5.9	1.2	0.9
Other food at home		279.151	280.364	280.977	2.9	0.7	0.2
Food away from home		383.916	384.716	385.957	3.6	0.5	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		276.746	276.629	277.366	1.8	0.2	0.3
Housing		329.384	329.186	331.030	2.9	0.5	0.6
Shelter		384.923	384.707	386.234	2.5	0.3	0.4
Rent of primary residence		406.689	406.509	407.132	1.7	0.1	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		388.924	388.801	389.972	2.7	0.3	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		388.819	388.694	389.866	2.7	0.3	0.3
Fuels and utilities		325.517	322.759	327.830	4.9	0.7	1.6
Household energy		265.296	261.728	266.482	4.9	0.4	1.8
Energy services		265.870	262.186	266.854	4.9	0.4	1.8
Electricity		258.368	253.156	258.716	4.3	0.1	2.2
Utility (piped) gas service		293.493	299.600	298.375	8.3	1.7	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations		153.163	154.387	155.580	4.2	1.6	0.8
Apparel		139.285	145.490	149.478	4.3	7.3	2.7
Transportation		265.442	267.591	283.503	5.2	6.8	5.9
Private transportation		266.686	268.647	285.331	4.9	7.0	6.2
New and used motor vehicles(2)		124.407	123.922	124.328	-1.2	-0.1	0.3
New vehicles		185.771	185.840	186.052	0.4	0.2	0.1
New cars(3)		183.609	183.872	184.386	1.0	0.4	0.3
Used cars and trucks		176.177	173.909	174.478	-3.6	-1.0	0.3
Motor fuel		233.971	240.369	308.541	21.8	31.9	28.4
Gasoline (all types)		232.497	238.832	306.193	21.5	31.7	28.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		224.587	230.926	298.804	22.2	33.0	29.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		273.013	279.478	345.543	19.3	26.6	23.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		272.240	278.288	338.243	18.1	24.2	21.5
Medical care		552.374	554.491	552.622	2.3	0.0	-0.3
Medical care commodities		388.972	388.363	383.242	0.5	-1.5	-1.3
Medical care services		607.090	610.148	609.416	2.6	0.4	-0.1
Professional services		420.612	422.856	424.858	3.5	1.0	0.5
Recreation(2)		142.326	143.031	142.455	1.2	0.1	-0.4
Education and communication(2)		140.755	140.715	140.828	-0.1	0.1	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		1,586.872	1,588.223	1,595.790	2.3	0.6	0.5
Other goods and services		581.978	584.336	574.244	4.7	-1.3	-1.7
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.
Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. South region 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		314.740	315.689	319.643	3.0	1.6	1.3
Food		340.422	340.877	341.299	2.5	0.3	0.1
Energy		244.732	246.013	281.063	13.2	14.8	14.2
All items less food and energy		321.094	322.092	323.204	2.2	0.7	0.3
All items less energy		323.421	324.344	325.362	2.3	0.6	0.3
All items less medical care		301.474	302.358	306.614	3.1	1.7	1.4
All items less shelter		288.003	289.439	294.425	3.3	2.2	1.7
Commodities		221.659	222.894	228.982	3.6	3.3	2.7
Commodities less food		175.385	176.797	184.311	4.2	5.1	4.3
Commodities less food & beverages		172.345	173.779	181.381	4.3	5.2	4.4
Durables		125.040	124.675	124.957	-0.2	-0.1	0.2
Nondurables		276.263	278.874	289.644	5.4	4.8	3.9
Nondurables less food		225.665	229.934	248.669	8.6	10.2	8.1
Nondurables less food & beverages		222.975	227.473	247.145	9.0	10.8	8.6
Services		408.838	409.477	411.159	2.7	0.6	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		436.692	438.507	440.450	3.0	0.9	0.4
Services less medical care services		389.896	390.332	392.202	2.7	0.6	0.5
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.