The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the South region increased 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The energy index rose 5.8 percent over the month. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in April. The food index rose 0.5 percent over the pricing period. (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 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending April, after increasing 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending March. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index increased 17.9 percent for the 12 months ending April. The food index rose 3.0 percent over the last year.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Apr 2026	3.6	2.4
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The food index rose 0.5 percent in April. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 0.7 percent over the month. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased in April, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.1 percent) and fruits and vegetables (+1.2 percent). The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.3 percent in April.

The food index increased 3.0 percent over the last 12 months. The food at home index increased 2.5 percent for the 12 months ending April as prices increased in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. The food away from home index rose 3.6 percent over the past year.

The energy index rose 5.8 percent in April, largely due to a 11.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The index for natural gas declined 2.2 percent over the month and the index for electricity declined 0.3 percent.

The energy index advanced 17.9 percent for the 12 months ending April, led by a 32.0-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity (+2.9 percent) and the natural gas (+7.0 percent) indexes also increased over the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in April. The shelter index increased 0.4 percent over the month. Owners’ equivalent rent (+0.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (+1.6 percent) were among the indexes to increase in April.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent over the last 12 months. The shelter index increased 2.7 percent over the last year, due in part to an increase in the owners’ equivalent rent index (+2.8 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for May 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		315.689	319.643	322.170	3.6	2.1	0.8
All items (December 1977 = 100)		512.091	518.506	522.605
Food and beverages		336.576	337.016	338.692	2.9	0.6	0.5
Food		340.877	341.299	343.038	3.0	0.6	0.5
Food at home		315.037	315.028	317.138	2.5	0.7	0.7
Cereals and bakery products		370.555	367.797	370.378	2.2	0.0	0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		343.370	343.031	346.877	2.1	1.0	1.1
Dairy and related products		272.906	269.386	272.337	-1.1	-0.2	1.1
Fruits and vegetables		335.493	336.830	340.783	2.9	1.6	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		232.797	234.840	234.655	6.0	0.8	-0.1
Other food at home		280.364	280.977	281.496	2.4	0.4	0.2
Food away from home		384.716	385.957	386.955	3.6	0.6	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		276.629	277.366	278.090	1.9	0.5	0.3
Housing		329.186	331.030	332.467	3.0	1.0	0.4
Shelter		384.707	386.234	387.791	2.7	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence		406.509	407.132	408.775	1.9	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		388.801	389.972	391.247	2.8	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		388.694	389.866	391.138	2.8	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		322.759	327.830	326.572	3.8	1.2	-0.4
Household energy		261.728	266.482	264.950	3.5	1.2	-0.6
Energy services		262.186	266.854	265.181	3.5	1.1	-0.6
Electricity		253.156	258.716	257.846	2.9	1.9	-0.3
Utility (piped) gas service		299.600	298.375	291.819	7.0	-2.6	-2.2
Household furnishings and operations		154.387	155.580	158.079	5.0	2.4	1.6
Apparel		145.490	149.478	148.738	4.3	2.2	-0.5
Transportation		267.591	283.503	291.856	7.4	9.1	2.9
Private transportation		268.647	285.331	293.178	6.9	9.1	2.8
New and used motor vehicles(2)		123.922	124.328	124.873	-1.2	0.8	0.4
New vehicles		185.840	186.052	186.216	0.1	0.2	0.1
New cars(3)		183.872	184.386	184.625	0.6	0.4	0.1
Used cars and trucks		173.909	174.478	176.360	-2.9	1.4	1.1
Motor fuel		240.369	308.541	344.098	32.5	43.2	11.5
Gasoline (all types)		238.832	306.193	341.338	32.0	42.9	11.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		230.926	298.804	333.924	32.9	44.6	11.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		279.478	345.543	382.384	29.1	36.8	10.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		278.288	338.243	371.579	27.1	33.5	9.9
Medical care		554.491	552.622	552.092	1.6	-0.4	-0.1
Medical care commodities		388.363	383.242	382.829	-0.2	-1.4	-0.1
Medical care services		610.148	609.416	608.847	2.0	-0.2	-0.1
Professional services		422.856	424.858	426.498	3.6	0.9	0.4
Recreation(2)		143.031	142.455	142.518	1.6	-0.4	0.0
Education and communication(2)		140.715	140.828	140.594	0.1	-0.1	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		101.907	102.393	102.440	2.3	0.5	0.0
Other goods and services		584.336	574.244	580.681	6.0	-0.6	1.1
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 2024=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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		315.689	319.643	322.170	3.6	2.1	0.8
Food		340.877	341.299	343.038	3.0	0.6	0.5
Energy		246.013	281.063	297.338	17.9	20.9	5.8
All items less food and energy		322.092	323.204	324.359	2.4	0.7	0.4
All items less energy		324.344	325.362	326.595	2.5	0.7	0.4
All items less medical care		302.358	306.614	309.299	3.8	2.3	0.9
All items less shelter		289.439	294.425	297.370	4.0	2.7	1.0
Commodities		222.894	228.982	232.288	4.8	4.2	1.4
Commodities less food		176.797	184.311	187.934	5.8	6.3	2.0
Commodities less food & beverages		173.779	181.381	185.040	5.9	6.5	2.0
Durables		124.675	124.957	125.165	-0.1	0.4	0.2
Nondurables		278.874	289.644	295.437	7.1	5.9	2.0
Nondurables less food		229.934	248.669	257.577	11.6	12.0	3.6
Nondurables less food & beverages		227.473	247.145	256.479	12.2	12.8	3.8
Services		409.477	411.159	412.845	2.8	0.8	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		438.507	440.450	442.277	3.1	0.9	0.4
Services less medical care services		390.332	392.202	394.064	3.0	1.0	0.5
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.