The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 0.5 percent from January to March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent over the two-month span. The index for energy rose 2.4 percent from January to March. The index for food decreased 0.7 percent over the same period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The Tampa area all items CPI-U advanced 2.1 percent for the 12 months ending March. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.0 percent over the last 12 months. The food index increased 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending March. The energy index rose 2.9 percent over the last year.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, March 2023–March 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Mar 2023	7.7	9.3
May 2023	7.3	9.0
Jul 2023	5.9	7.3
Sep 2023	6.7	7.3
Nov 2023	5.2	6.0
Jan 2024	3.9	4.8
Mar 2024	3.7	4.3
May 2024	1.8	2.0
Jul 2024	2.4	3.0
Sep 2024	1.2	2.0
Nov 2024	1.6	2.0
Jan 2025	2.3	2.8
Mar 2025	2.1	2.1
May 2025	2.6	2.8
Jul 2025	3.3	3.3
Sep 2025	3.3	3.0
Nov 2025	3.0	2.7
Jan 2026	2.3	1.8
Mar 2026	2.1	2.0

The food index declined 0.7 percent from January to March. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) decreased 1.7 percent over the two-month period. Prices fell in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups, including dairy and related products (-5.7 percent) and other food at home (-1.9 percent). The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.1 percent over the two-month span.

The index for food rose 2.7 percent over the last 12 months. The food away from home index increased 6.7 percent over the past year. In comparison, the index for food at home declined 0.2 percent over this 12-month span.

The energy index increased 2.4 percent from January to March. The gasoline index rose 31.3 percent over the two-month pricing period.

The energy index increased 2.9 percent over the past 12 months. The gasoline index rose 19.9 percent over this 12-month span.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent from January to March. Among the notable indexes to increase over the two-month pricing period include shelter (+0.6 percent), apparel (+5.6 percent), and recreation (+2.3 percent). Indexes with notable declines over the bi-monthly period include household furnishing and operations (-1.2 percent) and education and communication (-1.8 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index increased 2.2 percent over this 12-month span. The index for owners’ equivalent rent increased 2.2 percent over the past year and the index for rent increased 3.1 percent.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2026 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 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 Tampa 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Core Based Statistical Area includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties in Florida.

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. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1987=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		310.244	-	311.681	2.1	0.5	-
Food and beverages		314.120	-	312.080	3.0	-0.6	-
Food		316.179	-	314.112	2.7	-0.7	-
Food at home		318.776	317.100	313.439	-0.2	-1.7	-1.2
Cereals and bakery products		323.425	329.724	316.146	-5.4	-2.3	-4.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		342.422	335.303	344.519	4.6	0.6	2.7
Dairy and related products		305.766	295.236	288.238	-3.1	-5.7	-2.4
Fruits and vegetables		414.627	407.610	407.977	0.9	-1.6	0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		237.268	232.627	232.723	1.8	-1.9	0.0
Other food at home		249.884	254.694	245.046	-0.9	-1.9	-3.8
Food away from home		312.779	-	316.181	6.7	1.1	-
Alcoholic beverages		270.759	-	269.235	8.6	-0.6	-
Housing		349.554	-	345.647	1.1	-1.1	-
Shelter		407.762	406.396	410.372	2.2	0.6	1.0
Rent of primary residence		424.491	425.689	426.354	3.1	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences		429.505	430.202	431.031	2.2	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence		429.505	430.202	431.031	2.2	0.4	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		163.522	-	161.538	0.8	-1.2	-
Apparel		144.780	-	152.886	5.9	5.6	-
Transportation		255.385	-	272.784	4.7	6.8	-
Private transportation		262.922	-	281.701	5.6	7.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)		131.985	-	132.855	0.0	0.7	-
New vehicles		148.906	-	149.302	0.7	0.3	-
Used cars and trucks		163.510	-	162.066	-3.3	-0.9	-
Motor fuel		305.464	314.700	401.279	20.1	31.4	27.5
Gasoline (all types)		297.366	306.615	390.525	19.9	31.3	27.4
Unleaded regular(2)		285.469	294.595	378.313	20.5	32.5	28.4
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)		311.911	320.773	394.864	17.2	26.6	23.1
Unleaded premium(2)		349.312	358.390	435.188	16.6	24.6	21.4
Medical care		554.042	-	552.289	2.1	-0.3	-
Recreation(1)		131.545	-	134.575	2.4	2.3	-
Education and communication(1)		135.752	-	133.297	-0.4	-1.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		403.284	-	400.829	6.5	-0.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1987=100)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		310.244	-	311.681	2.1	0.5	-
Food		316.179	-	314.112	2.7	-0.7	-
Energy		269.111	249.072	275.646	2.9	2.4	10.7
All items less food and energy		313.154	-	314.774	2.0	0.5	-
All items less energy		313.171	-	314.226	2.0	0.3	-
All items less medical care		297.171	-	298.751	2.1	0.5	-
All items less shelter		269.160	-	270.132	2.0	0.4	-
Commodities		212.800	-	217.787	3.5	2.3	-
Commodities less food		170.963	-	178.046	4.2	4.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		166.724	-	173.855	4.0	4.3	-
Durables		103.527	-	103.901	-0.9	0.4	-
Nondurables		281.253	-	290.402	5.6	3.3	-
Nondurables less food		247.725	-	267.482	9.2	8.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		246.139	-	267.004	9.1	8.5	-
Services		398.183	-	395.315	1.2	-0.7	-
Services less rent of shelter		376.895	-	367.146	-0.2	-2.6	-
Services less medical care services		383.054	-	380.157	1.1	-0.8	-
- Data not available. Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.