The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in February 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the all items less food and energy index rose 0.7 percent. The energy index advanced 3.5 percent in January and February, while the food index rose 1.3 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area all items CPI-U increased 1.0 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent and food prices rose 2.5 percent over the year. Energy prices fell 3.8 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, February 2022–February 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2022	7.8	6.5
Apr 2022	8.5	6.9
Jun 2022	10.2	6.0
Aug 2022	9.5	7.0
Oct 2022	7.6	6.9
Dec 2022	5.3	5.2
Feb 2023	5.2	5.4
Apr 2023	4.0	5.3
Jun 2023	1.7	5.4
Aug 2023	2.7	4.5
Oct 2023	3.0	3.9
Dec 2023	4.5	5.2
Feb 2024	3.5	3.7
Apr 2024	2.9	2.7
Jun 2024	2.1	1.8
Aug 2024	1.7	2.2
Oct 2024	2.1	2.8
Dec 2024	1.0	1.3
Feb 2025	1.0	1.3

Food prices were up 1.3 percent for the two months ending in February. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 1.6 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.9 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, advances in the indexes for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+5.2 percent), fruits and vegetables (+4.3 percent), and other food at home (+1.2 percent) outweighed decreases in the indexes for dairy and related products (-4.4 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-1.4 percent).

Food prices rose 2.5 percent over the year, with prices for food away from home (+3.8 percent) leading the change. Prices for food at home also advanced, up 1.1 percent. An 11.2-percent increase in the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs drove most of the rise in the food at home index. In contrast, the indexes for other food at home and dairy and related products declined over the 12-month period, falling 3.8 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.

The energy index rose 3.5 percent for the two months ending in February. Prices paid for gasoline increased 3.9 percent.

From February 2024 to February 2025, energy prices fell 3.8 percent. The index for gasoline declined 5.5 percent over the same period.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, notable price advances were seen in the indexes for lodging away from home, household furnishings and operations (+4.5 percent), and medical care (+1.3 percent). In contrast, the indexes for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (-0.5 percent) and public transportation declined.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.1 percent), household furnishings and operations (+3.6 percent), and other goods and services (+4.2 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-2.1 percent) and apparel (-3.9 percent).

The April 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

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 Houston 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.

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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

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. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, 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		272.952	-	275.619	1.0	1.0	-
All items (1967=100)		875.454	-	884.011	-	-	-
Food and beverages		303.045	-	307.535	2.5	1.5	-
Food		306.115	-	309.945	2.5	1.3	-
Food at home		291.037	295.538	295.597	1.1	1.6	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		341.151	334.644	336.543	-4.5	-1.4	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		325.343	331.175	342.423	11.2	5.2	3.4
Dairy and related products		232.906	243.094	222.773	-8.9	-4.4	-8.4
Fruits and vegetables		366.679	388.249	382.546	4.4	4.3	-1.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		352.548	363.947	351.494	0.2	-0.3	-3.4
Other food at home		243.770	240.426	246.698	-3.8	1.2	2.6
Food away from home		317.155	-	319.978	3.8	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages		243.628	-	257.710	4.7	5.8	-
Housing		270.280	-	273.008	1.6	1.0	-
Shelter		328.605	330.004	329.627	1.4	0.3	-0.1
Rent of primary residence		326.168	324.878	325.774	1.1	-0.1	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		310.160	310.539	308.688	1.1	-0.5	-0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		310.160	310.539	308.688	1.1	-0.5	-0.6
Household furnishings and operations		154.441	-	161.348	3.6	4.5	-
Apparel		179.619	-	183.906	-3.9	2.4	-
Transportation		232.747	-	234.962	-1.3	1.0	-
Private transportation		233.770	-	237.480	-1.3	1.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		100.507	-	100.913	-2.1	0.4	-
New vehicles(1)		194.884	-	196.022	-0.2	0.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		292.891	-	295.121	-0.5	0.8	-
Motor fuel		230.230	236.111	239.209	-5.6	3.9	1.3
Gasoline (all types)		230.161	235.966	239.117	-5.5	3.9	1.3
Unleaded regular(4)		229.769	235.833	239.115	-5.9	4.1	1.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		265.325	270.743	274.507	-4.6	3.5	1.4
Unleaded premium(4)		276.978	282.088	284.836	-2.9	2.8	1.0
Medical care		546.602	-	553.519	1.0	1.3	-
Recreation(3)		131.016	-	130.028	1.1	-0.8	-
Education and communication(3)		120.792	-	122.042	1.7	1.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,306.402	-	1,320.232	-0.2	1.1	-
Other goods and services		488.046	-	491.316	4.2	0.7	-
(1) Index is on a April 1978=100 base. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, 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		272.952	-	275.619	1.0	1.0	-
Food		306.115	-	309.945	2.5	1.3	-
Energy		190.631	195.932	197.255	-3.8	3.5	0.7
All items less food and energy		281.389	-	283.454	1.3	0.7	-
All items less energy		285.034	-	287.298	1.4	0.8	-
All items less medical care		259.254	-	261.738	1.0	1.0	-
All items less shelter		251.230	-	254.571	0.8	1.3	-
Commodities		203.783	-	206.795	-0.2	1.5	-
Commodities less food		162.858	-	165.423	-1.7	1.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		160.012	-	162.375	-1.9	1.5	-
Durables		112.100	-	113.110	-0.8	0.9	-
Nondurables		255.849	-	260.710	0.2	1.9	-
Nondurables less food		211.806	-	217.307	-2.0	2.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		210.048	-	215.095	-2.5	2.4	-
Services		342.728	-	345.090	1.7	0.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		353.013	-	356.979	2.0	1.1	-
Services less medical care services		318.803	-	320.889	1.8	0.7	-
(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.