The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area advanced 0.9 percent for the two months ending in April 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, with shelter contributing most to the increase. The energy index advanced 4.8 percent in March and April, while the food index decreased 0.3 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 advanced 1.2 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.5 percent over the year, and the food index rose 2.6 percent. The energy index fell 5.0 percent.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Apr 2025	1.2	1.5

Food prices declined 0.3 percent for the two months ending in April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) decreased 0.6 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.1 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, the indexes for fruits and vegetables (-2.3 percent), cereals and bakery products (-3.0 percent), and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-1.8 percent) saw notable declines. A rise in the index for dairy and related products (+7.8 percent) slightly offset falling prices in the other categories.

Over the year, the food index rose 2.6 percent, led by the food away from home index (+3.7 percent). Prices for food at home advanced 1.5 percent, with the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+8.0 percent) contributing most to the over-the-year increase.

The energy index increased 4.8 percent for the two months ending in April. Prices paid for gasoline rose 2.8 percent for the same period.

From April 2024 to April 2025, energy prices fell 5.0 percent. The index for gasoline declined 13.5 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.8 percent), recreation (+1.5 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (+0.5 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent over the year. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.4 percent), medical care services, and household furnishings and operations (+5.1 percent). Notable price declines included apparel (-8.6 percent) and lodging away from home.

The June 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 15, 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 April 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Apr. 2025	Apr. 2024	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
All items		275.619	-	278.069	1.2	0.9	-
All items (1967=100)		884.011	-	891.869	-	-	-
Food and beverages		307.535	-	307.335	2.9	-0.1	-
Food		309.945	-	309.096	2.6	-0.3	-
Food at home		295.597	292.452	293.873	1.5	-0.6	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		336.543	330.354	326.606	-3.6	-3.0	-1.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		342.423	338.667	336.211	8.0	-1.8	-0.7
Dairy and related products		222.773	225.362	240.059	0.7	7.8	6.5
Fruits and vegetables		382.546	374.009	373.614	2.0	-2.3	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		351.494	353.371	356.470	-0.2	1.4	0.9
Other food at home		246.698	243.595	244.993	-1.0	-0.7	0.6
Food away from home		319.978	-	320.241	3.7	0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages		257.710	-	267.152	9.2	3.7	-
Housing		273.008	-	276.368	2.3	1.2	-
Shelter		329.627	331.100	332.298	1.1	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence		325.774	326.760	328.642	1.2	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		308.688	309.661	311.073	1.4	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		308.688	309.661	311.073	1.4	0.8	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		161.348	-	161.383	5.1	0.0	-
Apparel		183.906	-	181.139	-8.6	-1.5	-
Transportation		234.962	-	237.392	-2.2	1.0	-
Private transportation		237.480	-	239.448	-2.7	0.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		100.913	-	101.447	-0.8	0.5	-
New vehicles(1)		196.022	-	197.081	0.7	0.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		295.121	-	296.570	0.2	0.5	-
Motor fuel		239.209	239.408	245.542	-13.5	2.6	2.6
Gasoline (all types)		239.117	239.424	245.792	-13.5	2.8	2.7
Unleaded regular(4)		239.115	239.503	245.993	-14.2	2.9	2.7
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		274.507	274.790	282.196	-11.2	2.8	2.7
Unleaded premium(4)		284.836	284.614	291.271	-9.4	2.3	2.3
Medical care		553.519	-	556.279	3.4	0.5	-
Recreation(3)		130.028	-	131.983	-0.1	1.5	-
Education and communication(3)		122.042	-	122.446	0.7	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,320.232	-	1,320.232	-1.0	0.0	-
Other goods and services		491.316	-	494.041	3.5	0.6	-
(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 April 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Apr. 2025	Apr. 2024	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
All items		275.619	-	278.069	1.2	0.9	-
Food		309.945	-	309.096	2.6	-0.3	-
Energy		197.255	197.324	206.626	-5.0	4.8	4.7
All items less food and energy		283.454	-	285.480	1.5	0.7	-
All items less energy		287.298	-	289.017	1.7	0.6	-
All items less medical care		261.738	-	264.133	1.0	0.9	-
All items less shelter		254.571	-	256.938	1.1	0.9	-
Commodities		206.795	-	207.227	-1.1	0.2	-
Commodities less food		165.423	-	166.107	-3.1	0.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages		162.375	-	162.918	-3.5	0.3	-
Durables		113.110	-	113.476	0.4	0.3	-
Nondurables		260.710	-	261.037	-1.7	0.1	-
Nondurables less food		217.307	-	218.498	-5.6	0.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		215.095	-	215.851	-6.7	0.4	-
Services		345.090	-	349.519	2.4	1.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		356.979	-	363.458	4.0	1.8	-
Services less medical care services		320.889	-	325.087	2.2	1.3	-
(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.