The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area advanced 0.6 percent for the two months ending in February 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent, while the index for food rose 0.4 percent. The index for energy declined 1.6 percent over the 2-month period. (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 1.3 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent and food prices rose 2.8 percent over the year. Energy prices decreased 1.1 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, February 2023–February 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jun 2025	1.8	2.1
Aug 2025	1.1	1.3
Oct 2025	-	-
Dec 2025	1.6	1.2
Feb 2026	1.3	1.3
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The food index advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in February. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 0.5 percent, and the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.3 percent for the same period. Within the food at home index, the category for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+4.8 percent) led the rise, followed by meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+0.6 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+1.2 percent). The indexes for other food at home (-0.6 percent) and dairy and related products (-1.3 percent) declined over the two-month period.

Food prices rose 2.8 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.9 percent, and prices for food at home rose 1.7 percent. Within the index for food at home, the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index and the dairy and related products index had notable increases, advancing 7.8 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively.

The energy index decreased 1.6 percent for the two months ending in February. The index for gasoline was unchanged for the same period.

From February 2025 to February 2026, energy prices declined 1.1 percent. Prices paid for gasoline fell 7.9 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (+9.8 percent), lodging away from home, and medical care services. In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-4.2 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.7 percent), medical care services, and apparel (+8.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-7.7 percent), and used cars and trucks (-3.7 percent).

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.

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.

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.

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

Table 1. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, CPI-U by expenditure category for February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		277.453	-	279.235	1.3	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)		889.892	-	895.609	-	-	-
Food and beverages		314.283	-	315.309	2.5	0.3	-
Food		317.149	-	318.502	2.8	0.4	-
Food at home		299.113	299.480	300.700	1.7	0.5	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		330.636	333.004	334.550	-0.6	1.2	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		337.929	337.710	340.096	-0.7	0.6	0.7
Dairy and related products		244.238	244.317	241.005	8.2	-1.3	-1.4
Fruits and vegetables		393.080	395.671	391.364	2.3	-0.4	-1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		361.626	363.556	378.990	7.8	4.8	4.2
Other food at home		247.316	246.232	245.920	-0.3	-0.6	-0.1
Food away from home		331.593	-	332.494	3.9	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		257.389	-	254.063	-1.4	-1.3	-
Housing		277.482	-	278.369	2.0	0.3	-
Shelter		331.827	334.479	333.964	1.3	0.6	-0.2
Rent of primary residence		331.376	332.601	330.582	1.5	-0.2	-0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		312.943	314.413	313.834	1.7	0.3	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		312.943	314.413	313.834	1.7	0.3	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations		166.841	-	167.510	3.8	0.4	-
Apparel		181.797	-	199.523	8.5	9.8	-
Transportation		233.595	-	232.709	-1.0	-0.4	-
Private transportation		235.463	-	234.431	-1.3	-0.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		100.445	-	99.500	-1.4	-0.9	-
New vehicles(1)		195.552	-	195.894	-0.1	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		296.523	-	284.146	-3.7	-4.2	-
Motor fuel		220.338	214.451	220.465	-7.8	0.1	2.8
Gasoline (all types)		220.059	214.126	220.121	-7.9	0.0	2.8
Unleaded regular(4)		218.467	212.318	218.501	-8.6	0.0	2.9
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		260.708	254.948	261.210	-4.8	0.2	2.5
Unleaded premium(4)		273.373	267.897	273.618	-3.9	0.1	2.1
Medical care		560.665	-	571.943	3.3	2.0	-
Recreation(3)		132.066	-	133.235	2.5	0.9	-
Education and communication(3)		113.371	-	112.626	-7.7	-0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,335.104	-	1,318.187	-0.2	-1.3	-
Other goods and services		494.410	-	507.288	3.3	2.6	-
(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 February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		277.453	-	279.235	1.3	0.6	-
Food		317.149	-	318.502	2.8	0.4	-
Energy		198.221	191.744	195.018	-1.1	-1.6	1.7
All items less food and energy		284.755	-	287.235	1.3	0.9	-
All items less energy		289.247	-	291.578	1.5	0.8	-
All items less medical care		263.368	-	264.720	1.1	0.5	-
All items less shelter		256.261	-	257.905	1.3	0.6	-
Commodities		206.891	-	208.206	0.7	0.6	-
Commodities less food		163.897	-	165.151	-0.2	0.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages		160.846	-	162.207	-0.1	0.8	-
Durables		113.190	-	111.867	-1.1	-1.2	-
Nondurables		260.785	-	264.466	1.4	1.4	-
Nondurables less food		212.087	-	217.588	0.1	2.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		209.619	-	215.709	0.3	2.9	-
Services		348.624	-	350.877	1.7	0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		362.035	-	364.292	2.0	0.6	-
Services less medical care services		323.876	-	325.412	1.4	0.5	-
(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.