The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in April 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the energy index increased 24.6 percent, its largest increase since June 1995. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.9 percent, while the food index was up 0.5 percent over the two-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 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The energy index rose 17.6 percent and the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.5 percent. The food index was up 3.6 percent over the same period.

Food

The food index advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.6 percent, and the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, the index for fruits and vegetables (+4.1 percent) led the rise. The index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-2.3 percent) saw the largest decline over the two-month period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 3.6 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 4.2 percent, and prices for food at home rose 2.9 percent. All six major grocery store food group categories increased over the same period, led by a 9.0-percent advance in the index for fruits and vegetables.

Energy

The energy index increased 24.6 percent for the two months ending in April. The index for gasoline advanced 52.7 percent, the largest two-month increase since the series began in 1978.

From April 2025 to April 2026, energy prices rose 17.6 percent. Prices paid for gasoline increased 36.8 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

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 public transportation, lodging away from home, and other goods and services (+4.1 percent). In contrast, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences declined 0.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent over the year. Components contributing to the rise included public transportation, apparel (+12.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+4.8 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-8.3 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.3 percent).

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2026.

Technical Note

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 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		279.235	-	285.974	2.8	2.4	-
All items (1967=100)		895.609	-	917.221	-	-	-
Food and beverages		315.309	-	316.891	3.1	0.5	-
Food		318.502	-	320.148	3.6	0.5	-
Food at home		300.700	300.136	302.476	2.9	0.6	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		334.550	328.722	329.626	0.9	-1.5	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		340.096	335.946	343.197	2.1	0.9	2.2
Dairy and related products		241.005	240.215	241.214	0.5	0.1	0.4
Fruits and vegetables		391.364	400.077	407.399	9.0	4.1	1.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		378.990	377.087	370.375	3.9	-2.3	-1.8
Other food at home		245.920	246.438	247.390	1.0	0.6	0.4
Food away from home		332.494	-	333.846	4.2	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		254.063	-	254.703	-4.7	0.3	-
Housing		278.369	-	278.977	0.9	0.2	-
Shelter		333.964	334.326	334.859	0.8	0.3	0.2
Rent of primary residence		330.582	328.701	329.846	0.4	-0.2	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		313.834	313.698	312.976	0.6	-0.3	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		313.834	313.698	312.976	0.6	-0.3	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations		167.510	-	169.200	4.8	1.0	-
Apparel		199.523	-	203.121	12.1	1.8	-
Transportation		232.709	-	260.317	9.7	11.9	-
Private transportation		234.431	-	260.409	8.8	11.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		99.500	-	100.091	-1.3	0.6	-
New vehicles(1)		195.894	-	196.184	-0.5	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		284.146	-	288.192	-2.8	1.4	-
Motor fuel		220.465	291.304	337.062	37.3	52.9	15.7
Gasoline (all types)		220.121	290.533	336.225	36.8	52.7	15.7
Unleaded regular(4)		218.501	291.988	339.765	38.1	55.5	16.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		261.210	327.438	371.948	31.8	42.4	13.6
Unleaded premium(4)		273.618	336.085	376.586	29.3	37.6	12.1
Medical care		571.943	-	572.634	2.9	0.1	-
Recreation(3)		133.235	-	133.014	0.8	-0.2	-
Education and communication(3)		112.626	-	112.289	-8.3	-0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,318.187	-	1,320.027	0.0	0.1	-
Other goods and services		507.288	-	528.213	6.9	4.1	-
(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 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		279.235	-	285.974	2.8	2.4	-
Food		318.502	-	320.148	3.6	0.5	-
Energy		195.018	224.027	243.069	17.6	24.6	8.5
All items less food and energy		287.235	-	289.819	1.5	0.9	-
All items less energy		291.578	-	294.039	1.7	0.8	-
All items less medical care		264.720	-	271.689	2.9	2.6	-
All items less shelter		257.905	-	266.966	3.9	3.5	-
Commodities		208.206	-	219.453	5.9	5.4	-
Commodities less food		165.151	-	179.033	7.8	8.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages		162.207	-	176.354	8.2	8.7	-
Durables		111.867	-	113.118	-0.3	1.1	-
Nondurables		264.466	-	283.497	8.6	7.2	-
Nondurables less food		217.588	-	250.329	14.6	15.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		215.709	-	250.620	16.1	16.2	-
Services		350.877	-	353.491	1.1	0.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		364.292	-	368.904	1.5	1.3	-
Services less medical care services		325.412	-	328.148	0.9	0.8	-
(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.