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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Southwest > News Release
News Release Information

26-496-DAL
Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Consumer Price Index, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area – February 2026

Area prices rose 0.6 percent in January and February, up 1.3 percent over the year

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.

  Line chart of 12-month percent changes in the CPI-U all items and all items less food and energy for Houston, not seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Food

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.

Energy

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.

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 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.


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 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026