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

25-829-DAL
Tuesday, May 13, 2025

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

Consumer Price Index, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area — April 2025

Area prices rose 0.9 percent in March and April, up 1.2 percent over the year

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.

  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

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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.


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.

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025