The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Urban Alaska advanced 3.6 percent for the two months ending in April 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the energy index increased 18.0 percent. The food index rose 1.0 percent, and the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Anchorage area all items CPI-U advanced 4.3 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.3 percent. Energy prices rose 22.2 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Alaska, April 2023–April 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Apr 2023	3.1	5.4
Jun 2023	-3.3	1.8
Aug 2023	2.0	2.7
Oct 2023	1.1	2.2
Dec 2023	1.8	2.5
Feb 2024	1.7	2.0
Apr 2024	3.2	2.7
Jun 2024	2.9	3.2
Aug 2024	1.5	2.4
Oct 2024	2.1	3.0
Dec 2024	2.3	2.5
Feb 2025	2.9	3.0
Apr 2025	1.6	2.3
Jun 2025	1.6	1.9
Aug 2025	2.4	2.3
Oct 2025	-	-
Dec 2025	1.9	1.6
Feb 2026	1.5	1.3
Apr 2026	4.3	3.0
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Food prices advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 1.4 percent, with higher prices for fruits and vegetables (+4.6 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+3.2 percent). Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.4 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.3 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 2.9 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home increased 4.4 percent.

The energy index rose 18.0 percent for the two months ending in April. Gasoline prices increased 31.7 percent.

Energy prices rose 22.2 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 31.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.7 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for recreation (+4.0 percent) and shelter (+3.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-2.9 percent) and medical care (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (+15.0 percent) and shelter (+5.0 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-2.8 percent) and education and communication (-2.0 percent).

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on July 14, 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 Urban Alaska 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.

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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

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. Urban Alaska, 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		273.181	-	282.958	4.3	3.6	-
All items (1967=100)		729.157	-	755.255
Food and beverages		274.498	-	277.186	3.3	1.0	-
Food		284.972	-	287.942	3.3	1.0	-
Food at home		267.550	269.455	271.179	2.9	1.4	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		270.804	271.655	269.997	0.8	-0.3	-0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		243.572	252.199	251.386	-2.1	3.2	-0.3
Dairy and related products		265.471	259.059	265.138	1.4	-0.1	2.3
Fruits and vegetables		397.608	399.332	416.088	4.5	4.6	4.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		200.866	195.176	200.428	7.3	-0.2	2.7
Other food at home		225.352	228.497	225.251	4.9	0.0	-1.4
Food away from home		320.157	-	321.586	4.4	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		174.046	-	174.313	3.6	0.2	-
Housing		250.297	-	257.289	4.8	2.8	-
Shelter		255.479	258.851	264.940	5.0	3.7	2.4
Rent of primary residence		256.518	256.862	258.142	2.3	0.6	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		257.556	256.908	258.853	2.8	0.5	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		257.556	256.908	258.853	2.8	0.5	0.8
Household furnishings and operations		143.582	-	139.377	2.3	-2.9	-
Apparel		178.551	-	187.060	15.0	4.8	-
Transportation		266.525	-	295.746	5.5	11.0	-
Private transportation		283.914	-	308.860	5.7	8.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		118.552	-	121.350	-2.8	2.4	-
New vehicles(1)		259.929	-	261.385	-3.1	0.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		327.113	-	332.352	-1.8	1.6	-
Motor fuel		297.063	354.953	396.819	33.1	33.6	11.8
Gasoline (all types)		299.882	355.544	394.924	31.3	31.7	11.1
Unleaded regular(4)		286.471	341.129	379.363	31.5	32.4	11.2
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		293.232	346.023	383.161	30.6	30.7	10.7
Unleaded premium(4)		315.867	368.676	407.819	30.5	29.1	10.6
Medical Care		818.461	-	812.445	0.6	-0.7	-
Recreation(3)		141.102	-	146.684	5.3	4.0	-
Education and communication(3)		113.431	-	113.065	-2.0	-0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		515.949	-	537.986	3.9	4.3	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a January 1978=100 base. (2) Index is on a November 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. Data not seasonally adjusted.

Table 2. Urban Alaska, 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		273.181	-	282.958	4.3	3.6	-
Food		284.972	-	287.942	3.3	1.0	-
Energy		347.660	383.716	410.318	22.2	18.0	6.9
All items less food and energy		267.583	-	274.908	3.0	2.7	-
All items less energy		269.252	-	275.977	3.0	2.5	-
All items less medical care		254.619	-	264.776	4.5	4.0	-
All items less shelter		279.052	-	288.861	3.9	3.5	-
Commodities		215.561	-	224.078	5.2	4.0	-
Commodities less food		186.027	-	196.229	6.2	5.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages		186.173	-	196.799	6.4	5.7	-
Durables		135.820	-	134.982	-2.4	-0.6	-
Nondurables		263.953	-	279.647	8.8	5.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		248.904	-	277.853	15.1	11.6	-
Nondurables less food		243.670	-	269.912	14.2	10.8	-
Services		325.634	-	336.540	3.9	3.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		440.095	-	452.836	2.5	2.9	-
Services less medical care services		295.962	-	307.255	4.0	3.8	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.