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News Release Information

26-740-SAN
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — April 2026

Area prices were up 1.3 percent over the past two months, up 4.9 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue advanced 1.3 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 17.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent, while the food index decreased 0.7 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Seattle area all items CPI-U advanced 4.9 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.8 percent. Energy prices rose 23.7 percent.

Food

Food prices fell 0.7 percent for the two months ending in April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) fell 1.2 percent, with lower prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.8 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 0.7 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 7.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 17.6 percent for the two months ending in April. Gasoline prices increased 28.9 percent.

Energy prices rose 23.7 percent over the year. Gasoline prices rose 25.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for other goods and services (+4.1 percent) and shelter (+0.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-4.4 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (+8.1 percent) and shelter (+2.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-1.6 percent) and education and communication (-1.2 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20222023202420252026
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

1.78.11.48.01.24.31.12.51.83.9

April

2.19.11.06.91.24.40.41.71.34.9

June

3.210.11.04.60.43.81.42.7

August

0.09.00.85.40.13.10.22.8

October

1.08.90.44.80.33.0--

December

0.18.4-0.34.4-0.52.7-3.1

Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations

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

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

Effective with this release, several CPI series were rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes that were rebased is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm


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 Seattle 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U by expenditure category for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

IndexesPercent change from -
Historical
data
Feb.
2026
Mar.
2026
Apr.
2026
Apr.
2025
Feb.
2026
Mar.
2026

All Items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0
372.121-377.0914.91.3-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DAA0
1,134.371-1,149.519   

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF
386.990-384.6813.8-0.6-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF1
389.833-387.1803.8-0.7-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF11
336.787337.946332.7940.7-1.2-1.5

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF111
408.191426.630405.6616.0-0.6-4.9

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF112
305.939309.601308.8561.91.0-0.2

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEFJ
294.566293.770295.255-0.20.5

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF113
539.564531.181532.5478.3-1.30.3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF114
476.243445.205462.1966.7-2.93.8

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF115
247.836253.668241.456-7.0-2.6-4.8

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEFV
474.034-473.8717.30.0-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF116
343.112-345.4464.10.7-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH
451.354-454.8133.80.8-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH1
511.685513.903515.2812.40.70.3

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHA
514.645514.428517.1662.30.50.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHC
542.533542.947546.1422.40.70.6

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEHC01
542.533542.947546.1422.40.70.6

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAH3
247.959-249.1377.40.5-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAA
147.985-141.48614.6-4.4-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAT
309.566-330.8038.56.9-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAT1
322.297-341.7896.56.0-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA
124.908-124.774-0.2-0.1-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA01
228.229-227.9930.7-0.1-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETA02
401.351-407.489-1.61.5-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETB
478.840567.171621.04026.429.79.5

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSETB01
489.190578.052630.64325.728.99.1

Unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47014
527.216625.454683.36226.129.69.3

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47015
390.227457.132497.43124.427.58.8

Unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSS47016
462.347538.798584.76124.226.58.5

Medical Care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAM
504.226-503.1882.0-0.2-

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAR
133.173-132.8468.1-0.2-

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAE
147.836-146.857-1.2-0.7-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSEEB
--1,989.9173.0--

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAG
556.009-579.079-4.1-

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a November 1977=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. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

IndexesPercent change from -
Historical
data
Feb.
2026
Mar.
2026
Apr.
2026
Apr.
2025
Feb.
2026
Mar.
2026

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0
372.121-377.0914.91.3-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAF1
389.833-387.1803.8-0.7-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0E
447.632495.706526.34223.717.66.2

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L1E
369.244-371.4893.80.6-

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0LE
372.263-373.8623.90.4-

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L5
366.537-371.8605.11.5-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSA0L2
317.563-323.0056.51.7-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAC
251.823-257.8286.32.4-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSACL1
197.098-205.6197.64.3-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSACL11
191.545-200.1277.84.5-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAD
151.191-152.7262.01.0-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAN
307.455-316.6398.13.0-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSANL11
235.073-254.43514.28.2-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSANL1
244.095-262.67513.37.6-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSAS
483.817-487.6754.20.8-

Services less rent of shelter(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSASL2RS
460.890-465.1026.60.9-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49DSASL5
476.535-480.7544.20.9-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026