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

26-742-SAN
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

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

Consumer Price Index, Anchorage area — April 2026

Area prices were up 3.6 percent over the past two months, up 4.3 percent from a year ago

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.

Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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).

Table A. Urban Alaska CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

 1.1 7.4 0.1 4.3 0.1 1.7 0.6 2.9 0.3 1.5

April

 1.9 7.5 0.8 3.1 2.2 3.2 0.9 1.6 3.6 4.3

June

 7.1 12.4 0.4 -3.3 0.2 2.9 0.1 1.6

August

 -4.0 7.6 1.3 2.0 -0.1 1.5 0.8 2.4

October

 1.1 7.6 0.2 1.1 0.8 2.1 - -

December

 -1.7 5.4 -1.1 1.8 -0.8 2.3 - 1.9

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

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage 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 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026