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

26-737-SAN
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

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

Consumer Price Index, West Region — April 2026

Area prices were up 0.8 percent over the past month, up 3.5 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the West region advanced 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.4 percent. The food index rose 0.5 percent, and the energy index increased 6.8 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The West all items CPI-U advanced 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.0 percent. Energy prices rose 16.6 percent.  

Food

Food prices advanced 0.5 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 0.7 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.2 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.0 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 2.6 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.8 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 9.7 percent. Prices for electricity increased 2.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices rose 16.6 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 25.7 percent. Prices for electricity rose 3.9 percent, while prices for natural gas service fell 3.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in April. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for other goods and services (+2.2 percent) and shelter (+0.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for medical care (-0.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.3 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (+3.4 percent) and shelter (+2.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-2.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

 0.9 7.7 0.9 6.3 0.7 3.3 0.6 2.4 0.4 2.7

February

 0.8 8.1 0.5 6.0 0.4 3.2 0.6 2.6 0.5 2.7

March

 1.3 8.7 0.5 5.1 0.9 3.6 0.5 2.2 0.9 3.1

April

 0.7 8.3 0.5 4.9 0.6 3.7 0.5 2.1 0.8 3.5

May

 0.8 8.3 0.4 4.5 0.1 3.3 0.3 2.4

June

 1.2 8.8 0.3 3.5 -0.2 2.8 0.1 2.7

July

 0.1 8.3 0.1 3.5 -0.1 2.6 0.2 3.0

August

 0.0 8.1 0.4 3.9 0.1 2.2 0.3 3.2

September

 0.3 8.3 0.4 3.9 0.2 2.1 0.3 3.3

October

 0.7 8.1 0.1 3.3 0.1 2.1 - -

November

 -0.4 7.1 -0.4 3.3 -0.1 2.4 - 3.0

December

 -0.4 6.2 -0.1 3.6 0.0 2.5 -0.2 2.9

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

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on June 10, 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 the West Region is published 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.

The West region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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. West region 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

 346.990 350.226 353.161 3.5 1.8 0.8

All items (December 1977 = 100)

 560.890 566.120 570.865      

Food and beverages

 360.472 360.776 362.379 2.9 0.5 0.4

Food

 363.578 363.811 365.632 3.0 0.6 0.5

Food at home

 335.984 335.986 338.236 2.6 0.7 0.7

Cereals and bakery products

 347.300 346.823 339.605 0.7 -2.2 -2.1

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 364.504 363.454 370.969 -0.1 1.8 2.1

Dairy and related products

 276.394 277.659 279.075 -2.7 1.0 0.5

Fruits and vegetables

 425.455 427.888 443.426 9.5 4.2 3.6

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

 242.438 238.898 240.171 2.5 -0.9 0.5

Other food at home

 294.311 295.434 292.816 2.9 -0.5 -0.9

Food away from home

 402.819 403.461 404.458 3.4 0.4 0.2

Alcoholic beverages

 313.273 314.620 313.033 1.6 -0.1 -0.5

Housing

 390.761 391.880 393.876 2.9 0.8 0.5

Shelter

 450.259 452.320 454.585 2.9 1.0 0.5

Rent of primary residence

 479.538 480.018 481.196 2.2 0.3 0.2

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)

 475.870 476.319 478.084 2.7 0.5 0.4

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)

 475.677 476.131 477.896 2.7 0.5 0.4

Fuels and utilities

 442.487 439.631 445.370 3.3 0.7 1.3

Household energy

 380.109 375.961 382.881 2.6 0.7 1.8

Energy services

 383.664 378.754 385.727 2.4 0.5 1.8

Electricity

 429.679 425.255 435.090 3.9 1.3 2.3

Utility (piped) gas service

 293.758 287.242 287.381 -3.1 -2.2 0.0

Household furnishings and operations

 164.363 163.804 163.588 2.7 -0.5 -0.1

Apparel

 131.832 132.611 132.640 3.9 0.6 0.0

Transportation

 284.921 298.422 307.403 7.1 7.9 3.0

Private transportation

 283.240 297.351 305.595 6.3 7.9 2.8

New and used motor vehicles(2)

 122.061 122.432 122.899 -0.9 0.7 0.4

New vehicles

 176.485 176.514 176.633 0.1 0.1 0.1

New cars(3)

 176.001 176.934 176.760 0.6 0.4 -0.1

Used cars and trucks

 170.240 170.874 172.716 -2.3 1.5 1.1

Motor fuel

 321.413 395.346 435.462 27.0 35.5 10.1

Gasoline (all types)

 319.745 391.961 430.020 25.7 34.5 9.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

 314.411 387.455 425.594 26.1 35.4 9.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

 308.443 374.309 409.869 24.9 32.9 9.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

 320.306 385.474 420.914 24.2 31.4 9.2

Medical care

 656.281 654.237 652.434 3.4 -0.6 -0.3

Medical care commodities

 483.709 474.400 470.054 -1.2 -2.8 -0.9

Medical care services

 709.253 709.395 708.356 4.4 -0.1 -0.1

Professional services

 450.097 450.247 450.238 4.6 0.0 0.0

Recreation(2)

 137.310 137.371 137.606 2.6 0.2 0.2

Education and communication(2)

 143.104 143.370 142.950 -0.7 -0.1 -0.3

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)

 103.773 103.806 103.864 3.3 0.1 0.1

Other goods and services

 585.858 589.309 602.557 5.6 2.9 2.2

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 2024=100 base.

- Data not available.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. West region 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

 346.990 350.226 353.161 3.5 1.8 0.8

Food

 363.578 363.811 365.632 3.0 0.6 0.5

Energy

 353.487 396.271 423.344 16.6 19.8 6.8

All items less food and energy

 347.822 348.774 350.212 2.6 0.7 0.4

All items less energy

 349.311 350.162 351.649 2.7 0.7 0.4

All items less medical care

 332.793 336.251 339.386 3.5 2.0 0.9

All items less shelter

 306.116 309.828 313.037 3.9 2.3 1.0

Commodities

 231.632 236.604 239.923 4.2 3.6 1.4

Commodities less food

 177.769 183.907 187.493 4.8 5.5 1.9

Commodities less food & beverages

 172.786 178.953 182.607 4.9 5.7 2.0

Durables

 121.801 121.899 122.164 -0.5 0.3 0.2

Nondurables

 295.662 304.616 310.386 6.2 5.0 1.9

Nondurables less food & beverages

 231.988 248.538 257.942 10.5 11.2 3.8

Nondurables less food

 237.985 253.808 262.670 9.9 10.4 3.5

Services

 455.019 456.279 458.685 3.2 0.8 0.5

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 474.643 474.817 477.475 3.6 0.6 0.6

Services less medical care services

 437.102 438.438 441.081 3.0 0.9 0.6

Footnotes
(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 12, 2026