BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

05/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/12/2026 10:00

Consumer Price Index, Northeast region — April 2026

News Release Information

26-751-PHI
Tuesday, May 12, 2026

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Consumer Price Index, Northeast region - April 2026

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past month, up 4.4 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast Region advanced 1.0 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The energy index increased 7.3 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Northeast Region all items CPI-U advanced 4.4 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 21.8 percent. Food prices increased 3.9 percent.

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, April 2023-April 2026
Month All items All items less food and energy

Apr 2023

3.8 4.2

May 2023

3.1 4.3

Jun 2023

2.2 3.8

Jul 2023

2.6 4.0

Aug 2023

2.8 3.7

Sep 2023

3.0 3.5

Oct 2023

2.7 3.4

Nov 2023

2.5 3.5

Dec 2023

2.6 3.5

Jan 2024

2.5 3.5

Feb 2024

2.4 3.2

Mar 2024

3.4 4.0

Apr 2024

3.6 4.1

May 2024

3.9 4.3

Jun 2024

3.8 4.3

Jul 2024

3.6 3.9

Aug 2024

3.4 4.0

Sep 2024

3.4 4.2

Oct 2024

3.5 4.4

Nov 2024

3.5 4.3

Dec 2024

3.5 3.9

Jan 2025

3.7 4.1

Feb 2025

3.9 4.2

Mar 2025

3.2 3.4

Apr 2025

3.1 3.5

May 2025

2.8 3.1

Jun 2025

3.0 3.2

Jul 2025

3.2 3.4

Aug 2025

3.3 3.4

Sep 2025

3.1 3.0

Oct 2025

- -

Nov 2025

3.1 2.8

Dec 2025

3.3 3.1

Jan 2026

2.8 2.7

Feb 2026

2.7 2.6

Mar 2026

3.6 2.9

Apr 2026

4.4 3.1

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

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home advanced 0.7 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 0.1 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.9 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 4.2 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 7.3 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 12.6 percent. Prices for electricity increased 5.6 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 21.8 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 30.4 percent. Prices for electricity rose 12.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 10.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in April. Among the index's components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.8 percent) and household furnishings and operations (+0.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-0.2 percent) and apparel (-0.2 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+3.7 percent) and household furnishings and operations (+4.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-0.9 percent).

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

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

With the publication of April 2026 data on May 12, 2026, 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 https://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 Northeast 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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. Northeast 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

340.945 344.142 347.585 4.4 1.9 1.0

All items (December 1977 = 100)

536.884 541.919 547.341 - - -

Food and beverages

346.783 346.979 348.510 3.8 0.5 0.4

Food

349.937 350.135 351.671 3.9 0.5 0.4

Food at home

323.595 323.805 325.914 4.2 0.7 0.7

Cereals and bakery products

401.042 404.173 405.382 4.9 1.1 0.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

333.933 331.395 336.001 1.3 0.6 1.4

Dairy and related products

281.911 283.521 282.849 1.2 0.3 -0.2

Fruits and vegetables

369.103 372.802 373.844 8.3 1.3 0.3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

248.399 247.634 252.189 7.6 1.5 1.8

Other food at home

289.223 288.982 289.385 3.3 0.1 0.1

Food away from home

396.998 397.168 397.484 3.4 0.1 0.1

Alcoholic beverages

303.418 303.592 305.029 1.8 0.5 0.5

Housing

379.102 381.383 385.228 4.8 1.6 1.0

Shelter

376.263 377.851 381.798 4.8 1.5 1.0

Rent of primary residence

470.573 471.917 475.463 4.3 1.0 0.8

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)

484.168 485.436 488.564 4.0 0.9 0.6

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)

483.663 484.929 488.047 4.0 0.9 0.6

Fuels and utilities

344.367 355.526 366.601 13.6 6.5 3.1

Household energy

309.739 322.037 333.596 15.6 7.7 3.6

Energy services

309.814 313.150 325.566 11.7 5.1 4.0

Electricity

312.873 313.667 331.164 12.1 5.8 5.6

Utility (piped) gas service

282.197 290.340 291.825 10.9 3.4 0.5

Household furnishings and operations

153.937 154.391 155.360 4.7 0.9 0.6

Apparel

136.318 139.736 139.423 3.0 2.3 -0.2

Transportation

267.310 277.218 285.590 7.5 6.8 3.0

Private transportation

264.793 275.070 283.910 6.9 7.2 3.2

New and used motor vehicles(2)

124.286 124.909 125.396 -0.9 0.9 0.4

New vehicles

175.960 176.171 176.536 0.5 0.3 0.2

New cars(3)

166.378 166.779 167.728 1.2 0.8 0.6

Used cars and trucks

187.323 187.666 189.436 -3.0 1.1 0.9

Motor fuel

257.315 309.770 349.317 30.7 35.8 12.8

Gasoline (all types)

256.447 308.736 347.594 30.4 35.5 12.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

249.543 303.202 342.625 31.5 37.3 13.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

290.125 337.691 376.053 26.2 29.6 11.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

291.868 335.784 371.048 24.8 27.1 10.5

Medical care

591.733 596.122 597.769 2.3 1.0 0.3

Medical care commodities

425.259 425.957 425.493 -0.5 0.1 -0.1

Medical care services

640.642 646.176 648.482 2.9 1.2 0.4

Professional services

443.874 450.825 452.703 4.0 2.0 0.4

Recreation(2)

148.397 147.938 147.601 1.2 -0.5 -0.2

Education and communication(2)

160.679 160.798 161.003 1.4 0.2 0.1

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)

104.053 104.065 104.138 3.6 0.1 0.1

Other goods and services

646.672 647.112 650.191 3.9 0.5 0.5

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. Northeast 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

340.945 344.142 347.585 4.4 1.9 1.0

Food

349.937 350.135 351.671 3.9 0.5 0.4

Energy

289.000 318.210 341.568 21.8 18.2 7.3

All items less food and energy

352.149 353.417 355.336 3.1 0.9 0.5

All items less energy

349.928 351.025 352.875 3.2 0.8 0.5

All items less medical care

329.972 333.122 336.661 4.5 2.0 1.1

All items less shelter

297.525 301.437 304.864 4.8 2.5 1.1

Commodities

233.676 238.424 241.391 5.3 3.3 1.2

Commodities less food

181.100 187.336 190.710 6.3 5.3 1.8

Commodities less food & beverages

176.556 182.969 186.396 6.6 5.6 1.9

Durables

120.913 121.128 121.448 0.8 0.4 0.3

Nondurables

286.048 293.575 298.136 6.8 4.2 1.6

Nondurables less food & beverages

226.886 241.346 248.767 11.1 9.6 3.1

Nondurables less food

231.383 244.799 251.778 10.2 8.8 2.9

Services

443.945 445.550 449.426 3.9 1.2 0.9

Services less rent of shelter(1)

435.246 437.230 441.601 4.1 1.5 1.0

Services less medical care services

430.424 431.741 435.743 4.0 1.2 0.9

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.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on May 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 12, 2026 at 16:00 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]