Consumer Price Index, Phoenix area — August 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in August 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent during the two-month period. The food index decreased 1.6 percent, while the energy index rose 4.6 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Phoenix area all items CPI-U advanced 2.5 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.7 percent. Energy prices increased 19.1 percent.

Food

Food prices declined 1.6 percent for the two months ending in August.

Food prices rose 1.7 percent over the year. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 1.0 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.6 percent for the two months ending in August. Gasoline prices advanced 5.1 percent.

Energy prices rose 19.1 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 32.5 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent during the two-month period. Among the index's components, prices were higher for education and communication (+3.2 percent) and other goods and services (+2.3 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for recreation (-2.5 percent) and shelter (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included household furnishings and operations (+4.7 percent) and recreation (+3.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for shelter (-0.3 percent).

The October 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix area is scheduled to be released on November 10, 2026.

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 Phoenix 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

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. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, CPI-U by expenditure category for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All Items		190.704	-	191.724	2.5	0.5	-
Food and beverages		197.624	-	194.961	1.5	-1.3	-
Food		201.686	-	198.517	1.7	-1.6	-
Food at home		-	-	191.162	1.0	-	-
Cereals and bakery products		-	-	260.089	-	-	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		-	-	228.084	-	-	-
Dairy and related products		157.564	157.151	154.224	5.7	-2.1	-1.9
Fruits and vegetables		-	-	160.133	-	-	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		142.525	143.802	135.927	-12.9	-4.6	-5.5
Other food at home		-	-	195.388	5.9	-	-
Food away from home		215.500	-	213.403	2.5	-1.0	-
Alcoholic beverages		154.718	-	159.871	1.2	3.3	-
Housing		212.320	-	212.496	0.8	0.1	-
Shelter		228.094	226.775	226.413	-0.3	-0.7	-0.2
Rent of primary residence		235.143	235.062	235.508	-0.3	0.2	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences		223.451	223.329	223.392	-0.5	0.0	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence		223.451	223.329	223.392	-0.5	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		-	-	123.888	4.7	-	-
Apparel		159.139	-	163.262	7.6	2.6	-
Transportation		161.383	-	165.067	8.3	2.3	-
Private transportation		163.791	-	166.452	6.4	1.6	-
New and used motor vehicles		113.747	-	114.630	1.3	0.8	-
New vehicles		111.609	-	111.716	0.1	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks		117.060	-	119.369	0.6	2.0	-
Motor fuel		370.099	354.259	389.318	34.2	5.2	9.9
Gasoline (all types)		365.855	351.008	384.355	32.5	5.1	9.5
Unleaded regular(1)		367.765	352.506	387.329	33.6	5.3	9.9
Unleaded midgrade(1)		383.229	368.009	400.343	30.8	4.5	8.8
Unleaded premium(1)		364.201	350.615	379.273	28.6	4.1	8.2
Medical Care		264.601	-	266.755	0.8	0.8	-
Recreation		136.696	-	133.283	3.9	-2.5	-
Education and communication		116.331	-	120.012	0.2	3.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care		239.481	-	242.068	-	1.1	-
Other goods and services		185.043	-	189.249	1.4	2.3	-
Footnotes (1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

Table 2. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, CPI-U by special aggregate index for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		190.704	-	191.724	2.5	0.5	-
Food		201.686	-	198.517	1.7	-1.6	-
Energy		290.460	288.086	303.794	19.1	4.6	5.5
All items less food and energy		182.619	-	183.487	1.3	0.5	-
All items less energy		185.164	-	185.589	1.3	0.2	-
All items less medical care		186.584	-	187.532	2.6	0.5	-
All items less shelter		171.427	-	173.509	4.0	1.2	-
Commodities		153.516	-	154.868	5.6	0.9	-
Commodities less food		132.602	-	135.338	7.5	2.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		131.509	-	134.183	7.8	2.0	-
Durables		86.803	-	88.230	2.7	1.6	-
Nondurables		196.579	-	197.498	7.3	0.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		193.417	-	198.210	14.3	2.5	-
Nondurables less food		190.618	-	195.420	13.4	2.5	-
Services		217.102	-	217.872	0.9	0.4	-
Services less rent of shelter		201.306	-	204.479	2.3	1.6	-
Services less medical care services		211.820	-	212.378	0.8	0.3	-
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.