Consumer Price Index, Northeast region — March 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast Region advanced 0.9 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The energy index increased 10.1 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 rose 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.9 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 13.5 percent. Food prices advanced 3.3 percent.

Food

Food prices advanced 0.1 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home rose 0.1 percent, and prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Food prices advanced 3.3 percent over the year. Prices for food at home rose 2.8 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 3.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 10.1 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 20.4 percent. Prices for natural gas service rose 2.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 13.5 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 16.7 percent. Prices for natural gas service advanced 12.1 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 6.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in March. The index for shelter was up 0.3 percent, as owners' equivalent rent of residences also increased 0.3 percent. Other index components that increased within the all items less food and energy index were apparel, up 2.5 percent, and medical care, up 0.7 percent. In contrast, prices were lower for recreation, down 0.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent over the year. Annual increases in the indexes for shelter, up 3.6 percent and household furnishings and operations, up 5.3 percent contributed to the increase. Within the shelter category, the owners' equivalent rent of residences index rose 3.7 percent. The medical care index increased 2.3 percent, and in contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles, down 0.4 percent.

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on May 12, 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 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 March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		339.104	340.945	344.142	3.6	1.5	0.9
All items (December 1977 = 100)		533.986	536.884	541.919	-	-	-
Food and beverages		344.911	346.783	346.979	3.1	0.6	0.1
Food		348.045	349.937	350.135	3.3	0.6	0.1
Food at home		321.550	323.595	323.805	2.8	0.7	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		404.599	401.042	404.173	4.0	-0.1	0.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		331.603	333.933	331.395	-1.1	-0.1	-0.8
Dairy and related products		285.444	281.911	283.521	-0.2	-0.7	0.6
Fruits and vegetables		367.243	369.103	372.802	7.7	1.5	1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		247.870	248.399	247.634	6.1	-0.1	-0.3
Other food at home		282.738	289.223	288.982	2.6	2.2	-0.1
Food away from home		395.464	396.998	397.168	3.9	0.4	0.0
Alcoholic beverages		301.824	303.418	303.592	1.1	0.6	0.1
Housing		377.742	379.102	381.383	4.4	1.0	0.6
Shelter		374.359	376.263	377.851	3.9	0.9	0.4
Rent of primary residence		469.717	470.573	471.917	3.9	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		483.234	484.168	485.436	3.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		482.730	483.663	484.929	3.7	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities		341.988	344.367	355.526	10.0	4.0	3.2
Household energy		307.642	309.739	322.037	11.1	4.7	4.0
Energy services		311.840	309.814	313.150	8.0	0.4	1.1
Electricity		316.807	312.873	313.667	6.2	-1.0	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service		280.305	282.197	290.340	12.1	3.6	2.9
Household furnishings and operations		154.036	153.937	154.391	5.3	0.2	0.3
Apparel		132.651	136.318	139.736	1.5	5.3	2.5
Transportation		265.924	267.310	277.218	4.9	4.2	3.7
Private transportation		265.175	264.793	275.070	4.1	3.7	3.9
New and used motor vehicles(2)		124.676	124.286	124.909	-0.4	0.2	0.5
New vehicles		175.688	175.960	176.171	0.7	0.3	0.1
New cars(3)		165.940	166.378	166.779	1.1	0.5	0.2
Used cars and trucks		189.951	187.323	187.666	-3.5	-1.2	0.2
Motor fuel		254.755	257.315	309.770	16.8	21.6	20.4
Gasoline (all types)		253.928	256.447	308.736	16.7	21.6	20.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		246.984	249.543	303.202	17.4	22.8	21.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		287.855	290.125	337.691	13.8	17.3	16.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		289.685	291.868	335.784	13.3	15.9	15.0
Medical care		587.501	591.733	596.122	2.3	1.5	0.7
Medical care commodities		426.428	425.259	425.957	0.2	-0.1	0.2
Medical care services		634.723	640.642	646.176	2.7	1.8	0.9
Professional services		439.060	443.874	450.825	3.9	2.7	1.6
Recreation(2)		147.433	148.397	147.938	0.7	0.3	-0.3
Education and communication(2)		159.496	160.679	160.798	1.1	0.8	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		1,530.170	1,531.788	1,531.965	3.5	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services		644.126	646.672	647.112	4.0	0.5	0.1
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 1977=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 March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		339.104	340.945	344.142	3.6	1.5	0.9
Food		348.045	349.937	350.135	3.3	0.6	0.1
Energy		286.700	289.000	318.210	13.5	11.0	10.1
All items less food and energy		350.321	352.149	353.417	2.9	0.9	0.4
All items less energy		348.100	349.928	351.025	3.0	0.8	0.3
All items less medical care		328.240	329.972	333.122	3.8	1.5	1.0
All items less shelter		295.610	297.525	301.437	3.7	2.0	1.3
Commodities		232.171	233.676	238.424	3.8	2.7	2.0
Commodities less food		179.800	181.100	187.336	4.2	4.2	3.4
Commodities less food & beverages		175.269	176.556	182.969	4.4	4.4	3.6
Durables		121.329	120.913	121.128	0.6	-0.2	0.2
Nondurables		283.292	286.048	293.575	4.8	3.6	2.6
Nondurables less food & beverages		223.303	226.886	241.346	7.1	8.1	6.4
Nondurables less food		227.951	231.383	244.799	6.6	7.4	5.8
Services		441.792	443.945	445.550	3.6	0.9	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		432.466	435.246	437.230	3.5	1.1	0.5
Services less medical care services		428.545	430.424	431.741	3.6	0.7	0.3
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.