Consumer Price Index, Anchorage area — February 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Urban Alaska advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in February 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 0.4 percent during the two-month period. The food index increased 0.7 percent, while the energy index decreased 1.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Anchorage area all items CPI-U increased 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 5.4 percent. Food prices rose 1.7 percent.

Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in February. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 1.1 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) were unchanged for the same period.

Food prices rose 1.7 percent over the year. Prices for food at home advanced 0.3 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home rose 4.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.1 percent for the two months ending in February. Gasoline prices decreased 1.9 percent.

Energy prices increased 5.4 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 5.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent during the two-month period. Among the index's components, prices were higher for apparel (+8.7 percent) and shelter (+0.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for other goods and services (-4.1 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-2.0 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (+9.7 percent) and shelter (+2.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-5.0 percent) and education and communication (-1.3 percent).

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area 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 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 February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All Items		272.355	-	273.181	1.5	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)		726.954	-	729.157
Food and beverages		272.581	-	274.498	1.7	0.7	-
Food		282.885	-	284.972	1.7	0.7	-
Food at home		264.545	266.673	267.550	0.3	1.1	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		266.994	264.917	270.804	1.7	1.4	2.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		244.869	246.174	243.572	-3.8	-0.5	-1.1
Dairy and related products		259.926	269.158	265.471	0.8	2.1	-1.4
Fruits and vegetables		404.378	414.818	397.608	-2.7	-1.7	-4.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		185.223	184.832	200.866	6.5	8.4	8.7
Other food at home		223.791	223.944	225.352	1.7	0.7	0.6
Food away from home		320.183	-	320.157	4.6	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages		-	-	174.046	2.8	-	-
Housing		248.064	-	250.297	3.3	0.9	-
Shelter		253.315	257.027	255.479	2.9	0.9	-0.6
Rent of primary residence		256.586	256.917	256.518	2.7	0.0	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		256.635	257.674	257.556	2.8	0.4	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		256.635	257.674	257.556	2.8	0.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		140.443	-	143.582	5.2	2.2	-
Apparel		164.226	-	178.551	9.7	8.7	-
Transportation		265.796	-	266.525	-3.3	0.3	-
Private transportation		287.553	-	283.914	-1.4	-1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		120.940	-	118.552	-5.0	-2.0	-
New vehicles(1)		263.280	-	259.929	-2.2	-1.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		339.814	-	327.113	-2.4	-3.7	-
Motor fuel		303.023	296.639	297.063	4.9	-2.0	0.1
Gasoline (all types)		305.563	299.138	299.882	5.3	-1.9	0.2
Unleaded regular(4)		291.896	285.703	286.471	5.2	-1.9	0.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		299.376	292.694	293.232	5.4	-2.1	0.2
Unleaded premium(4)		321.817	315.303	315.867	5.7	-1.8	0.2
Medical Care		-	-	818.461	1.2	-	-
Recreation(3)		142.149	-	141.102	2.0	-0.7	-
Education and communication(3)		114.991	-	113.431	-1.3	-1.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		818.734	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		537.840	-	515.949	0.7	-4.1	-
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 February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		272.355	-	273.181	1.5	0.3	-
Food		282.885	-	284.972	1.7	0.7	-
Energy		351.663	348.340	347.660	5.4	-1.1	-0.2
All items less food and energy		266.625	-	267.583	1.3	0.4	-
All items less energy		268.145	-	269.252	1.3	0.4	-
All items less medical care		253.238	-	254.619	1.5	0.5	-
All items less shelter		278.991	-	279.052	0.8	0.0	-
Commodities		216.528	-	215.561	1.8	-0.4	-
Commodities less food		188.020	-	186.027	1.9	-1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		188.271	-	186.173	1.9	-1.1	-
Durables		137.857	-	135.820	-1.0	-1.5	-
Nondurables		263.926	-	263.953	3.1	0.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		250.839	-	248.904	4.8	-0.8	-
Nondurables less food		245.376	-	243.670	4.8	-0.7	-
Services		323.140	-	325.634	1.5	0.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		437.165	-	440.095	-0.1	0.7	-
Services less medical care services		293.239	-	295.962	1.4	0.9	-
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.