News Release Information
26-1523-SAN
Friday, September 11, 2026
Area prices were up 0.1 percent over the past two months, up 4.4 percent from a year ago
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue increased 0.1 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 0.2 percent. The food index increased 1.3 percent, while the energy index decreased 3.8 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
The Seattle area all items CPI-U advanced 4.4 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year. Food prices rose 5.3 percent. Energy prices rose 15.9 percent.
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, August 2023–August 2026 Month All items All items less food and energy
Aug 2023
5.4 5.7
Oct 2023
4.8 5.5
Dec 2023
4.4 4.9
Feb 2024
4.3 5.2
Apr 2024
4.4 4.9
Jun 2024
3.8 4.4
Aug 2024
3.1 3.9
Oct 2024
3.0 3.8
Dec 2024
2.7 2.8
Feb 2025
2.5 2.3
Apr 2025
1.7 1.7
Jun 2025
2.7 2.4
Aug 2025
2.8 2.6
Oct 2025
– –
Dec 2025
3.1 2.7
Feb 2026
3.9 3.4
Apr 2026
4.9 3.8
Jun 2026
4.5 3.5
Aug 2026
4.4 3.3
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.
Food
Food prices increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in August. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 1.7 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) rose 0.9 percent for the same period.
Food prices rose 5.3 percent over the year. Prices for food at home advanced 4.5 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home rose 6.0 percent.
Energy
The energy index declined 3.8 percent for the two months ending in August. Gasoline prices fell 6.2 percent.
Energy prices rose 15.9 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 17.7 percent.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (+3.9 percent) and education and communication (+2.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-2.0 percent) and recreation (-1.7 percent).
The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (+7.0 percent) and shelter (+2.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-3.2 percent).
Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjustedMonth202220232024202520262-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month
February
1.78.11.48.01.24.31.12.51.83.9
April
2.19.11.06.91.24.40.41.71.34.9
June
3.210.11.04.60.43.81.42.71.04.5
August
0.09.00.85.40.13.10.22.80.14.4
October
1.08.90.44.80.33.0–
December
0.18.4-0.34.4-0.52.7-3.1
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations
The October 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle 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 Seattle 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.
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. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U by expenditure category for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from -Historical
dataJun.
2026Jul.
2026Aug.
2026Aug.
2025Jun.
2026Jul.
2026
All Items
380.849-381.1234.40.1-
All items (1967=100)
1,160.975-1,161.811
Food and beverages
389.372-394.6075.41.3-
Food
391.884-397.1145.31.3-
Food at home
338.392340.041344.1184.51.71.2
Cereals and bakery products
407.441424.268426.7115.54.70.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
314.245321.539317.9326.41.2-1.1
Dairy and related products
305.801293.919306.8703.30.34.4
Fruits and vegetables
540.964540.910537.6286.4-0.6-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials
467.448450.655464.86915.8-0.63.2
Other food at home
245.884248.663255.254-0.73.82.7
Food away from home
476.830-481.0166.00.9-
Alcoholic beverages
349.900-355.1216.71.5-
Housing
459.895-458.4533.3-0.3-
Shelter
518.171517.039517.3882.6-0.20.1
Rent of primary residence
519.254520.173521.0322.30.30.2
Owners’ equiv. rent of residences
547.331547.496549.5972.30.40.4
Owners’ equiv. rent of primary residence
547.331547.496549.5972.30.40.4
Household furnishings and operations
261.929-256.7454.8-2.0-
Apparel
145.595-151.2093.83.9-
Transportation
337.131-333.8937.3-1.0-
Private transportation
345.789-339.6154.0-1.8-
New and used motor vehicles
126.752-126.108-1.3-0.5-
New vehicles
228.555-228.4320.9-0.1-
Used cars and trucks
419.215-417.707-3.2-0.4-
Motor fuel
630.029581.635590.85318.2-6.21.6
Gasoline (all types)
640.806591.981600.80917.7-6.21.5
Unleaded regular
693.478639.586649.14917.9-6.41.5
Unleaded midgrade
507.532470.428477.55917.1-5.91.5
Unleaded premium
596.838554.570562.75116.9-5.71.5
Medical Care
500.772-505.0001.60.8-
Recreation
131.679-129.5067.0-1.7-
Education and communication
147.355-151.0600.72.5-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care
1,989.917-2,012.6401.11.1-
Other goods and services
580.700-586.4206.71.0-
– Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.
Table 2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)Special aggregate indexIndexesPercent change from -Historical
dataJun.
2026Jul.
2026Aug.
2026Aug.
2025Jun.
2026Jul.
2026
All items
380.849-381.1234.40.1-
Food
391.884-397.1145.31.3-
Energy
534.284509.124514.12115.9-3.81.0
All items less food and energy
374.918-375.5313.30.2-
All items less energy
377.463-378.6883.70.3-
All items less medical care
375.976-376.0334.60.0-
All items less shelter
327.057-327.7225.40.2-
Commodities
259.999-260.8444.40.3-
Commodities less food
206.888-206.2963.2-0.3-
Commodities less food & beverages
201.306-200.5803.0-0.4-
Durables
153.331-154.0700.40.5-
Nondurables
319.914-320.7386.00.3-
Nondurables less food & beverages
256.432-253.3286.4-1.2-
Nondurables less food
264.839-262.1906.5-1.0-
Services
492.928-492.6354.4-0.1-
Services less rent of shelter
473.177-473.4516.70.1-
Services less medical care services
486.498-486.0184.6-0.1-
– Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Last Modified Date: Friday, September 11, 2026
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