Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Inflation

Consumer Price Index — September 2026

Released October 14, 2026 · Bureau of Labor Statistics · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
CPI-U, all items rose 0.6% in September 2026 to 336.3, +3.7% from a year ago. Prior month: 334.1.
All items
336.3
▲ +0.6% m/m
· +3.7% y/y
Core CPI
338.9
▲ +0.3% m/m
· +2.6% y/y
Shelter
431.9
▲ +0.4% m/m
· +3.2% y/y
Energy
337.8
▲ +5.2% m/m
· +20.4% y/y

Revision check

Revision check clear. Prior periods were checked against the values in the last report — no revisions found. All changes below are computed on current-vintage data.

Key figures

Headline →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
CPI-U, all items
SA index, 1982-84=100
336.3334.1▲ +2.2▲ +0.6%▲ +12.1▲ +3.7%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Core CPI (ex food & energy)338.9337.8▲ +1.1▲ +0.3%▲ +8.5▲ +2.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CPI-U, all items (NSA)
not seasonally adjusted — the series used for COLAs
336.9335.0▲ +2.0▲ +0.6%▲ +12.1▲ +3.7%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
Major categories →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Food350.5350.3▲ +0.2▲ 0.0%▲ +8.4▲ +2.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Energy337.8321.1▲ +16.7▲ +5.2%▲ +57.1▲ +20.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Core goods (commodities ex food & energy)168.4167.9▲ +0.4▲ +0.3%▲ +1.2▲ +0.7%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Core services (services ex energy services)448.7447.1▲ +1.6▲ +0.4%▲ +13.7▲ +3.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shelter431.9430.2▲ +1.7▲ +0.4%▲ +13.5▲ +3.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Medical care services655.4653.5▲ +1.9▲ +0.3%▲ +16.2▲ +2.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transportation services463.2460.5▲ +2.7▲ +0.6%▲ +12.5▲ +2.8%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Apparel136.9136.5▲ +0.4▲ +0.3%▲ +4.5▲ +3.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change for index series, the level for rates and survey indexes over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Core goods (commodities ex food & energy): highest level on record (data back to January 2010).
  • New vehicles: highest level on record (data back to January 2010).
  • Airline fares: highest level on record (data back to January 2010).
  • Medical care commodities: down 3.3% from a year ago — the steepest year-over-year decline since January 2011.
  • Education and communication: up 2.3% from a year ago — the fastest pace since January 2011.
  • Food: up 2.5% from a year ago — the slowest pace since January 2025.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — subcategories →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Food at home321.1321.3▼ −0.2▼ −0.1%▲ +5.6▲ +1.8%
Food away from home398.8397.9▲ +0.9▲ +0.2%▲ +13.3▲ +3.5%
Gasoline (all types)376.6345.2▲ +31.4▲ +9.1%▲ +95.9▲ +34.2%
Electricity306.2305.4▲ +0.8▲ +0.2%▲ +12.8▲ +4.4%
Utility (piped) gas service267.6268.4▼ −0.9▼ −0.3%▲ +12.7▲ +5.0%
Rent of primary residence450.4449.3▲ +1.1▲ +0.2%▲ +12.2▲ +2.8%
Owners' equivalent rent445.3443.7▲ +1.6▲ +0.3%▲ +14.1▲ +3.3%
New vehicles179.6179.3▲ +0.4▲ +0.2%▲ +1.1▲ +0.6%
Used cars and trucks182.2181.0▲ +1.2▲ +0.7%▼ −2.7▼ −1.5%
Motor vehicle insurance850.4849.8▲ +0.6▲ +0.1%▼ −44.6▼ −5.0%
Airline fares327.0323.2▲ +3.7▲ +1.2%▲ +59.9▲ +22.4%
Medical care commodities402.8405.5▼ −2.7▼ −0.7%▼ −13.6▼ −3.3%
Recreation145.9145.2▲ +0.7▲ +0.5%▲ +4.0▲ +2.8%
Education and communication150.3150.1▲ +0.2▲ +0.2%▲ +3.4▲ +2.3%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-10-14 14:18 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.