Inflation: National and by Metro Area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted) — October 2026, released November 10, 2026 (USDL-26-1685). Data retrieved November 14, 2026.
Why there is no October annual rate
There is no 12-month inflation rate for October 2026. BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations, so no October 2025 index exists — and without it, no 12-month change can be published, for the nation or for any metro area. The latest available 12-month rate is 3.7%, for the 12 months ending September 2026. The next release (November 2026 CPI) is scheduled for December 10, 2026 — its 12-month rate will be back, because it compares November 2026 with November 2025, and November 2025 prices were collected.
National picture — October 2026
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| CPI-U index, October 2026 (1982–84 = 100) | 337.511 |
| Change on the month (seasonally adjusted) | +0.4% |
| Change on the month (not seasonally adjusted) | +0.2% |
| Latest 12-month change | 3.7% — 12 months ending September 2026 |
| 12-month change, October 2026 | Not published by BLS |
Monthly changes are from the BLS news release (Table A); the index level and 12-month rates are from the BLS API series CUUR0000SA0.
National inflation over the last two years
12-month percent change in the CPI-U, Nov 24 – Oct 26:
The line breaks where BLS published no 12-month rate: October 2025 (no index was collected) and October 2026 (no October 2025 index to compare against).
What the numbers mean
Nationally, prices rose 3.7% over the 12 months ending September 2026. That is up from 3.4% the month before, but still below the 4.2% peak reached in May 2026.
Across the 23 local areas BLS publishes, the latest 12-month inflation runs from 1.3% in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (August 2026) to 5.2% in Urban Hawaii (September 2026). Most areas sit between 2% and 5% — no area is close to zero, and none is in double digits.
October 2026 has no annual rate at all. Prices still rose on the month — the national index reached 337.511 in October 2026 — but with no October 2025 prices collected, BLS cannot say how much prices rose over the year. The next annual rate comes with the November release.
Metro areas, ranked by latest 12-month inflation
Each area is shown with its own latest month. Most areas publish every other month, so the latest 12-month rate is September 2026 for monthly and odd-month areas, and August 2026 for even-month areas. The October 2026 values for those areas exist as index levels, but their 12-month changes cannot be published either — October 2025 is missing for every area.
| # | Metro area | Latest 12-month inflation | Latest month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urban Hawaii | 5.2% | September 2026 |
| 2 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 4.7% | September 2026 |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 4.5% | September 2026 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 4.4% | August 2026 |
| 5 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 4.2% | August 2026 |
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 4.1% | September 2026 |
| 7 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 4.0% | September 2026 |
| 8 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 3.8% | September 2026 |
| 9 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3.7% | September 2026 |
| 10 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 3.7% | August 2026 |
| 11 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 3.7% | August 2026 |
| 12 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 3.6% | September 2026 |
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 3.6% | September 2026 |
| 14 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 3.4% | August 2026 |
| 15 | Urban Alaska | 3.3% | August 2026 |
| 16 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 3.0% | September 2026 |
| 17 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 2.9% | September 2026 |
| 18 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 2.9% | August 2026 |
| 19 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 2.9% | August 2026 |
| 20 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 2.5% | August 2026 |
| 21 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 2.3% | August 2026 |
| 22 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 1.9% | September 2026 |
| 23 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 1.3% | August 2026 |
These are the 23 selected local areas BLS publishes in Table 4 of the CPI news release. Urban Alaska and Urban Hawaii are statewide urban aggregates, not single metro areas. Area indexes measure the change in prices within each area since the base period — they do not compare price levels between areas. Local indexes use smaller samples than the national index and are more volatile; BLS urges users to use the national average for escalator clauses.
No state-level inflation exists
BLS publishes the CPI nationally and for selected metro areas only. There is no official state-level inflation rate, so this page does not show one — and no state ranking will be invented. The closest official breakdowns are the four Census regions, published in the same release.
Sources
- BLS — Consumer Price Index news release, October 2026 (USDL-26-1685)
- BLS — Consumer Price Index home page and data tables
- BLS — Public Data API (series CUUR0000SA0 and CUURA*SA0, retrieved November 14, 2026)
Next update: after the November 2026 CPI release,
scheduled for December 10, 2026. Page built from
bls_cpi_2026-10.json.