27 indicators
CPI by category: food, rent, medical care, cars
The CPI is built from hundreds of item indexes. These are the main groups the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes, from groceries and restaurant meals to rent, medical care, used cars and airline fares, so you can see which prices are driving inflation.
Latest: as of Sep 2026, grocery prices had risen 1.8% from a year earlier.
Data retrieved from FRED®, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Snapshot taken Oct 27, 2026, 6:41 PM EDT.
Grocery prices (CPI food at home)
1.8%
12-month change
321.111 Sep 2026 · was 2.1% in Aug 2026
Food at home covers what households pay for groceries bought at supermarkets and other stores, from cereal to fresh produce. It is the part of food inflation most shoppers notice from week to week.
View chart →Restaurant prices (CPI food away from home)
3.5%
12-month change
398.783 Sep 2026 · was 3.4% in Aug 2026
Food away from home tracks prices at full-service restaurants, fast-food places, cafeterias and vending machines. Because menu prices include wages and rent, they tend to rise more steadily than grocery prices.
View chart →Meat, poultry, fish and egg prices (CPI)
0.2%
12-month change
348.331 Sep 2026 · was 0.9% in Aug 2026
This CPI group covers beef, pork, chicken, seafood and eggs bought for home. Prices here can swing sharply with animal disease outbreaks, feed costs and herd sizes.
View chart →Dairy prices (CPI)
-0.7%
12-month change
269.630 Sep 2026 · was -0.3% in Aug 2026
The dairy index tracks milk, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products bought for home.
View chart →Fruit and vegetable prices (CPI)
3.7%
12-month change
370.928 Sep 2026 · was 3.2% in Aug 2026
This index covers fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce prices can move quickly with weather and growing seasons.
View chart →Rent prices (CPI)
2.8%
12-month change
450.429 Sep 2026 · was 2.8% in Aug 2026
Rent of primary residence measures what tenants pay for the homes they live in. BLS prices each sampled unit only every six months and counts all leases, not just new ones, so the index reacts slowly to changes in market rents.
View chart →Owners' equivalent rent (CPI)
3.3%
12-month change
445.265 Sep 2026 · was 3.1% in Aug 2026
Owners' equivalent rent estimates what homeowners would pay to rent their own homes, based on rents of similar units. It is the single largest item in the CPI, at roughly a quarter of the index.
View chart →Housing costs (CPI)
3.3%
12-month change
361.044 Sep 2026 · was 3.1% in Aug 2026
The housing group combines shelter with household energy, water, furnishings and household operations. It is the largest of the eight major CPI groups.
View chart →Natural gas utility prices (CPI)
5.0%
12-month change
267.587 Sep 2026 · was 4.4% in Aug 2026
This index measures what households pay for piped natural gas service. It tends to follow wholesale natural gas prices with a lag.
View chart →Medical care prices (CPI)
1.5%
12-month change
593.666 Sep 2026 · was 1.6% in Aug 2026
Medical care in the CPI covers medical goods, such as prescription drugs, and services, such as doctor and hospital visits and health insurance. It reflects spending by consumers, not the part paid by employers or government programs.
View chart →Medical services prices (CPI)
2.5%
12-month change
655.390 Sep 2026 · was 2.5% in Aug 2026
Medical care services includes doctors, dentists and other professionals, hospital services and health insurance. It is the larger part of medical care in the CPI.
View chart →Doctor and dentist prices (CPI)
3.4%
12-month change
457.480 Sep 2026 · was 3.2% in Aug 2026
Professional services covers fees for physicians, dentists, eye care and other medical professionals.
View chart →Hospital services prices (CPI)
5.4%
12-month change
110.720 Sep 2026 · was 5.5% in Aug 2026
This index tracks prices for hospital services, including inpatient and outpatient care, plus nursing homes and adult day services.
View chart →Transportation prices (CPI)
7.8%
12-month change
294.909 Sep 2026 · was 6.0% in Aug 2026
Transportation covers buying and running vehicles, including new and used cars, gasoline, insurance, maintenance and repair, plus public transportation such as airline fares.
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New vehicle prices (CPI)
0.6%
12-month change
179.615 Sep 2026 · was 0.6% in Aug 2026
This index tracks the prices people pay for new cars and trucks, adjusted for changes in quality and features.
View chart →Used car and truck prices (CPI)
-1.5%
12-month change
182.176 Sep 2026 · was -2.3% in Aug 2026
This index tracks prices of used cars and trucks. It jumped in 2021, when chip shortages cut new-vehicle production and buyers turned to the used market.
View chart →Gasoline prices (CPI)
34.2%
12-month change
376.558 Sep 2026 · was 27.4% in Aug 2026
The gasoline index covers all types of motor fuel bought by consumers. It is one of the most volatile parts of the CPI and a big reason headline and core inflation differ.
View chart →Car repair prices (CPI)
5.8%
12-month change
468.491 Sep 2026 · was 5.2% in Aug 2026
Motor vehicle maintenance and repair covers labor and parts for servicing and fixing vehicles.
View chart →Airline fare prices (CPI)
22.4%
12-month change
326.991 Sep 2026 · was 23.4% in Aug 2026
Airline fares track what consumers pay for passenger air travel, including taxes and fees. Jet fuel costs and travel demand both move this index.
View chart →Clothing prices (CPI apparel)
3.4%
12-month change
136.875 Sep 2026 · was 3.6% in Aug 2026
Apparel covers clothing and footwear for men, women, children and infants, plus jewelry and watches.
View chart →Recreation prices (CPI)
2.8%
12-month change
145.937 Sep 2026 · was 2.7% in Aug 2026
Recreation covers items such as televisions, pets and pet products, sporting goods, toys, and admission to movies, concerts and sporting events.
View chart →Education and communication prices (CPI)
2.3%
12-month change
150.310 Sep 2026 · was 2.2% in Aug 2026
This group covers tuition, child care, textbooks, phone and internet service, and computers. Computer and phone service prices have generally fallen over time while tuition has risen.
View chart →Tuition and child care prices (CPI)
3.8%
12-month change
938.353 Sep 2026 · was 3.4% in Aug 2026
This index covers college and school tuition and fees plus child care and preschool. It is not seasonally adjusted, and most tuition changes show up at the start of the school year.
View chart →Goods prices (CPI commodities)
4.6%
12-month change
236.642 Sep 2026 · was 3.9% in Aug 2026
Commodities in the CPI are physical goods, such as food, gasoline, cars and clothing. Goods prices swing more than services prices and can fall when supply chains loosen.
View chart →Services prices (CPI)
3.2%
12-month change
434.691 Sep 2026 · was 3.1% in Aug 2026
Services in the CPI include rent, medical care, transportation services, insurance, education and recreation. They make up roughly 60% of the index and tend to rise more steadily than goods.
View chart →Core services prices (CPI)
3.2%
12-month change
448.723 Sep 2026 · was 3.0% in Aug 2026
Services less energy services removes electricity and piped gas from CPI services. It is dominated by shelter and is watched as a gauge of underlying inflation.
View chart →Core goods prices (CPI)
0.7%
12-month change
168.361 Sep 2026 · was 0.7% in Aug 2026
Commodities less food and energy commodities covers goods such as vehicles, clothing, furniture and medical goods. Core goods prices were roughly flat in the decade before 2020, then rose sharply in 2021 and 2022.
View chart →Not financial advice. Values are as published by each agency and may be revised.
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