BLS Data: Seattle area consumer prices up 4.9% from a year ago

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — April 2026

Area prices were up 1.3 percent over the past two months, up 4.9 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue advanced 1.3 percent for the two months ending in April 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the energy index increased 17.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent, while the food index decreased 0.7 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 4.9 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.8 percent. Energy prices rose 23.7 percent.

Food

Food prices fell 0.7 percent for the two months ending in April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) fell 1.2 percent, with lower 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 increased 3.8 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 0.7 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 7.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 17.6 percent for the two months ending in April. Gasoline prices increased 28.9 percent.

Energy prices rose 23.7 percent over the year. Gasoline prices rose 25.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for other goods and services (+4.1 percent) and shelter (+0.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-4.4 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (+8.1 percent) and shelter (+2.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-1.6 percent) and education and communication (-1.2 percent).

The June 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2026.

Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series

Effective with this release, several CPI series were rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes that were rebased is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm

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.

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