Consumer Price Index, CPI-U (CUSR0000SEFX) · Alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted

What is the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home?

The consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home was 458.8 in the month ended , up 2.6% from a year earlier.

Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, each month

January 1978 to September 2026Seasonally adjusted, as published

Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, each month (January 1978 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

January 1978 to September 2026Ours, from the published values

Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (January 1978 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

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Inspect and compare dates

The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average: the newest month beside earlier ones
MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average458.8459.1447.1376.7337.9
Change over a year+2.6%+3.0%+4.1%+3.4%+2.0%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Observed .

Right now

The consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home was 458.8 in September 2026, the lowest since July 2026.

Over a year it is up 2.6% (ours).

See every month of the last ten years

ChangeOurs

The consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home at the start of each period, and the change since then (ours)
PeriodThenChange
One month459.1 in −0.1%
Three months456.8 in +0.4%
Twelve months447.1 in +2.6%
Five years376.7 in +21.8%
Ten years337.9 in +35.8%

In historyOurs

The consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home of 458.8 in was higher than in 582 of the 583 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 1.

Highest since : 459.1 in . Lowest since : 68.0 in .

AverageOurs

Average since : 234.56 (ours, a plain mean of the 584 months).

ComparedOurs

Over a year the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home is up 2.6%, which ranks 12 of the 24 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.

The table sets the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home beside the food and drink items on the food inflation page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.

See every row of the ranking

Understanding the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home

Where it stands today

The consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home was 458.8 in September 2026.

What does the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home measure?

This is the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home: one of the series of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes it each month, about two weeks after the month ends, and scales it so that the 1982-84 average is 100. It is seasonally adjusted: BLS removes the regular swings of the calendar year, so that one month can be set beside the next.

Read more

What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, how the change over a year ranks among the food and drink items on the food inflation page, and the history in one chart and one file.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home in each month?The last ten years, 119 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 1978
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Index, 1982-84 = 100; the change ours)
MonthValueChange over a year
458.8+2.6%
459.1+3.0%
458.7+3.6%
456.8+3.4%
455.6+3.5%
454.9+3.6%
452.4+3.2%
451.2+3.1%
451.3+3.6%
449.6+3.5%
447.9+2.6%
447.1+4.1%
445.7+3.8%
442.9+3.4%
441.9+3.2%
440.0+3.1%
439.0+3.0%
438.3+3.2%
437.8+3.4%
435.5+2.1%
434.3+1.9%
436.7+2.7%
434.6+2.3%
429.6+1.4%
Show 95 more rows
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Index, 1982-84 = 100; the change ours) (continued)
MonthValueChange over a year
429.3+2.2%
428.5+2.0%
428.2+2.1%
426.6+2.2%
426.3+2.8%
424.9+3.6%
423.4+3.6%
426.4+4.0%
426.3+4.6%
425.3+5.2%
424.7+5.3%
423.8+6.4%
420.2+6.0%
420.1+6.4%
419.4+6.6%
417.2+6.3%
414.5+6.5%
409.9+5.8%
408.8+6.2%
410.0+6.9%
407.4+6.8%
404.4+7.1%
403.3+7.0%
398.4+5.8%
396.5+5.7%
394.8+5.7%
393.6+5.6%
392.4+5.9%
389.3+5.1%
387.3+4.9%
384.8+4.5%
383.6+4.2%
381.3+3.7%
377.5+2.7%
377.0+3.2%
376.7+3.4%
375.3+3.0%
373.3+3.3%
372.8+2.2%
370.7+2.0%
370.4+2.9%
369.0+2.6%
368.2+2.3%
368.0+2.5%
367.6+2.8%
367.5+3.3%
365.4+2.7%
364.5+2.2%
364.2+2.4%
361.4+1.5%
364.7+2.9%
363.4+2.7%
359.8+1.5%
359.7+1.6%
359.7+1.8%
358.9+1.3%
357.7+1.0%
355.9+0.5%
355.9+0.8%
356.5+1.0%
355.7+1.3%
355.9+1.4%
354.6+1.1%
353.7+1.2%
354.6+1.5%
354.0+1.5%
353.3+1.4%
354.2+1.8%
354.0+2.2%
354.1+2.6%
353.2+2.5%
352.9+2.5%
351.2+1.9%
350.9+2.1%
350.8+1.9%
349.6+1.9%
349.3+2.2%
348.9+2.1%
348.5+2.1%
347.9+2.2%
346.2+1.8%
345.1+1.6%
344.7+1.7%
344.4+1.9%
344.6+2.2%
343.8+2.1%
344.4+2.4%
343.0+2.0%
341.9+2.1%
341.7+2.3%
341.4+2.3%
340.4+2.2%
340.2+2.3%
339.6+2.3%
338.9+2.2%
How does it compare with the food and drink items on the food inflation page?Ranked by the change over a year
Consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average beside the food and drink items on the food inflation page, newest month of each, by the change over a year (ours); equal changes share a rank
SeriesMonthValueChange over a yearRank
Coffee298.8+7.1%1
Fish and seafood381.2+6.9%2
Sugar and sweets324.4+5.5%3
Coffee and tea materials166.0+5.0%4
Fresh fruits435.4+4.9%5
Beef and veal506.5+3.5%6
Food away from home398.8+3.5%6
Juices and nonalcoholic drinks186.3+3.3%8
Cereals and cereal products292.8+3.2%9
Fresh vegetables398.8+2.8%10
Processed fruit and vegetables213.1+2.7%11
Alcohol away from home (this page)458.8+2.6%12
Food350.5+2.5%13
Food at home321.1+1.8%14
Bakery products414.5+1.7%15
Farm-produced food330.6+1.4%16
Other foods294.5+1.4%16
Poultry314.3+1.1%18
Alcohol at home231.3+0.2%19
Dairy and related products269.6−0.7%20
Pork269.9−0.7%20
Fats and oils311.8−0.8%22
Other meats298.1−1.6%23
Eggs287.8−20.6%24

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • The index measures the change of prices, not the prices themselves and not the dollars spent. Prices at a value of 150 are 50% above the 1982-84 average. The index of one item says nothing about how high its prices are compared with those of another item.
  • The values are seasonally adjusted, and BLS revises the adjusted values of the last five years each February, so a past value on this page can change. The change over 12 months that BLS headlines is worked out from values that are not seasonally adjusted, and can differ from the change on this page.
  • BLS did not collect prices for October 2025 because of the lapse in appropriations. Where BLS publishes no value for that month, the page has none and the chart shows a gap.
  • The index is shown to one decimal, but the changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes, which have three. A change is in percent, and can differ by 0.1 from one worked out from the values as shown.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Alcoholic beverages away from home, U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages away from home?", https://500metrics.com/food-inflation/alcohol-away-from-home.

Can the data be downloaded?food-inflation-alcohol-away-from-home.csv

Download the full history as CSV: 584 rows, to , 10,911 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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