Consumer Price Index, CPI-U (CUURS35ASA0) · All items in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, not seasonally adjusted

What is the consumer price index in the Washington, DC, area?

The consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area was 338.7 in the month ended , up 4.1% from a year earlier.

Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not seasonally adjusted, each month

December 1914 to September 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as published

Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not seasonally adjusted, each month (December 1914 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not 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 , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , 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 all items in the Washington, DC, area, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

December 1914 to September 2026Ours, from the published values

Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (December 1914 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, 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 , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , 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 all items in the Washington, DC, area: the newest month beside earlier ones
MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area338.7335.7325.3280.9253.5
Change over a year+4.1%+4.0%+2.5%+4.5%+0.5%

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

Observed .

Right now

The consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area was 338.7 in September 2026, the highest since our record begins in December 1914.

Over a year it is up 4.1% (ours).

See every month of the last ten years

ChangeOurs

The consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area at the start of each period, and the change since then (ours)
PeriodThenChange
One monthNo value for
Three monthsNo value for
Twelve months325.3 in +4.1%
Five years280.9 in +20.6%
Ten years253.5 in +33.6%

In historyOurs

The consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area of 338.7 in was higher than in 554 of the 554 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 0.

Highest since : 338.7 in . Lowest since : 10.7 in .

AverageOurs

Average since : 112.22 (ours, a plain mean of the 555 months).

ComparedOurs

Over a year the consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area is up 4.1%, which ranks 12 of the 36 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.

The table sets the consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area beside the regions, divisions and metropolitan areas on the inflation by area 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 all items in the Washington, DC, area

Where it stands today

The consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area was 338.7 in September 2026.

What does the consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area measure?

This is the consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area: the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) of the area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes it every second month, for January, March, May, July, September and November, about two weeks after the month ends, and scales it so that the 1982-84 average is 100. BLS calls the area Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, and the index is for the urban consumers who live there.

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 regions, divisions and metropolitan areas on the inflation by area page, and the history in one chart and one file.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area in each month?The last ten years, 60 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Dec 1914
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Index, 1982-84 = 100; the change ours)
MonthValueChange over a year
338.7+4.1%
335.7+4.0%
334.7+4.1%
330.3+3.0%
326.9+2.7%
324.3+2.4%
325.3+2.5%
322.7+2.0%
321.6+1.9%
320.6+2.4%
318.2+2.7%
316.7+2.7%
317.4+2.6%
316.4+3.7%
315.7+3.3%
313.1+3.4%
310.0+3.6%
308.4+2.8%
309.3+3.3%
305.3+1.8%
305.6+3.1%
302.9+3.7%
299.1+4.4%
300.1+5.6%
Show 36 more rows
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area, not seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Index, 1982-84 = 100; the change ours) (continued)
MonthValueChange over a year
299.3+6.5%
299.9+7.5%
296.6+7.5%
292.2+7.3%
286.7+6.0%
284.2+5.8%
280.9+4.5%
279.1+4.4%
275.8+3.8%
272.3+2.6%
270.5+1.5%
268.7+1.4%
268.8+1.2%
267.3+0.8%
265.7−0.1%
265.4+0.4%
266.4+1.6%
265.0+1.5%
265.5+0.9%
265.2+1.2%
266.0+1.6%
264.3+1.6%
262.3+0.8%
261.1+1.3%
263.1+2.0%
262.0+2.5%
261.8+2.5%
260.0+1.8%
260.2+2.2%
257.9+1.5%
257.8+1.7%
255.5+0.5%
255.5+0.3%
255.4+1.1%
254.5+1.5%
254.0+1.1%
How does it compare with the regions, divisions and metropolitan areas on the inflation by area page?Ranked by the change over a year
Consumer price index for all items in the Washington, DC, area beside the regions, divisions and metropolitan areas on the inflation by area page, newest month of each, by the change over a year (ours); equal changes share a rank
SeriesMonthValueChange over a yearRank
Urban Hawaii368.6+5.2%1
San Diego409.0+4.7%2
New York363.9+4.5%3
Seattle381.1+4.4%4
East North Central136.2+4.3%5
New England133.8+4.3%5
East South Central137.5+4.2%7
Middle Atlantic135.2+4.2%7
Midwest region314.4+4.2%7
Northeast region351.6+4.2%7
Philadelphia340.0+4.2%7
Washington, DC (this page)338.7+4.1%12
West North Central136.6+4.1%12
Denver353.4+4.0%14
Boston362.6+3.8%15
Detroit310.8+3.7%16
Los Angeles358.7+3.7%16
Miami370.1+3.7%16
Minneapolis-St. Paul321.7+3.6%19
Riverside143.0+3.6%19
Pacific138.4+3.5%21
South Atlantic138.3+3.5%21
San Francisco370.1+3.4%23
South region325.1+3.4%23
West region357.1+3.4%23
Mountain140.0+3.3%26
Urban Alaska282.9+3.3%26
Dallas-Fort Worth313.2+3.0%28
West South Central132.2+3.0%28
Atlanta328.2+2.9%30
Chicago313.4+2.9%30
St. Louis302.7+2.9%30
Phoenix191.7+2.5%33
Baltimore333.8+2.3%34
Tampa315.6+1.9%35
Houston282.3+1.3%36

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 in the area, not how high prices are there. Each area is scaled to 100 at a base period of its own (the 1982-84 average is 100 here), so the level of one area cannot be set beside the level of another: only the changes can.
  • The values are not adjusted for the season, as BLS publishes them for areas. A change from one month to the next can include the usual swings of the calendar year; a change over a year does not.
  • BLS prices this area every second month, so the page has a value only for January, March, May, July, September and November, and its newest month can be one month earlier than that of an area BLS publishes each month.
  • 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, All items in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, not seasonally adjusted, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the consumer price index in the Washington, DC, area?", https://500metrics.com/inflation-by-area/washington.

Can the data be downloaded?inflation-by-area-washington.csv

Download the full history as CSV: 555 rows, to , 9,950 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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