The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area fell by 0.3 percent from September to November 2025. According to Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee, “the index for all items less food and energy declined 0.2 percent over the two-month span.” The report also noted a 1.0 percent decrease in both the food and energy indexes during this period.
The BLS was unable to collect survey data for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations, which prevented retroactive data collection for that month. For some indexes, nonsurvey data sources were used, allowing BLS to obtain most of the required information for October.
Over the past year ending in November, the all items CPI-U increased by 3.0 percent in the Tampa area. The index excluding food and energy rose by 2.7 percent over twelve months, while food prices climbed by 4.2 percent and energy costs went up by 5.2 percent.
From September to November, grocery store purchases saw a decline of 1.9 percent, with notable drops in cereals and bakery products (-5.0 percent) and other food at home (-2.1 percent). In contrast, restaurant and cafeteria prices edged up by 0.2 percent during this period.
Looking at annual changes, prices for eating out increased by 6.1 percent over the past year, while grocery store prices rose by 2.6 percent across all major categories.
Energy prices decreased by 1.0 percent between September and November; gasoline prices dropped by 2.5 percent during these two months but were down only 3.8 percent compared to last year.
The shelter index fell by 1.2 percent over two months—partly due to lower lodging away from home costs—while recreation expenses increased by 2.3 percent.
Over twelve months, shelter costs grew by 2.7 percent; both owners’ equivalent rent and rent indexes also posted a rise of 3.2 percent each.
The next release of the Consumer Price Index for December is scheduled for January 13, 2026 at 8:30 a.m., followed by January’s local CPI on February 11, according to BLS announcements.
The Consumer Price Index tracks average price changes over time within a fixed basket of goods and services and is published bi-monthly for Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater—a metropolitan area comprising Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties in Florida as defined under Core Based Statistical Areas (https://www.census.gov/topics/housing/housing-patterns/about/core-based-statistical-areas.html). Local indexes have smaller sample sizes than national or regional ones; therefore they are more volatile and subject to greater measurement error.
For further technical details about CPI methodology or additional information on how local-area indexes differ from national figures, readers can consult resources such as the national CPI news release technical note or refer directly to the Handbook of Methods (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/).
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