KANSAS CITY – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3% in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.2%, while the food index and energy index were both up 0.7%.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.7%. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3%, while food prices increased 2.8%. Energy prices decreased 3.2% over the year. (See chart 1.)
Food
The food index advanced 0.7 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 0.9 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.4 percent for the same period.
Five of the six grocery indexes within the food at home category were up, led by a 1.2 percent advance in the other food at home index. The fruits and vegetables index saw a decline of 1.3 percent over the month.
Food prices were up 2.8 percent over the year. The index for food at home advanced 2.3 percent, while the index for food away from home rose 3.6 percent. Five of the six grocery indexes saw increases over the year, led by a 6.9 percent advance in the meats, poultry, fish and eggs category.
Energy
The energy index was up 0.7 percent over the month due to higher prices for electricity (+1.7 percent) and gasoline (+0.3 percent). The index for natural gas service fell 0.1 percent over the same period.
From March 2024 to March 2025, the energy index decreased 3.2 percent, primarily due to lower prices for gasoline (-11.9 percent). The indexes for natural gas service and electricity both rose, up 13.1 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, during the past year.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in March. Index component increases included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent), other goods and services (+0.9 percent), and recreation (+0.3 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for public transportation and medical care commodities (-1.3 percent) over the month.
The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent over the year. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+5.3 percent), rent of primary residence (+5.2 percent), and medical care services (+2.9 percent).