South region inflation calculator: CPI-U since 1966

Seven metros, two calendars, one monthly region

In the South the bimonthly schedule is the rule: none of its metros is priced every month. Miami; Atlanta; Baltimore; Houston are priced in even months; Washington, DC; Tampa; Dallas-Fort Worth in odd months. The regional index fills each month for the whole area, which is why a lease dated in any month can always find a Southern value.

One of the three divisions, East South Central, has no published metro at all. A contract there has two published choices besides the nation: the South region, or the size class that matches the town.

Why the BLS steers clauses to the region

The BLS FAQ says local indexes "are more volatile than the national or regional indexes", and "we urge users to consider adopting the national or regional CPIs for use in escalator clauses" (BLS questions and answers). The South index has the sample of a whole region behind it. Its series code is CUUR0300SA0.

Shelter and energy in the South

Shelter ran slower in the South than nationally over the latest 12 months (+2.3 % against +3.2 %), and below the region's own all items rate. Energy was +20.1 %, food +2.1 % and medical care +1.7 %. Core prices, the index without food and energy, moved +2.1 %.

The record since 1968

The fastest year on the regional annual averages was 1980, at 13.1 %; the slowest was 2009, at -0.4 %. The 2021 to 2023 run sits between them: 8.6 % in 2022, against 8.0 % for the nation.

Twenty-five years of Southern prices

Since the 2000 annual average the South index has risen at 2.57 % a year, against 2.59 % for the U.S. city average, so a Southern amount from 2000 needs a little less today than the same amount carried on the national index. Read that as a difference in price change, not in price level. The BLS states that an area index "does not show whether prices or living costs are higher or lower in that area relative to another"; a Southern index above the national one says only that prices there rose more since 1982-84.

October 2025 in a region of bimonthly metros

The lapse in appropriations removed October 2025 everywhere. For the even-month Southern metros it also meant no two-month change for December 2025 and a 2025 annual average built from five months. The region lost only its October value and keeps an 11-month average. If a Southern clause falls on October 2025, the October 2025 page explains what the calculator does.