Consumer prices in Urban Alaska increased by 0.8 percent for the two months ending in August 2025, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund stated that “the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent during the two-month period. The food index rose 0.6 percent, and the energy index rose 4.8 percent.” These figures are not seasonally adjusted and may reflect seasonal patterns.
For the Anchorage area, which includes Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) showed a year-over-year increase of 2.4 percent as of August. Over this period, prices excluding food and energy were up by 2.3 percent, while food costs climbed 4.0 percent and energy increased by 0.8 percent.
In more detail, food prices rose by 0.6 percent over the last two months measured; within this category, grocery store purchases decreased slightly by 0.1 percent as three out of six major grocery groups saw lower prices. However, restaurant and similar purchases went up by 2.0 percent during the same timeframe.
Over twelve months, grocery store prices were up by 2.5 percent with increases reported in four of six major groups, while eating out became more expensive with a rise of 7.1 percent.
Energy costs experienced a sharp rise over two months—up by 4.8 percent—with gasoline alone increasing by 4.4 percent during that period; on an annual basis, energy edged up just under one percentage point at +0.8%, with gasoline also rising slightly (+0.9%).
Among non-food and non-energy items over two months, apparel prices saw an increase of 6.1% while shelter was up by just over one percentage point; conversely, new and used motor vehicles dropped in price (-0.8%). Over twelve months, shelter increased significantly (+4.2%), but recreation expenses declined (-1.7%).
The next CPI release for Anchorage is scheduled for November 13, covering October data.
The BLS explained that local-area indexes like those published for Urban Alaska have smaller sample sizes than national or regional indexes and thus are subject to greater measurement error and volatility; these indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences and only measure changes since their base periods—not differences between cities.
More information about methods used in producing these statistics can be found in the BLS’s Handbook of Methods or its national CPI technical notes.
A full historical data series is available through BLS data query tools linked from Table 1 of this release.
