Data Analysis

Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in October 2026 and core prices rose 0.3 percent, while shelter slowed to 0.3 percent and BLS published no 12-month inflation rate because October 2025 prices were never collected.

By Jon Brooks, Co-Founder, Momentum Realty · Updated November 10, 2026

BLS reported October CPI on November 10. Gasoline rose 1.0 percent seasonally adjusted; Miami-area prices rose 0.6 percent over two months.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in October 2026, after rising 0.6 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3 percent for the third straight month. Shelter rose 0.3 percent, down from 0.4 percent in September, and accounted for more than 30 percent of the monthly increase. BLS did not publish a 12-month inflation rate for October because it did not collect October 2025 prices during the 2025 lapse in appropriations. In South Florida, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach index rose 0.6 percent from August to October.

How much did prices rise in October 2026?

The all items CPI rose 0.4 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis. That follows increases of 0.6 percent in September and 0.4 percent in August, as reported in our September CPI article. The chart shows the monthly path since May, when prices rose 0.5 percent before falling 0.4 percent in June.

Energy rose 0.7 percent in October, a much smaller increase than September's 5.2 percent. Gasoline rose 1.0 percent after seasonal adjustment; before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices fell 0.7 percent. Electricity rose 0.9 percent, while utility gas service fell 0.8 percent. Food rose 0.5 percent, the largest monthly food increase in the six months shown in BLS's summary table, with food at home up 0.4 percent and food away from home up 0.5 percent.

Why is there no annual inflation rate for October 2026?

BLS states that it did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations. Without an October 2025 index, BLS cannot publish a 12-month percent change for October 2026 for most indexes, including all items, core and shelter. The release points readers to a BLS fact sheet on approximating missing data.

BLS did publish 12-month changes for a few series where October 2025 data are available. Gasoline was up 37.4 percent over the year, new vehicles 0.7 percent, and used cars and trucks down 3.3 percent. For comparison, the last published all items 12-month rate was 3.7 percent in September 2026.

What happened to shelter and rent in October?

Shelter rose 0.3 percent in October after 0.4 percent in September. Owners' equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent and the rent index rose 0.2 percent. Lodging away from home, which includes hotels, rose 0.6 percent after jumping 2.0 percent in September.

Owners' equivalent rent estimates what homeowners would pay to rent their own homes. It does not measure home prices or mortgage payments. Because leases reset about once a year, CPI shelter tends to trail market rents by many months, so a slower October reading reflects leases signed over a long stretch.

Is core inflation still rising?

Core CPI rose 0.3 percent in October, the same pace as in September and August. Services less energy services rose 0.3 percent. Transportation services rose 0.8 percent, and motor vehicle insurance rose 0.7 percent. On the goods side, used cars and trucks fell 1.2 percent after rising 0.7 percent in September, and medical care commodities rose 0.5 percent.

BLS listed recreation, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, and education among the indexes that rose. Used cars and trucks and communication, which fell 0.1 percent, were among the few that declined.

What did October CPI show for South Florida?

BLS released the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach index the same morning. Area prices rose 0.6 percent from August to October 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Core prices rose 0.5 percent, energy 2.7 percent, food 0.5 percent and shelter 0.9 percent over the two months. The area all items index stood at 372.471 in October, up from 370.123 in August.

As with the national figures, BLS published no 12-month changes for the Miami area for October. The last available annual reading, for August 2026, showed Miami-area prices up 3.7 percent over the year, with shelter up 3.0 percent and energy up 14.8 percent.

Shelter's 0.9 percent two-month gain in South Florida is a cost measure for renters and an imputed rent for owners. Florida homeowners also face costs CPI handles poorly, such as homeowners insurance and property taxes paid through escrow. Our escrow shortage calculator estimates how those changes move a monthly payment, and local data are on the Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville market pages.

What does October CPI mean for mortgage rates?

The Federal Reserve targets 2 percent inflation. A 0.3 percent monthly core pace, repeated for three months, runs above that target when annualized. Mortgage rates follow longer-term Treasury yields, which respond to inflation data and to inflation expectations.

Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed average was 7.18 percent for the week ending November 5, 2026, its third straight weekly decline, as covered in our November 5 mortgage rates article. The first weekly reading that includes the CPI release posts Thursday, November 12, at noon ET. Our November 9 market brief listed the forecasts going into this report, and the Florida news hub tracks the week's other releases.

People also ask

What is the CPI for October 2026?

The all items CPI rose 0.4 percent in October 2026 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to BLS. Core CPI rose 0.3 percent.

What is the annual inflation rate for October 2026?

BLS did not publish one. It did not collect October 2025 prices during the 2025 lapse in appropriations, so 12-month changes for October 2026 are unavailable for most indexes. The September 2026 rate was 3.7 percent.

Did rent go up in October 2026?

Shelter rose 0.3 percent in October, owners' equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent and the rent index rose 0.2 percent, all seasonally adjusted.

How much did prices rise in Miami in October 2026?

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach prices rose 0.6 percent from August to October 2026, with shelter up 0.9 percent and energy up 2.7 percent.

When is the next CPI report?

BLS has scheduled the November 2026 CPI for Thursday, December 10, 2026.

Limitations

National monthly changes are seasonally adjusted and can be revised when seasonal factors are recalculated. Miami-area changes are not seasonally adjusted, cover two months and come from a smaller sample, so they are more volatile than the national index. No 12-month changes for October 2026 are reported here except the three BLS published, and no estimate of the missing October 2025 index is made. Mortgage rates come from Freddie Mac's separate survey, and no rate forecast is made here.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index news release for October 2026, released November 10, 2026, bls.gov, including Table A. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Southeast Information Office, Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, October 2026, released November 10, 2026, and August 2026, released September 11, 2026. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for September 2026, released October 14, 2026. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending November 5, 2026.

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.