{
  "id": "cpi-regions",
  "slug": "cpi-regions",
  "title": "Four regions, one reporting window",
  "tag": "GEOGRAPHY / REGIONS",
  "unit": "Percent change, August 2025–August 2026",
  "kind": "regional-rates",
  "metric": "value",
  "measure": "CPI-U all-items 12-month unadjusted change by four Census regions as defined for BLS CPI",
  "geography": "BLS broad U.S. CPI regions (not states)",
  "observation_type": "Same month / same measure / different regional samples",
  "coverage": "Twelve months ended August 2026",
  "overview": "Compare the Northeast, Midwest, South and West directly against each other and the national 3.4% benchmark for the SAME 12-month period.",
  "caution": "A regional CPI rate is not the inflation rate of any individual state. Regional sample and consumption weights differ from local baskets; a one-month observation cannot explain local causes.",
  "columns": [
    {
      "key": "label",
      "label": "BLS region"
    },
    {
      "key": "value",
      "label": "12-month CPI change (%)"
    }
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "label": "Northeast",
      "value": 3.9,
      "source_id": "bls-2026-08"
    },
    {
      "label": "Midwest",
      "value": 3.6,
      "source_id": "bls-2026-08"
    },
    {
      "label": "South",
      "value": 3.1,
      "source_id": "bls-2026-08"
    },
    {
      "label": "West",
      "value": 3.2,
      "source_id": "bls-2026-08"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "bls-2026-08",
      "agency": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
      "title": "Consumer Price Index, August 2026",
      "url": "https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_09112026.htm",
      "published_on": "2026-09-11",
      "checked_on": "2026-10-11",
      "locator": "Table A, Table 1 and Table 4: CPI-U levels, subcategories and selected regions"
    }
  ]
}