UPDATE: Oct. 24, 2025: The Producer Price Index required to calculate the September 2025 Municipal Cost Index is delayed until the conclusion of the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS normally releases the data around the 20th of each month. 

The bureau released the updated Consumer Price Index today, which showed a seasonally adjusted 0.3% increase in September, down from August’s 0.4% growth. That CPI update was based on data collected prior to the government shutdown, according to BLS.

“No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services,” BLS states on its website. “This [CPI] release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits.”

Since 1978, American City & County, now part of Smart Cities Dive, has updated the Municipal Cost Index each month to help local governments plan and update their budgets and stay ahead of trends. MCI data for the first eight months of 2025 — along with decades of prior data — remains available.

The Municipal Cost Index, developed by American City & County, is designed to show the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services — the rising cost of doing business as a local government. Since 1978, state and local government officials have relied on it to stay on top of price trends, monitor commodity price increases, make informed government contract decisions and plan budgets.

Below you’ll find the Municipal Cost Index monthly figures for the current year, the year-to-year percentage change in the index for each month, and related data for the three indices that provide inputs for the index. Use the drop-down menu to see the MCI data and inputs for any previous year back to its creation in 1978.

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