U.S. retail sales rise 0.8% in September, driven largely by gas stations
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Americans spent $745.0 billion at retailers and restaurants in September, up 0.8 percent from August and 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau reported October 15. Gasoline stations accounted for most of the gain. Excluding gas, sales rose 0.2 percent.
Gas station sales rose 6.4 percent in a month, to $68.0 billion, and are up 28.1 percent from September 2025. Of the $5.7 billion added across all retail in September, $4.1 billion came from gas stations. Because these figures are not adjusted for price changes, higher pump prices show up as more sales even if drivers buy the same number of gallons.
The numbers in this report are lower than the ones we covered a month ago. On September 28, the bureau revised its monthly retail estimates using the results of its 2023 and 2024 Annual Integrated Economic Survey. August's total, first reported at $773.9 billion, is now $739.3 billion, and its gain from July is now 1.3 percent.
| Rank | Category | September sales | From August | From a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motor vehicle and parts | $139.8B | +0.2% | +2.5% |
| 2 | Nonstore (online) | $124.3B | +0.3% | +8.2% |
| 3 | Food services and drinking places | $92.9B | +1.1% | +7.0% |
| 4 | Food and beverage stores | $85.1B | +0.4% | +0.9% |
| 5 | General merchandise | $81.8B | −0.1% | +4.2% |
| 6 | Gasoline stations | $68.0B | +6.4% | +28.1% |
| 7 | Building material and garden | $44.1B | −0.6% | +4.5% |
| 8 | Health and personal care | $39.5B | +0.7% | −1.2% |
| 9 | Clothing and accessories | $26.5B | 0.0% | +5.0% |
| 10 | Miscellaneous stores | $15.8B | −3.0% | +10.9% |
| 11 | Furniture and home furnishings | $10.7B | +1.3% | +4.9% |
| 12 | Sporting goods, hobby, and books | $8.7B | −0.5% | +9.6% |
| 13 | Electronics and appliances | $7.9B | +0.6% | +9.4% |
Eight of the 13 major categories rose for the month. Restaurants and bars gained 1.1 percent, to $92.9 billion, and are up 7.0 percent over the year. Online sellers rose 0.3 percent and are up 8.2 percent from a year ago.
Miscellaneous store retailers fell 3.0 percent, the largest monthly drop. Building materials and garden stores fell 0.6 percent and sporting goods, hobby, and book stores 0.5 percent. Health and personal care stores were the only major category below their level of a year earlier, down 1.2 percent.
Excluding car dealers, sales rose 0.9 percent. Excluding both car dealers and gas stations, they rose 0.2 percent, a change the bureau said was not statistically different from zero. Grocery and other food stores grew 0.9 percent over the year, the slowest of any category that rose.
For the July through September quarter, sales were up 5.5 percent from the same months of 2025. Spread across the country's estimated 341.8 million residents, September's sales come to about $2,180 a person.
Our coverage of the previous month is in retail sales for August, which uses the figures as they stood before the revision. The October report is scheduled for November 17.
Sources
Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services for September 2026 (CB26-165, released October 15, 2026), Table 1, adjusted for seasonal variation and for holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. The advance estimate comes from a subsample of about 4,800 firms and is revised twice. The margin of error on the monthly change is ±0.4 percentage points and on the annual change ±0.5 points, both at 90 percent confidence. Revised estimates are in the bureau's annual revision. The per-person figure uses the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 population estimates, summed across counties by CensusEasy.
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How much did retail sales rise in September 2026?
Retail and food services sales were $745.0 billion in September 2026, up 0.8 percent from August and 6.3 percent from September 2025, according to the Census Bureau's advance estimate released October 15.
Why did gas station sales jump in September 2026?
Gas station sales rose 6.4 percent to $68.0 billion and are up 28.1 percent from a year earlier. The figures are not adjusted for prices, so higher pump prices count as higher sales even if drivers buy the same amount of fuel.
Why are the 2026 retail sales numbers lower than first reported?
On September 28, 2026, the Census Bureau revised its monthly retail estimates using its 2023 and 2024 Annual Integrated Economic Survey. August sales, first reported at $773.9 billion, are now $739.3 billion.
