Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) · U.S. city average

What is the US inflation rate?

US consumer prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026 (CPI-U); without food and energy, 2.4% (published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on 11 September 2026).

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Over 12 monthsEach monthFood, energy, shelterEach year

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change from a year earlier, each month

January 1914 to August 2026Ours, from the published indexes, not seasonally adjusted

All10Y2Y

-20.0%-10.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%1920194019601980200020203.4%2.4%

February 1914 All items 1.0% Core no valueDecember 1914 All items 1.0% Core no valueOctober 1915 All items 1.0% Core no valueAugust 1916 All items 7.9% Core no valueJune 1917 All items 20.4% Core no valueApril 1918 All items 12.7% Core no valueFebruary 1919 All items 14.9% Core no valueDecember 1919 All items 14.5% Core no valueOctober 1920 All items 9.9% Core no valueAugust 1921 All items -12.8% Core no valueJune 1922 All items -5.1% Core no valueApril 1923 All items 1.2% Core no valueFebruary 1924 All items 2.4% Core no valueDecember 1924 All items 0.0% Core no valueOctober 1925 All items 2.9% Core no valueAugust 1926 All items -1.7% Core no valueJune 1927 All items -0.6% Core no valueApril 1928 All items -1.2% Core no valueFebruary 1929 All items 0.0% Core no valueDecember 1929 All items 0.6% Core no valueOctober 1930 All items -4.6% Core no valueAugust 1931 All items -8.5% Core no valueJune 1932 All items -9.9% Core no valueApril 1933 All items -9.4% Core no valueFebruary 1934 All items 4.7% Core no valueDecember 1934 All items 1.5% Core no valueOctober 1935 All items 1.5% Core no valueAugust 1936 All items 2.2% Core no valueJune 1937 All items 4.3% Core no valueApril 1938 All items -0.7% Core no valueFebruary 1939 All items -1.4% Core no valueDecember 1939 All items 0.0% Core no valueOctober 1940 All items 0.0% Core no valueAugust 1941 All items 6.4% Core no valueJune 1942 All items 10.9% Core no valueApril 1943 All items 8.1% Core no valueFebruary 1944 All items 3.0% Core no valueDecember 1944 All items 2.3% Core no valueOctober 1945 All items 2.3% Core no valueAugust 1946 All items 11.6% Core no valueJune 1947 All items 17.6% Core no valueApril 1948 All items 8.7% Core no valueFebruary 1949 All items 1.3% Core no valueDecember 1949 All items -2.1% Core no valueOctober 1950 All items 3.8% Core no valueAugust 1951 All items 6.6% Core no valueJune 1952 All items 2.3% Core no valueApril 1953 All items 0.8% Core no valueFebruary 1954 All items 1.5% Core no valueDecember 1954 All items -0.7% Core no valueOctober 1955 All items 0.4% Core no valueAugust 1956 All items 1.9% Core no valueJune 1957 All items 3.3% Core no valueApril 1958 All items 3.6% Core 2.4%February 1959 All items 1.0% Core 1.7%December 1959 All items 1.7% Core 2.0%October 1960 All items 1.4% Core 1.0%August 1961 All items 1.0% Core 1.3%June 1962 All items 1.3% Core 1.6%April 1963 All items 1.0% Core 1.3%February 1964 All items 1.6% Core 1.9%December 1964 All items 1.0% Core 1.2%October 1965 All items 1.9% Core 1.5%August 1966 All items 3.5% Core 3.1%June 1967 All items 2.8% Core 3.3%April 1968 All items 3.9% Core 4.4%February 1969 All items 4.7% Core 5.3%December 1969 All items 6.2% Core 6.2%October 1970 All items 5.6% Core 6.4%August 1971 All items 4.6% Core 4.6%June 1972 All items 2.7% Core 2.8%April 1973 All items 5.1% Core 3.2%February 1974 All items 10.0% Core 5.4%December 1974 All items 12.3% Core 11.1%October 1975 All items 7.4% Core 7.0%August 1976 All items 5.7% Core 6.8%June 1977 All items 6.9% Core 6.6%April 1978 All items 6.5% Core 6.5%February 1979 All items 9.9% Core 9.2%December 1979 All items 13.3% Core 11.3%October 1980 All items 12.8% Core 12.3%August 1981 All items 10.8% Core 11.6%June 1982 All items 7.1% Core 8.6%April 1983 All items 3.9% Core 4.3%February 1984 All items 4.6% Core 4.8%December 1984 All items 3.9% Core 4.7%October 1985 All items 3.2% Core 4.1%August 1986 All items 1.6% Core 4.0%June 1987 All items 3.7% Core 4.1%April 1988 All items 3.9% Core 4.3%February 1989 All items 4.8% Core 4.8%December 1989 All items 4.6% Core 4.4%October 1990 All items 6.3% Core 5.3%August 1991 All items 3.8% Core 4.6%June 1992 All items 3.1% Core 3.8%April 1993 All items 3.2% Core 3.5%February 1994 All items 2.5% Core 2.8%December 1994 All items 2.7% Core 2.6%October 1995 All items 2.8% Core 3.0%August 1996 All items 2.9% Core 2.6%June 1997 All items 2.3% Core 2.4%April 1998 All items 1.4% Core 2.1%February 1999 All items 1.6% Core 2.1%December 1999 All items 2.7% Core 1.9%October 2000 All items 3.4% Core 2.5%August 2001 All items 2.7% Core 2.7%June 2002 All items 1.1% Core 2.3%April 2003 All items 2.2% Core 1.5%February 2004 All items 1.7% Core 1.2%December 2004 All items 3.3% Core 2.2%October 2005 All items 4.3% Core 2.1%August 2006 All items 3.8% Core 2.8%June 2007 All items 2.7% Core 2.2%April 2008 All items 3.9% Core 2.3%February 2009 All items 0.2% Core 1.8%December 2009 All items 2.7% Core 1.8%October 2010 All items 1.2% Core 0.6%August 2011 All items 3.8% Core 2.0%June 2012 All items 1.7% Core 2.2%April 2013 All items 1.1% Core 1.7%February 2014 All items 1.1% Core 1.6%December 2014 All items 0.8% Core 1.6%October 2015 All items 0.2% Core 1.9%August 2016 All items 1.1% Core 2.3%June 2017 All items 1.6% Core 1.7%April 2018 All items 2.5% Core 2.1%February 2019 All items 1.5% Core 2.1%December 2019 All items 2.3% Core 2.3%October 2020 All items 1.2% Core 1.6%August 2021 All items 5.3% Core 4.0%June 2022 All items 9.1% Core 5.9%April 2023 All items 4.9% Core 5.5%February 2024 All items 3.2% Core 3.8%December 2024 All items 2.9% Core 3.2%October 2025 All items no value Core no valueAugust 2026 All items 3.4% Core 2.4%

0.0%5.0%7.5%10.0%201820202022202420263.4%2.4%

August 2016 All items 1.1% Core 2.3%September 2016 All items 1.5% Core 2.2%October 2016 All items 1.6% Core 2.1%November 2016 All items 1.7% Core 2.1%December 2016 All items 2.1% Core 2.2%January 2017 All items 2.5% Core 2.3%February 2017 All items 2.7% Core 2.2%March 2017 All items 2.4% Core 2.0%April 2017 All items 2.2% Core 1.9%May 2017 All items 1.9% Core 1.7%June 2017 All items 1.6% Core 1.7%July 2017 All items 1.7% Core 1.7%August 2017 All items 1.9% Core 1.7%September 2017 All items 2.2% Core 1.7%October 2017 All items 2.0% Core 1.8%November 2017 All items 2.2% Core 1.7%December 2017 All items 2.1% Core 1.8%January 2018 All items 2.1% Core 1.8%February 2018 All items 2.2% Core 1.8%March 2018 All items 2.4% Core 2.1%April 2018 All items 2.5% Core 2.1%May 2018 All items 2.8% Core 2.2%June 2018 All items 2.9% Core 2.3%July 2018 All items 2.9% Core 2.4%August 2018 All items 2.7% Core 2.2%September 2018 All items 2.3% Core 2.2%October 2018 All items 2.5% Core 2.1%November 2018 All items 2.2% Core 2.2%December 2018 All items 1.9% Core 2.2%January 2019 All items 1.6% Core 2.2%February 2019 All items 1.5% Core 2.1%March 2019 All items 1.9% Core 2.0%April 2019 All items 2.0% Core 2.1%May 2019 All items 1.8% Core 2.0%June 2019 All items 1.6% Core 2.1%July 2019 All items 1.8% Core 2.2%August 2019 All items 1.7% Core 2.4%September 2019 All items 1.7% Core 2.4%October 2019 All items 1.8% Core 2.3%November 2019 All items 2.1% Core 2.3%December 2019 All items 2.3% Core 2.3%January 2020 All items 2.5% Core 2.3%February 2020 All items 2.3% Core 2.4%March 2020 All items 1.5% Core 2.1%April 2020 All items 0.3% Core 1.4%May 2020 All items 0.1% Core 1.2%June 2020 All items 0.6% Core 1.2%July 2020 All items 1.0% Core 1.6%August 2020 All items 1.3% Core 1.7%September 2020 All items 1.4% Core 1.7%October 2020 All items 1.2% Core 1.6%November 2020 All items 1.2% Core 1.6%December 2020 All items 1.4% Core 1.6%January 2021 All items 1.4% Core 1.4%February 2021 All items 1.7% Core 1.3%March 2021 All items 2.6% Core 1.6%April 2021 All items 4.2% Core 3.0%May 2021 All items 5.0% Core 3.8%June 2021 All items 5.4% Core 4.5%July 2021 All items 5.4% Core 4.3%August 2021 All items 5.3% Core 4.0%September 2021 All items 5.4% Core 4.0%October 2021 All items 6.2% Core 4.6%November 2021 All items 6.8% Core 4.9%December 2021 All items 7.0% Core 5.5%January 2022 All items 7.5% Core 6.0%February 2022 All items 7.9% Core 6.4%March 2022 All items 8.5% Core 6.5%April 2022 All items 8.3% Core 6.2%May 2022 All items 8.6% Core 6.0%June 2022 All items 9.1% Core 5.9%July 2022 All items 8.5% Core 5.9%August 2022 All items 8.3% Core 6.3%September 2022 All items 8.2% Core 6.6%October 2022 All items 7.7% Core 6.3%November 2022 All items 7.1% Core 6.0%December 2022 All items 6.5% Core 5.7%January 2023 All items 6.4% Core 5.6%February 2023 All items 6.0% Core 5.5%March 2023 All items 5.0% Core 5.6%April 2023 All items 4.9% Core 5.5%May 2023 All items 4.0% Core 5.3%June 2023 All items 3.0% Core 4.8%July 2023 All items 3.2% Core 4.7%August 2023 All items 3.7% Core 4.3%September 2023 All items 3.7% Core 4.1%October 2023 All items 3.2% Core 4.0%November 2023 All items 3.1% Core 4.0%December 2023 All items 3.4% Core 3.9%January 2024 All items 3.1% Core 3.9%February 2024 All items 3.2% Core 3.8%March 2024 All items 3.5% Core 3.8%April 2024 All items 3.4% Core 3.6%May 2024 All items 3.3% Core 3.4%June 2024 All items 3.0% Core 3.3%July 2024 All items 2.9% Core 3.2%August 2024 All items 2.5% Core 3.2%September 2024 All items 2.4% Core 3.3%October 2024 All items 2.6% Core 3.3%November 2024 All items 2.7% Core 3.3%December 2024 All items 2.9% Core 3.2%January 2025 All items 3.0% Core 3.3%February 2025 All items 2.8% Core 3.1%March 2025 All items 2.4% Core 2.8%April 2025 All items 2.3% Core 2.8%May 2025 All items 2.4% Core 2.8%June 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.9%July 2025 All items 2.7% Core 3.1%August 2025 All items 2.9% Core 3.1%September 2025 All items 3.0% Core 3.0%October 2025 All items no value Core no valueNovember 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.6%December 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.6%January 2026 All items 2.4% Core 2.5%February 2026 All items 2.4% Core 2.5%March 2026 All items 3.3% Core 2.6%April 2026 All items 3.8% Core 2.8%May 2026 All items 4.2% Core 2.9%June 2026 All items 3.5% Core 2.6%July 2026 All items 3.4% Core 2.5%August 2026 All items 3.4% Core 2.4%

0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%Jan 2025Jul 2025Jan 2026Jul 20263.4%2.4%

August 2024 All items 2.5% Core 3.2%September 2024 All items 2.4% Core 3.3%October 2024 All items 2.6% Core 3.3%November 2024 All items 2.7% Core 3.3%December 2024 All items 2.9% Core 3.2%January 2025 All items 3.0% Core 3.3%February 2025 All items 2.8% Core 3.1%March 2025 All items 2.4% Core 2.8%April 2025 All items 2.3% Core 2.8%May 2025 All items 2.4% Core 2.8%June 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.9%July 2025 All items 2.7% Core 3.1%August 2025 All items 2.9% Core 3.1%September 2025 All items 3.0% Core 3.0%October 2025 All items no value Core no valueNovember 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.6%December 2025 All items 2.7% Core 2.6%January 2026 All items 2.4% Core 2.5%February 2026 All items 2.4% Core 2.5%March 2026 All items 3.3% Core 2.6%April 2026 All items 3.8% Core 2.8%May 2026 All items 4.2% Core 2.9%June 2026 All items 3.5% Core 2.6%July 2026 All items 3.4% Core 2.5%August 2026 All items 3.4% Core 2.4%

The lines

All items3.4%
All items less food and energy (core)2.4%

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change over each month, seasonally adjusted

July 2024 to August 2026Ours, from the published seasonally adjusted indexes

Food, energy, shelter and core prices, change from a year earlier, each month

September 2016 to August 2026Ours, from the published indexes, not seasonally adjusted

All2Y

The lines

Food2.7%
Energy16.3%
Shelter3.0%
All items less food and energy (core)2.4%

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change in each calendar year's average from the year before

1913 to 2025Ours, from the yearly averages BLS publishes

All10Y

Each point is one month's change from the same month a year earlier, or from the month before, worked out from the published indexes as BLS works out its own; October 2025 has no index and leaves a gap. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the change.

Select a line to follow

12 months to Aug+3.4%
Core, 12 months+2.4%
Over the month+0.4%
In 2025+2.6%

Inspect and compare dates

The latest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The months of the last ten years and every year since 1913 are in the tables under "The numbers behind the chart".

Consumer prices (CPI-U) in August 2026 beside earlier months
Measure	Latest	The month before	A year earlier	Five years earlier	Ten years earlier
Month	Aug 2026	Jul 2026	Aug 2025	Aug 2021	Aug 2016
Index (1982-84=100)	334.980	333.918	323.976	273.567	240.849
Change over 12 months	3.4%	3.4%	2.9%	5.3%	1.1%
Core, over 12 months	2.4%	2.5%	3.1%	4.0%	2.3%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index. Observed 11 Sep 2026.

Right now

Consumer prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026, the lowest since March 2026.

Over the month, seasonally adjusted, prices rose 0.4%. Over 12 months the change was +3.4% in July 2026 and +2.9% in August 2025.

See every month of the last ten years

Core inflationAll items less food and energy

Prices without food and energy rose 2.4% over 12 months, and rose 0.3% over the month, seasonally adjusted.

By groupOver 12 months, ours

Of the groups on this page, gasoline (all types) changed the most, +27.4%, then energy, +16.3%; used cars and trucks the least, −2.3%.

See every group

Understanding inflation

Where it stands today

Consumer prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026.

What does the Consumer Price Index measure?

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) follows the prices urban households pay for a fixed basket of goods and services, from food and rent to cars and medical care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it each month as an index, 100 for the average of 1982 to 1984; the inflation rate usually quoted is the change of that index from the same month a year earlier.

The 12-month change here is worked out from the index not seasonally adjusted, as BLS reports it; the change over one month is worked out from the seasonally adjusted index, so that months of the year can be compared. Core inflation leaves out food and energy, whose prices move the most from month to month. BLS revises the seasonally adjusted indexes of the last five years each February; the index not seasonally adjusted is not revised.

What 500metrics adds: the changes worked out from the published indexes, the last month the 12-month change was higher or lower, and each year's change.

The numbers behind the chart

What was inflation in each month?The 120 months since Sep 2016, newest first; each year since 1913 is in the next table

Consumer prices (CPI-U) by month, newest first: the index, not seasonally adjusted, and its changes (ours)
Month	Index	12 months	1 month (SA)	Core, 12 months	Core, 1 month (SA)
Aug 2026	334.980	3.4%	0.4%	2.4%	0.3%
Jul 2026	333.918	3.4%	0.1%	2.5%	0.2%
Jun 2026	333.952	3.5%	-0.4%	2.6%	0.0%
May 2026	335.123	4.2%	0.5%	2.9%	0.2%
Apr 2026	333.020	3.8%	0.6%	2.8%	0.4%
Mar 2026	330.213	3.3%	0.9%	2.6%	0.2%
Feb 2026	326.785	2.4%	0.3%	2.5%	0.2%
Jan 2026	325.252	2.4%	0.2%	2.5%	0.3%
Dec 2025	324.054	2.7%	0.3%	2.6%	0.2%
Nov 2025	324.122	2.7%	n/a	2.6%	n/a
Oct 2025	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Sep 2025	324.800	3.0%	0.3%	3.0%	0.2%
Aug 2025	323.976	2.9%	0.3%	3.1%	0.3%
Jul 2025	323.048	2.7%	0.2%	3.1%	0.3%
Jun 2025	322.561	2.7%	0.3%	2.9%	0.2%
May 2025	321.465	2.4%	0.1%	2.8%	0.1%
Apr 2025	320.795	2.3%	0.2%	2.8%	0.2%
Mar 2025	319.799	2.4%	0.0%	2.8%	0.1%
Feb 2025	319.082	2.8%	0.2%	3.1%	0.3%
Jan 2025	317.671	3.0%	0.4%	3.3%	0.4%
Dec 2024	315.605	2.9%	0.3%	3.2%	0.2%
Nov 2024	315.493	2.7%	0.3%	3.3%	0.3%
Oct 2024	315.664	2.6%	0.3%	3.3%	0.3%
Sep 2024	315.301	2.4%	0.2%	3.3%	0.3%

Show 96 more rows

Consumer prices (CPI-U) by month, newest first: the index, not seasonally adjusted, and its changes (ours) (continued)
Month	Index	12 months	1 month (SA)	Core, 12 months	Core, 1 month (SA)
Aug 2024	314.796	2.5%	0.2%	3.2%	0.3%
Jul 2024	314.540	2.9%	0.2%	3.2%	0.2%
Jun 2024	314.175	3.0%	0.0%	3.3%	0.1%
May 2024	314.069	3.3%	0.0%	3.4%	0.1%
Apr 2024	313.548	3.4%	0.2%	3.6%	0.3%
Mar 2024	312.332	3.5%	0.4%	3.8%	0.4%
Feb 2024	310.326	3.2%	0.4%	3.8%	0.4%
Jan 2024	308.417	3.1%	0.3%	3.9%	0.4%
Dec 2023	306.746	3.4%	0.2%	3.9%	0.3%
Nov 2023	307.051	3.1%	0.1%	4.0%	0.3%
Oct 2023	307.671	3.2%	0.1%	4.0%	0.3%
Sep 2023	307.789	3.7%	0.4%	4.1%	0.3%
Aug 2023	307.026	3.7%	0.5%	4.3%	0.2%
Jul 2023	305.691	3.2%	0.2%	4.7%	0.2%
Jun 2023	305.109	3.0%	0.2%	4.8%	0.2%
May 2023	304.127	4.0%	0.2%	5.3%	0.4%
Apr 2023	303.363	4.9%	0.3%	5.5%	0.5%
Mar 2023	301.836	5.0%	0.1%	5.6%	0.3%
Feb 2023	300.840	6.0%	0.3%	5.5%	0.5%
Jan 2023	299.170	6.4%	0.5%	5.6%	0.4%
Dec 2022	296.797	6.5%	0.0%	5.7%	0.4%
Nov 2022	297.711	7.1%	0.3%	6.0%	0.3%
Oct 2022	298.012	7.7%	0.6%	6.3%	0.4%
Sep 2022	296.808	8.2%	0.4%	6.6%	0.6%
Aug 2022	296.171	8.3%	0.1%	6.3%	0.5%
Jul 2022	296.276	8.5%	0.0%	5.9%	0.4%
Jun 2022	296.311	9.1%	1.3%	5.9%	0.7%
May 2022	292.296	8.6%	0.9%	6.0%	0.5%
Apr 2022	289.109	8.3%	0.3%	6.2%	0.5%
Mar 2022	287.504	8.5%	1.1%	6.5%	0.3%
Feb 2022	283.716	7.9%	0.7%	6.4%	0.5%
Jan 2022	281.148	7.5%	0.6%	6.0%	0.6%
Dec 2021	278.802	7.0%	0.7%	5.5%	0.6%
Nov 2021	277.948	6.8%	0.9%	4.9%	0.6%
Oct 2021	276.589	6.2%	1.0%	4.6%	0.7%
Sep 2021	274.310	5.4%	0.5%	4.0%	0.3%
Aug 2021	273.567	5.3%	0.3%	4.0%	0.1%
Jul 2021	273.003	5.4%	0.5%	4.3%	0.4%
Jun 2021	271.696	5.4%	0.8%	4.5%	0.8%
May 2021	269.195	5.0%	0.7%	3.8%	0.7%
Apr 2021	267.054	4.2%	0.6%	3.0%	0.8%
Mar 2021	264.877	2.6%	0.5%	1.6%	0.2%
Feb 2021	263.014	1.7%	0.3%	1.3%	0.2%
Jan 2021	261.582	1.4%	0.2%	1.4%	0.0%
Dec 2020	260.474	1.4%	0.4%	1.6%	0.1%
Nov 2020	260.229	1.2%	0.2%	1.6%	0.3%
Oct 2020	260.388	1.2%	0.1%	1.6%	0.1%
Sep 2020	260.280	1.4%	0.3%	1.7%	0.2%
Aug 2020	259.918	1.3%	0.4%	1.7%	0.4%
Jul 2020	259.101	1.0%	0.5%	1.6%	0.6%
Jun 2020	257.797	0.6%	0.5%	1.2%	0.2%
May 2020	256.394	0.1%	-0.1%	1.2%	-0.1%
Apr 2020	256.389	0.3%	-0.8%	1.4%	-0.5%
Mar 2020	258.115	1.5%	-0.5%	2.1%	-0.1%
Feb 2020	258.678	2.3%	0.0%	2.4%	0.2%
Jan 2020	257.971	2.5%	0.2%	2.3%	0.3%
Dec 2019	256.974	2.3%	0.3%	2.3%	0.2%
Nov 2019	257.208	2.1%	0.3%	2.3%	0.2%
Oct 2019	257.346	1.8%	0.3%	2.3%	0.2%
Sep 2019	256.759	1.7%	0.2%	2.4%	0.2%
Aug 2019	256.558	1.7%	0.1%	2.4%	0.2%
Jul 2019	256.571	1.8%	0.2%	2.2%	0.2%
Jun 2019	256.143	1.6%	0.0%	2.1%	0.2%
May 2019	256.092	1.8%	0.0%	2.0%	0.1%
Apr 2019	255.548	2.0%	0.4%	2.1%	0.2%
Mar 2019	254.202	1.9%	0.4%	2.0%	0.1%
Feb 2019	252.776	1.5%	0.3%	2.1%	0.2%
Jan 2019	251.712	1.6%	-0.1%	2.2%	0.3%
Dec 2018	251.233	1.9%	0.1%	2.2%	0.2%
Nov 2018	252.038	2.2%	-0.1%	2.2%	0.2%
Oct 2018	252.885	2.5%	0.2%	2.1%	0.2%
Sep 2018	252.439	2.3%	0.2%	2.2%	0.2%
Aug 2018	252.146	2.7%	0.2%	2.2%	0.1%
Jul 2018	252.006	2.9%	0.1%	2.4%	0.1%
Jun 2018	251.989	2.9%	0.1%	2.3%	0.1%
May 2018	251.588	2.8%	0.2%	2.2%	0.2%
Apr 2018	250.546	2.5%	0.3%	2.1%	0.1%
Mar 2018	249.554	2.4%	0.0%	2.1%	0.2%
Feb 2018	248.991	2.2%	0.3%	1.8%	0.2%
Jan 2018	247.867	2.1%	0.4%	1.8%	0.3%
Dec 2017	246.524	2.1%	0.2%	1.8%	0.2%
Nov 2017	246.669	2.2%	0.3%	1.7%	0.1%
Oct 2017	246.663	2.0%	0.1%	1.8%	0.3%
Sep 2017	246.819	2.2%	0.5%	1.7%	0.1%
Aug 2017	245.519	1.9%	0.4%	1.7%	0.2%
Jul 2017	244.786	1.7%	0.0%	1.7%	0.1%
Jun 2017	244.955	1.6%	0.1%	1.7%	0.1%
May 2017	244.733	1.9%	-0.1%	1.7%	0.1%
Apr 2017	244.524	2.2%	0.1%	1.9%	0.1%
Mar 2017	243.801	2.4%	0.0%	2.0%	0.0%
Feb 2017	243.603	2.7%	0.2%	2.2%	0.2%
Jan 2017	242.839	2.5%	0.4%	2.3%	0.2%
Dec 2016	241.432	2.1%	0.3%	2.2%	0.2%
Nov 2016	241.353	1.7%	0.1%	2.1%	0.1%
Oct 2016	241.729	1.6%	0.2%	2.1%	0.1%
Sep 2016	241.428	1.5%	0.3%	2.2%	0.2%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What was inflation in each year?113 calendar years, newest first

Consumer prices (CPI-U) by calendar year, newest first: the yearly average index BLS publishes and its changes (ours)
Year	Average index	Change in the average	December to December
2025	321.943	2.6%	2.7%
2024	313.689	2.9%	2.9%
2023	304.702	4.1%	3.4%
2022	292.655	8.0%	6.5%
2021	270.970	4.7%	7.0%
2020	258.811	1.2%	1.4%
2019	255.657	1.8%	2.3%
2018	251.107	2.4%	1.9%
2017	245.120	2.1%	2.1%
2016	240.007	1.3%	2.1%

Show 103 more rows

Consumer prices (CPI-U) by calendar year, newest first: the yearly average index BLS publishes and its changes (ours) (continued)
Year	Average index	Change in the average	December to December
2015	237.017	0.1%	0.7%
2014	236.736	1.6%	0.8%
2013	232.957	1.5%	1.5%
2012	229.594	2.1%	1.7%
2011	224.939	3.2%	3.0%
2010	218.056	1.6%	1.5%
2009	214.537	-0.4%	2.7%
2008	215.303	3.8%	0.1%
2007	207.342	2.8%	4.1%
2006	201.6	3.2%	2.5%
2005	195.3	3.4%	3.4%
2004	188.9	2.7%	3.3%
2003	184.0	2.3%	1.9%
2002	179.9	1.6%	2.4%
2001	177.1	2.8%	1.6%
2000	172.2	3.4%	3.4%
1999	166.6	2.2%	2.7%
1998	163.0	1.6%	1.6%
1997	160.5	2.3%	1.7%
1996	156.9	3.0%	3.3%
1995	152.4	2.8%	2.5%
1994	148.2	2.6%	2.7%
1993	144.5	3.0%	2.7%
1992	140.3	3.0%	2.9%
1991	136.2	4.2%	3.1%
1990	130.7	5.4%	6.1%
1989	124.0	4.8%	4.6%
1988	118.3	4.1%	4.4%
1987	113.6	3.6%	4.4%
1986	109.6	1.9%	1.1%
1985	107.6	3.6%	3.8%
1984	103.9	4.3%	3.9%
1983	99.6	3.2%	3.8%
1982	96.5	6.2%	3.8%
1981	90.9	10.3%	8.9%
1980	82.4	13.5%	12.5%
1979	72.6	11.3%	13.3%
1978	65.2	7.6%	9.0%
1977	60.6	6.5%	6.7%
1976	56.9	5.8%	4.9%
1975	53.8	9.1%	6.9%
1974	49.3	11.0%	12.3%
1973	44.4	6.2%	8.7%
1972	41.8	3.2%	3.4%
1971	40.5	4.4%	3.3%
1970	38.8	5.7%	5.6%
1969	36.7	5.5%	6.2%
1968	34.8	4.2%	4.7%
1967	33.4	3.1%	3.0%
1966	32.4	2.9%	3.5%
1965	31.5	1.6%	1.9%
1964	31.0	1.3%	1.0%
1963	30.6	1.3%	1.6%
1962	30.2	1.0%	1.3%
1961	29.9	1.0%	0.7%
1960	29.6	1.7%	1.4%
1959	29.1	0.7%	1.7%
1958	28.9	2.8%	1.8%
1957	28.1	3.3%	2.9%
1956	27.2	1.5%	3.0%
1955	26.8	-0.4%	0.4%
1954	26.9	0.7%	-0.7%
1953	26.7	0.8%	0.7%
1952	26.5	1.9%	0.8%
1951	26.0	7.9%	6.0%
1950	24.1	1.3%	5.9%
1949	23.8	-1.2%	-2.1%
1948	24.1	8.1%	3.0%
1947	22.3	14.4%	8.8%
1946	19.5	8.3%	18.1%
1945	18.0	2.3%	2.2%
1944	17.6	1.7%	2.3%
1943	17.3	6.1%	3.0%
1942	16.3	10.9%	9.0%
1941	14.7	5.0%	9.9%
1940	14.0	0.7%	0.7%
1939	13.9	-1.4%	0.0%
1938	14.1	-2.1%	-2.8%
1937	14.4	3.6%	2.9%
1936	13.9	1.5%	1.4%
1935	13.7	2.2%	3.0%
1934	13.4	3.1%	1.5%
1933	13.0	-5.1%	0.8%
1932	13.7	-9.9%	-10.3%
1931	15.2	-9.0%	-9.3%
1930	16.7	-2.3%	-6.4%
1929	17.1	0.0%	0.6%
1928	17.1	-1.7%	-1.2%
1927	17.4	-1.7%	-2.3%
1926	17.7	1.1%	-1.1%
1925	17.5	2.3%	3.5%
1924	17.1	0.0%	0.0%
1923	17.1	1.8%	2.4%
1922	16.8	-6.1%	-2.3%
1921	17.9	-10.5%	-10.8%
1920	20.0	15.6%	2.6%
1919	17.3	14.6%	14.5%
1918	15.1	18.0%	20.4%
1917	12.8	17.4%	18.1%
1916	10.9	7.9%	12.6%
1915	10.1	1.0%	2.0%
1914	10.0	1.0%	1.0%
1913	9.9	n/a	n/a

How did the prices of each group change?11 groups, each in its newest month

CPI-U groups: the index, not seasonally adjusted, and its changes (ours)
Group	Month	Index	12 months	1 month (SA)
Food	Aug 2026	350.418	2.7%	0.1%
Food at home	Aug 2026	321.500	2.2%	0.0%
Food away from home	Aug 2026	397.868	3.4%	0.3%
Energy	Aug 2026	329.351	16.3%	2.1%
Gasoline (all types)	Aug 2026	359.738	27.4%	3.9%
Shelter	Aug 2026	430.611	3.0%	0.3%
Rent of primary residence	Aug 2026	448.997	2.7%	0.2%
New vehicles	Aug 2026	179.715	0.6%	0.3%
Used cars and trucks	Aug 2026	184.580	-2.3%	0.4%
Medical care	Aug 2026	593.003	1.6%	-0.2%
Apparel	Aug 2026	136.752	3.6%	0.0%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Where do these figures come from?Limits, sources and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

The CPI-U covers the spending of urban households, about nine in ten people in the US; it is not a cost-of-living index.
The changes here are worked out from indexes rounded to three decimals, as BLS works out its own; a change BLS publishes can differ in its last digit where it works from more.
BLS published no index for October 2025, so the months that compare with it have no change.
The seasonally adjusted indexes of the last five years are revised each February; this page shows them as published now.

Source

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index. Observed 11 Sep 2026. Checked 4 Oct 2026, 08:50 UTC.

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, series CUUR0000SA0, through August 2026, published 11 September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the US inflation rate?", https://500metrics.com/inflation-rate.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index. Figures for 11 Sep 2026.

Sources and licence

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (source). Licence: Public domain, a work of the US federal government

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0. How to reuse and cite this page.

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change from a year earlier, each month

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change over each month, seasonally adjusted

Food, energy, shelter and core prices, change from a year earlier, each month

Consumer prices (CPI-U), change in each calendar year's average from the year before

Right now

Core inflationAll items less food and energy

By groupOver 12 months, ours

Understanding inflation

What does the Consumer Price Index measure?

The numbers behind the chart

What this number cannot tell you

Source

How to cite this

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Sources and licence