U.S. Inflation
Inflation in the United States is measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This page presents that series as published — how the general price level and the purchasing power of the dollar have moved from 1913 to 2025 — with every figure traceable to a named observation. GovCalculator is an independent service; the data is federal, the publisher is not.
Where the series stands
These are the most recent published observations, named by their observation date. CPI-U is not a real-time measure: each figure refers to the month or year shown, not to today.
- Latest monthly observation
- 333.918
- Latest official annual average
- 321.943
- 12-month CPI change
- 3.4%
- Series
- CUUR0000SA0
July 2026
2025
July 2025 → July 2026
not-seasonally-adjusted
The 12-month change is defined exactly: (333.918 ÷ 323.048 − 1) × 100. It compares two named monthly observations twelve calendar months apart. It is not a forecast, and it is not a “current” rate: the most recent observation is July 2026.
What is inflation?
Inflation is a sustained rise in the general level of prices. It is measured as the change in the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services between two dates, which is why every inflation figure is meaningless without the two dates attached to it.
A price index is an average, and an average is not anyone’s experience. CPI-U tracks what a broad urban population buys in aggregate; a household whose spending is concentrated in rent, medical care or fuel can face a materially different rate from the headline number in either direction.
The consequence people usually care about is purchasing power. If prices double, a dollar buys half of what it did — not zero. Purchasing power is the reciprocal of the price change, not one minus it, and conflating the two is the most common error in inflation arithmetic.
What CPI-U measures
| Index | Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) |
|---|---|
| Item scope | All items |
| Geographic scope | U.S. city average |
| Series ID | CUUR0000SA0 |
| Seasonal adjustment | not-seasonally-adjusted |
| Index base period | 1982-84=100 |
| Publisher | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Coverage | 1,362 monthly observations (1913-01 – 2026-07); 113 official annual averages (1913 – 2025) |
The base period is what the index is measured against: 1982-84=100 means the average price level of 1982-84 equals 100. The number itself has no unit — only the ratio between two observations carries meaning.
U.S. inflation over time
Official annual averages at decade checkpoints, 1913 to 2025. The full series carries 113 annual and 1,362 monthly observations; the calculator can compare any two of them.
| Year | CPI-U | $100 in 2025 dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 9.9 | $3,251.95 |
| 1920 | 20.0 | $1,609.72 |
| 1930 | 16.7 | $1,927.80 |
| 1940 | 14.0 | $2,299.59 |
| 1950 | 24.1 | $1,335.86 |
| 1960 | 29.6 | $1,087.65 |
| 1970 | 38.8 | $829.75 |
| 1980 | 82.4 | $390.71 |
| 1990 | 130.7 | $246.32 |
| 2000 | 172.2 | $186.96 |
| 2010 | 218.056 | $147.64 |
| 2020 | 258.811 | $124.39 |
| 2025 | 321.943 | $100.00 |
How inflation changes purchasing power
Each example below is computed from the same two observations the calculator would use. Follow a link to open it there with the comparison already filled in.
$100.00 in 1913 had the same purchasing power as approximately $3,251.95 in 2025.
Prices rose 3151.9% over the period; a 2025 dollar buys 3.1% of what a 1913 dollar did.
$100.00 in 1980 had the same purchasing power as approximately $390.71 in 2025.
Prices rose 290.7% over the period; a 2025 dollar buys 25.6% of what a 1980 dollar did.
$100.00 in 2000 had the same purchasing power as approximately $186.96 in 2025.
Prices rose 87.0% over the period; a 2025 dollar buys 53.5% of what a 2000 dollar did.
Calculate inflation between two dates
This page describes the series. To compare specific dates — any two years, or any two published months — use the calculator, which returns the equivalent amount, the cumulative price change, the purchasing power retained and the average annual rate.
Monthly vs annual CPI
BLS publishes two kinds of observation for this series, and they are not interchangeable. A monthly observation is the index for one named month. An annual observation is the annual average BLS itself publishes — period code M13 — not a figure computed here. The calculator keeps the two modes separate and refuses to mix them in one comparison.
Because the series is not seasonally adjusted, a comparison spanning only a few months can reflect ordinary seasonal price patterns rather than a lasting change in the price level. Annual averages remove that effect; short monthly spans do not.
BLS did not publish October 2025 (lapse in appropriations). Months the agency never published do not exist here and are never estimated or carried forward.
One consequence for 2025: the annual value shown above is the official figure BLS published, but the calendar year behind it is missing a published month, so it is not a twelve-month average. It is used as published and not recomputed.
Data source and methodology
One series, retrieved once and checked against a second, independent retrieval of the same series through the BLS Public Data API. That second copy produces no figure shown to a reader; it exists so a revision upstream, or a defect in either pipeline, shows up as disagreement rather than passing quietly.
CPI-U, All items, U.S. city average
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Series CUUR0000SA0 · Monthly 1913-01 – 2026-07 · Annual 1913 – 2025 · Retrieved Aug 22, 2026
Not seasonally adjusted. Index base 1982-84=100. Annual figures are the annual averages BLS publishes, not values computed here.
The formulas, the annual-versus-monthly policy, the rounding rules and the known limitations are set out in full on the methodology page. Every dataset this site serves, and how each one is retrieved and verified, is listed in the dataset registry.
GovCalculator is an independent calculator and information service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the U.S. government or any federal agency. Data is reproduced from official public sources and cited above.