Annual US consumer-price inflation, 2000–2026 — the yearly rate, with the long-run average and recent spikes. ✓ BLS CPI
Annual CPI-U inflation. The dashed line is the Fed's 2% target.
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| Year ▼ | Inflation rate |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.9% |
| 2024 | 2.9% |
| 2023 | 4.1% |
| 2022 | 8.0% |
| 2021 | 4.7% |
| 2020 | 1.2% |
| 2019 | 1.8% |
| 2018 | 2.4% |
| 2017 | 2.1% |
| 2016 | 1.3% |
| 2015 | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 1.6% |
| 2013 | 1.5% |
| 2012 | 2.1% |
| 2011 | 3.2% |
| 2010 | 1.6% |
| 2009 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 3.8% |
| 2007 | 2.8% |
| 2006 | 3.2% |
| 2005 | 3.4% |
| 2004 | 2.7% |
| 2003 | 2.3% |
| 2002 | 1.6% |
| 2001 | 2.8% |
| 2000 | 3.4% |
Inflation measures how fast prices rise. Over 2000–2026, US consumer-price inflation averaged around 2.6% a year, but it swung widely — briefly negative in 2009 during the financial crisis, and spiking to 8% in 2022, the highest in four decades, before cooling back toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The 2021–2022 surge was driven by pandemic supply-chain disruptions, strong demand and energy prices.
Inflation erodes purchasing power — a dollar buys a little less each year. To keep up, savings and investments generally need to earn more than the inflation rate. See what a past amount is worth in today's money with our inflation calculator (which uses live BLS CPI data), and plan real returns with the compound interest calculator.
These figures use the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), the standard US measure. Other countries publish their own — the UK's CPI, Canada's CPI and Australia's CPI — which can differ from the US in any given year, though central banks in these countries also target around 2%.