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Home / Money lab / Inflation

What did inflation take?

Look back with U.S. consumer prices since 1913, or look ahead and see what a steady inflation rate does to money in a savings account.

Mr. Talero

Inflation calculator

Inflation inputs

CPI-U, U.S. city average. Annual average for the year you pick; latest month for now (Sep 2026).

Show the math

Looking back uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, 1982–84 = 100) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The starting year uses that year's annual average; “now” is the latest monthly figure.

value now = amount × CPI(latest month) ÷ CPI(start year)

The average yearly rate is (CPI now ÷ CPI then)^(1/years) − 1, counting from the middle of the start year to the middle of the latest month.

Looking ahead grows your money at the interest rate and divides by inflation:

buying power = amount × (1 + interest)^years ÷ (1 + inflation)^years
  • BLS did not publish a CPI for October 2025 because of the federal funding lapse; the annual 2025 average still exists.
  • The CPI is an average basket. Your own costs (rent, insurance, school fees) can rise faster or slower.

Where the numbers come from

The look-back mode uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, series CUUR0000SA0, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. Annual averages go back to 1913. The latest value is September 2026: 336.940 (1982–84 = 100).

What the CPI measures, and what it doesn't

The CPI tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by urban households. It is an average. If most of your spending goes to rent, insurance or childcare, your personal inflation rate can be higher or lower than the headline figure.

BLS did not collect prices for October 2025 because of the federal funding lapse, so that month has no index value. The 2025 annual average was still published.