Inflation calculator
The 2026 figure is the average of the months published so far this year, not a full-year average. It will move as the remaining months are released.
Based on the CPI-U for all urban consumers, US city average, all items. It measures a national basket, so it will not match the price of any particular thing — housing, tuition and electronics have all moved very differently from the average.
Inflation is measured by comparing a price index between two years. Multiply the amount by the later index and divide by the earlier one. Using the US CPI-U, $100 in 1990 has the buying power of about $250 in 2026; a total rise of roughly 150%, or an average of about 2.6% a year.
How to use this calculator
The average annual rate is a compound rate, not the total divided by the years. Over the 36 years from 1990, prices rose about 150% in total, which is 2.6% a year compounded — not 4.2%, which is what dividing would give. The compound figure is the one that lets you compare periods of different lengths.
Questions
CPI-U: the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, US city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. It is the series the BLS publishes monthly and the one most commonly quoted.
To 1913, the first year of the series. Comparisons across a century are indicative at best, because the basket of goods being measured has changed beyond recognition.
Because CPI averages a whole basket. Housing, healthcare and university fees have risen much faster than the index; clothing and electronics have risen far more slowly or fallen.
No. The figure for this year is the average of the months released so far and will shift as the rest are published. The tool says so when you select it.