US Inflation rate right now
Prices in the U.S. are rising at 3.32% per year as of Mar 2026. Something that cost $100 in Feb 2025 costs about $103.32 today.
Annual inflation
3.32%
vs. Feb 2025
Monthly change
0.87%
Prices rose 0.87% from last month
CPI-U index
330.29
Up from 100 in 1982–84 base period
Latest reading
Mar 2026
Last month: 2.66% YoY
Year-over-year inflation
CPI-U index level
Historical context
- Inflation has averaged 3.18% over the last 10 years and 3.52% across the full series since 1948.
- In the last 10 years, prices have risen faster than the 2% target in 84 of 120 months (≈70% of the time); they ran above 5% in 21 months (≈18%).
- The post-war peak was 14.59% in Mar 1980; the trough was -2.99% in Aug 1949.
- Today's reading sits in the Above target regime (heuristic: <0% deflation, 0–1% disinflation, 1–3% near target, 3–5% above target, >5% high inflation).
Long-run averages (YoY inflation)
| Trailing 5 years | 4.56% |
| Trailing 10 years | 3.18% |
| Trailing 20 years | 2.55% |
| Full series since 1948 | 3.52% |
| Peak (Mar 1980) | 14.59% |
| Trough (Aug 1949) | -2.99% |
Time around the 2% target (last 10 years)
| Months below 2% | 34 / 120 |
| Months above 2% | 84 / 120 |
| Months above 5% | 21 / 120 |
| Current regime | Above target |
Purchasing-power calculator
$100 from Jan 1980 is worth about — in Mar 2026. That's — cumulative inflation, or about — per year.
$100 across decades — quick reference
| Base year (Jan) | $100 then | Equivalent today | Cumulative inflation | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | $100.00 | $1,537.68 | 1437.7% | 3.52% |
| 1970 | $100.00 | $871.49 | 771.5% | 3.94% |
| 1980 | $100.00 | $423.45 | 323.5% | 3.19% |
| 1990 | $100.00 | $259.05 | 159.1% | 2.68% |
| 2000 | $100.00 | $195.09 | 95.1% | 2.60% |
| 2010 | $100.00 | $151.87 | 51.9% | 2.65% |
| 2020 | $100.00 | $127.46 | 27.5% | 4.13% |
Equivalent today = $100 × (CPItoday / CPIbase Jan). CAGR is the equivalent compound annual inflation rate over the full window.
Recent years
Full yearly history (CSV)| Year | Avg CPI-U | Annual inflation (avg) | Year-end CPI-U | Annual inflation (Dec/Dec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 321.96 | +2.63% | 326.03 | +2.65% |
| 2024 | 313.70 | +2.95% | 317.60 | +2.87% |
| 2023 | 304.70 | +4.13% | 308.74 | +3.32% |
| 2022 | 292.63 | +7.99% | 298.83 | +6.40% |
| 2021 | 270.97 | +4.68% | 280.85 | +7.17% |
| 2020 | 258.86 | +1.25% | 262.05 | +1.32% |
| 2019 | 255.65 | +1.81% | 258.63 | +2.32% |
| 2018 | 251.10 | +2.44% | 252.77 | +2.00% |
| 2017 | 245.12 | +2.13% | 247.81 | +2.13% |
| 2016 | 240.01 | +1.27% | 242.64 | +2.05% |
Recent months
Full monthly history (CSV)| Month | CPI-U | MoM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 330.293 | +0.87% | +3.32% |
| Feb 2026 | 327.460 | +0.27% | +2.66% |
| Jan 2026 | 326.588 | +0.17% | +2.83% |
| Dec 2025 | 326.031 | +0.30% | +3.00% |
| Nov 2025 | 325.063 | — | +2.99% |
| Sep 2025 | 324.245 | +0.30% | +3.02% |
| Aug 2025 | 323.291 | +0.35% | +2.94% |
| Jul 2025 | 322.169 | +0.23% | +2.74% |
| Jun 2025 | 321.435 | +0.25% | +2.68% |
| May 2025 | 320.620 | +0.10% | +2.38% |
| Apr 2025 | 320.302 | +0.16% | +2.33% |
| Mar 2025 | 319.785 | +0.03% | +2.38% |
| Feb 2025 | 319.679 | +0.23% | +2.80% |
| Jan 2025 | 318.961 | +0.43% | +2.99% |
| Dec 2024 | 317.604 | +0.34% | +2.87% |
| Nov 2024 | 316.528 | +0.28% | +2.72% |
| Oct 2024 | 315.631 | +0.29% | +2.58% |
| Sep 2024 | 314.732 | +0.21% | +2.43% |
| Aug 2024 | 314.062 | +0.16% | +2.61% |
| Jul 2024 | 313.569 | +0.17% | +2.94% |
| Jun 2024 | 313.044 | -0.04% | +2.97% |
| May 2024 | 313.175 | +0.05% | +3.24% |
| Apr 2024 | 313.023 | +0.22% | +3.36% |
| Mar 2024 | 312.345 | +0.44% | +3.49% |
How the inflation rate is derived
Every figure on this page is derived from a single upstream series: the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), seasonally adjusted, published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and mirrored by the St. Louis Fed as FRED CPIAUCSL. The index equals 100 during the 1982–1984 base period; the latest reading of 330.29 means the cost of the representative urban consumer basket is about 230.3% higher than it was then.
Year-over-year (headline)
YoY% = (CPI[t] / CPI[t−12] − 1) × 100Compares the latest month's index to the same month one year ago. This is the number most media outlets and the Federal Reserve cite when they say "inflation is X%".
Month-over-month
MoM% = (CPI[t] / CPI[t−1] − 1) × 100Change vs. the prior month. Better for spotting turning points but noisier. We use the seasonally-adjusted series so regular seasonal patterns don't distort the signal.
Annualized (3-mo / 6-mo)
Ann% = ((CPI[t] / CPI[t−k])^(12/k) − 1) × 100The recent-momentum view favoured by central bankers: what annual rate would you get if the last k months' pace continued for a full year?
Release schedule: BLS publishes the prior month's CPI around the 10th–15th of each month. Expected next refresh of this page: around May 12, 2026. Source data syncs automatically.
Months without CPI data. When FRED has not yet published a reading for a given month (release delayed, BLS revisions pending), we leave that month out of the series rather than interpolate or carry forward the previous value. This keeps every figure on the page tied to a real BLS observation.
- Monthly change (MoM) for the month following a gap is shown as —, since the prior calendar month is unavailable.
- Year-over-year (YoY) still compares to the reading 12 months earlier if that month exists; otherwise it's omitted.
- The purchasing-power calculator falls back to the nearest available month and tells you when it does.
Currently missing from the series: Oct 2025.
Last upstream observation: March 2026. Artifact generated on 2026-04-22.