Inflation Dashboard
Year-over-year Consumer Price Index (CPI), Core CPI (excluding food and energy), and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index.
About this data
US inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics feeds directly into federal fiscal outcomes through three channels. First, cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security, veterans' benefits, and federal pensions are indexed to CPI, so every tenth of a point on headline inflation translates into higher mandatory outlays. Second, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) principal adjusts with CPI, adding to interest expense when inflation prints hot. Third, bracket creep in the income-tax code is partly indexed, so receipts respond to inflation with a lag.
This dashboard shows headline CPI, core CPI (ex food and energy) and the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — the Fed's preferred gauge — pulled through FRED. The gap between headline and core is the read on energy and food volatility; the gap between CPI and PCE reflects methodology and consumer substitution. For fiscal analysis, the most consequential series is CPI-W — the subset of CPI used to set Social Security COLAs — because it directly drives the largest mandatory outlay in the budget.
Year-over-Year Inflation Comparison
- CPI-U
- Core CPI
- PCE
Dashed line at 2% represents the Federal Reserve's inflation target.
CPI Index Level
PCE Price Index Level
Series Tracked in This Dashboard
Recent Monthly Inflation — Year-over-Year
| Month | CPI YoY | Core CPI YoY | PCE YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3.32% | 2.67% | 2.80% |
| Feb 2026 | 2.66% | 2.73% | 2.83% |
| Jan 2026 | 2.83% | 2.95% | 2.88% |
| Dec 2025 | 3.00% | 2.84% | 2.82% |
| Nov 2025 | 2.99% | 2.89% | 2.71% |
| Sep 2025 | 3.02% | 3.02% | 2.79% |
| Aug 2025 | 2.94% | 3.11% | 2.75% |
| Jul 2025 | 2.74% | 3.05% | 2.61% |
| Jun 2025 | 2.68% | 2.91% | 2.59% |
| May 2025 | 2.38% | 2.77% | 2.46% |
| Apr 2025 | 2.33% | 2.78% | 2.28% |
| Mar 2025 | 2.38% | 2.81% | 2.36% |
Key Terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the current US inflation rate?
The most-cited measure is the year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, CPI inflation has cooled. The Federal Reserve targets 2% inflation as measured by core PCE, not headline CPI.
What's the difference between CPI and PCE inflation?
CPI measures prices paid directly by urban consumers for a fixed basket of goods and services. PCE measures prices for all consumption by U.S. households — including purchases made on their behalf by employers and government programs. PCE has a broader scope and chain-weighted formula; CPI has a larger shelter weight and fixed basket. PCE typically runs 0.25–0.5 percentage points below CPI.
Why does the Fed prefer PCE over CPI?
The Federal Reserve formally targets 2% PCE inflation because PCE covers a broader consumption basket, updates weights continuously, and better accounts for consumer substitution. The FOMC adopted this explicit target in January 2012. CPI is still the most-cited inflation measure in news coverage and is used for Social Security COLAs.
What is core inflation and why is it watched?
Core inflation strips out food and energy from the main index. Both are volatile on supply shocks that reverse quickly — oil-price swings, weather-driven food prices — so removing them reveals the underlying inflation trend. Core CPI and core PCE are stickier and more persistent than their headline counterparts, making them better signals for monetary policy decisions.
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated?
BLS collects roughly 80,000 prices per month across 75 urban areas. Items are weighted by share of household spending (from the Consumer Expenditure Survey), grouped into eight major categories, and combined into the all-items index. Shelter is roughly a third of the CPI basket; transportation and food are the next largest.