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.
Current inflation rates
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
Inflation Breakdown by Category
Headline inflation blends many prices. These series split it into shelter, energy, food and medical care, add the market's inflation expectations, and cover both CPI and PCE measures. Each links to its own chart, latest value and data download.
CPI components
What is driving the headline: shelter, energy, food and medical care, the four Consumer Price Index categories that move household budgets most.
Inflation expectations
The 10-year breakeven inflation rate, the market's implied average inflation over the next decade, derived from Treasury and TIPS yields.
Headline and core measures
The broad CPI and PCE price indexes and their core versions, which exclude food and energy.
Recent Monthly Inflation — Year-over-Year
| Month | CPI YoY | Core CPI YoY | PCE YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 4.02% | — | — |
| Aug 2026 | 3.71% | — | — |
| Jul 2026 | 3.54% | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | 3.73% | — | — |
| May 2026 | 4.27% | — | — |
| Apr 2026 | 3.95% | — | — |
| Mar 2026 | 3.32% | — | — |
| Feb 2026 | 2.66% | — | — |
| Jan 2026 | 2.83% | — | — |
| Dec 2025 | 3.00% | — | — |
| Nov 2025 | 2.99% | — | — |
| Sep 2025 | 3.02% | — | — |
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.