Is the price of groceries and car insurance giving you sticker shock? Inflation is one major factor. The term refers to the change in prices of goods and services over time, and the inflation rate measures how quickly these prices are shifting. Here’s what inflation looks like in the US at the moment.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used to measure multiple types of inflation. Headline inflation tracks subsets of consumer spending, such as food, housing, and transportation, to reflect the actual cost of living as closely as possible. Core inflation tracks these same spending categories without volatile food and energy prices.
Inflation has decreased since spiking in 2022. That June, the headline inflation rate was 9.1%. By January 2025, the headline inflation rate was 3.0%.
Every corner of this large nation has its mix of supply and demand, so inflation rates differ by location too. Based on data from January 2025 for urban areas tracked in the CPI, the Chicago area had the highest inflation rate at 4.3%.
Although the headline inflation rate is lower, the prices of some items have fluctuated. Nationwide, the cost of eggs has increased by 53.0% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, prices for appliances were down 4.2%.
When only looking at items considered in the core inflation rate, motor vehicle insurance had the highest price increase at 11.8%.
USAFacts has more specific numbers for you based on where you live. Click the link below to search the data for metrics closer to home.
Inflation is down, but your grocery bill hasn’t gotten the memo. What gives? Even though inflation has eased since its 2022 peak, Americans are still feeling the impact. That’s because price increases don’t disappear when inflation drops. Let’s break down how this works.
Inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022. It has trended downward since then, falling to 3.0% in January 2025.
Prices don’t decrease when inflation slows—they just rise at a slower rate. For example, if an item cost $100 in December 2021, it would cost $106.47 in December 2022 after a 6.5% increase. By December 2023, the inflation rate had fallen to 3.4%, and that item would cost $110.03. In December 2024, it would cost $113.03.
Looking beyond the year-over-year change, we were recently amid the most inflationary period in decades. The CPI change over four years was higher in May 2024 than in any month since the 1980s. The five-year rate hit a high in 2024 that hasn't been seen since 1993.
Over the past week, the federal government let thousands of employees go, many of whom were probationary and had worked at agencies for less than two years. See the pre-layoff data on how many people work for the government.
That same day, the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary. Here’s background on the department, including several charts on budget data.
Here’s a fact for you while you’re buying discounted Valentine’s Day candy: Pennsylvania is the nation’s top chocolate exporter. The state produced 33% of exported American chocolate and cocoa products in the first half of 2024.
Correction
In last week’s newsletter, our chart on top aid-receiving counties incorrectly stated that the data was from fiscal years 2001 to 2022. The data actually included FYs 2001 to 2023.
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