The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Indexes are available for the U.S. and various geographic areas. Average price data for select utility, automotive fuel, and food items are also available. Prices for the goods and services used to calculate the CPI are collected in 75 urban areas throughout the country and from about 23,000 retail and service establishments. Data on rents are collected from about 43,000 landlords or tenants. More information and details about the data provided can be found at http://www.bls.gov/cpi

In 2023, the U.S. Consumer Price Index was 309.42, and is projected to increase to 352.27 by 2029. The base period was 1982-84. The monthly CPI for all urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here. After a time of high inflation, the U.S. inflation rateis projected fall to two percent by 2027. United States Consumer Price Index ForecastIt is projected that the CPI will continue to rise year over year, reaching 325.6 in 2027. The Consumer Price Index of all urban consumers in previous years was lower, and has risen every year since 1992, except in 2009, when the CPI went from 215.30 in 2008 to 214.54 in 2009. The monthly unadjusted Consumer Price Index was 296.17 for the month of August in 2022. The U.S. CPI measures changes in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households and is thought to reflect inflation in the U.S. as well as the health of the economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the CPI and defines it as, "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." The BLS records the price of thousands of goods and services month by month. They consider goods and services within eight main categories: food and beverage, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, and other goods and services. They aggregate the data collected in order to compare how much it would cost a consumer to buy the same market basket of goods and services within one month or one year compared with the previous month or year. Given that the CPI is used to calculate U.S. inflation, the CPI influences the annual adjustments of many financial institutions in the United States, both private and public. Wages, social security payments, and pensions are all affected by the CPI.

In 2024, the consumer price index (CPI) was 315.61. Data represents U.S. city averages. The monthly inflation rate for the United States can be found here. United States urban Consumer Price Index (CPI) The U.S. Consumer Price Index is a measure of change in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI is defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." To calculate the CPI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics considers the price of goods and services from various categories: housing, transportation, apparel, food & beverage, medical care, recreation, education and other/uncategorized. The CPI is a useful measure, as it indicates how the cost of urban living in the United States has changed over time, compared to a base period. CPI is also used to calculate inflation, or change in the purchasing power of money. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. urban CPI has been rising steadily since 1992. As of 2023, the CPI was 304.7, up from 233 ten years earlier and up from 184 twenty years earlier. This indicates the extent to which, compared to a base period 1982-1984 = 100, the price of various goods and services has risen.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures over time the prices of goods and services in major expenditure categories typically purchased by urban consumers. The expenditure categories include food, housing, apparel, transportation, and medical care. Essentially, the Index measures consumer purchasing power by comparing the cost of a fixed set of goods and services (called a market basket) in a specific month relative to the cost of the same market basket in an earlier reference period, designated as the base period. The CPI is calculated for two population groups: urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) and all urban consumers (CPI-U). The CPI-W population includes those urban families with clerical workers, sales workers, craft workers, operatives, service workers, or laborers in the family unit and is representative of the prices paid by about 40 percent of the United States population. The CPI-U population consists of all urban households (including professional and salaried workers, part-time workers, the self-employed, the unemployed, and retired persons) and is representative of the prices paid by about 80 percent of the United States population. Both populations specifically exclude persons in the military, in institutions, and all persons living outside of urban areas (such as farm families). National indexes for both populations are available for about 350 consumer items and groups of items. In addition, over 100 of the indexes have been adjusted for seasonality. The indexes are monthly with some beginning in 1913. Area indexes are available for 27 urban places. For each area, indexes are presented for about 65 items and groups. The area indexes are produced monthly for 5 areas, bimonthly for 10 areas, and semiannually for 12 urban areas. Regional indexes are available for four regions with about 95 items and groups per region. Beginning with January 1987, regional indexes are monthly, with some beginning as early as 1966. City-size indexes are available for four size classes with about 95 items and groups per class. Beginning with January 1987, these indexes are monthly and most begin in 1977. Regional and city-size indexes are available cross-classified by region and city-size class. For each of the 13 cross-classifications, about 60 items and groups are available. Beginning with January 1987, these indexes are monthly and most begin in 1977. Each index record includes a series identification code that specifies the sample (either all urban consumers or urban wage earners and clerical workers), seasonality (either seasonally adjusted or unadjusted), periodicity (either semiannual or regular), geographic area, index base period, and item number of the index.

This data package includes the underlying data to replicate the charts, tables, and calculations presented in Modernizing price measurement and evaluating recent critiques of the consumer price index, PIIE Working Paper 25-3.

If you use the data, please cite as:

Sichel, Daniel E., and Christopher Mackie. 2025. Modernizing price measurement and evaluating recent critiques of the consumer price index. PIIE Working Paper 25-3. Washington: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

This table contains 9 series, with data for years 1949 - 2018 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada) Alternative measures (9 items: Measure of core inflation based on a factor model, CPI-common (year-over-year percent change); Measure of core inflation based on a weighted median approach, CPI-median (year-over-year percent change); Measure of core inflation based on a trimmed mean approach, CPI-trim (year-over-year percent change); Consumer Price Index (CPI), all-items excluding eight of the most volatile components as defined by the Bank of Canada and excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes (2002=100); ...).

Consumer price indexes (CPIs) are index numbers that measure changes in the prices of goods and services purchased or otherwise acquired by households, which households use directly, or indirectly, to satisfy their own needs and wants. In practice, most CPIs are calculated as weighted averages of the percentage price changes for a specified set, or ‘‘basket’’, of consumer products, the weights reflecting their relative importance in household consumption in some period. CPIs are widely used to index pensions and social security benefits. CPIs are also used to index other payments, such as interest payments or rents, or the prices of bonds. CPIs are also commonly used as a proxy for the general rate of inflation, even though they measure only consumer inflation. They are used by some governments or central banks to set inflation targets for purposes of monetary policy. The price data collected for CPI purposes can also be used to compile other indices, such as the price indices used to deflate household consumption expenditures in national accounts, or the purchasing power parities used to compare real levels of consumption in different countries.

In an effort to further coordinate and harmonize the collection of CPI data, the international organizations agreed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) would assume responsibility for the international collection and dissemination of national CPI data. Under this data collection initiative, countries are reporting the aggregate all items index; more detailed indexes and weights for 12 subgroups of consumption expenditure (according to the so-called COICOP-classification), and detailed metadata. These detailed data represent a valuable resource for data users throughout the world and this portal would not be possible without the ongoing cooperation of all reporting countries. In this effort, the OECD collects and validates the data for their member countries, including accession and key partner countries, whereas the IMF takes care of the collection of data for all other countries.

This dataset gives information on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food is a component of the all-items CPI. The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative market basket of consumer goods and services. While the all-items CPI measures the price changes for all consumer goods and services, including food, the CPI for food measures the changes in the retail prices of food items only.

The graph shows the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in China as of December 2024, by sector and area. That month, the CPI for transportation and communication in urban areas resided at 97.7 index points. Measuring inflation The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an economic indicator that measures changes in the price level of a representative basket of consumer goods and services. It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the market basket and averaging them. Goods and services are weighted according to their significance. The CPI can be used to assess the price changes related to the cost of living. It is also useful for identifying periods of inflation and deflation. A significant rise in CPI during a short period of time denotes inflation and a significant drop during a short period of time suggests deflation. Development of inflation in China Annual projections of China’s inflation rate forecast by the IMF estimate a relatively low increase in prices in the coming years. The implications of low inflation are two-fold for a national economy. On the one hand, price levels remain largely stable which may lead to equal or increased spending levels by domestic consumers. On the other hand, low inflation signifies an expansion slowdown of the economy, as is reflected by China’s gross domestic product growth. In recent years, inflation rates in rural areas have on average been slightly higher than in the cities. This reflects a shift of economic growth from the largest cities and coastal regions to the inner provinces and the countryside. Higher price levels in rural areas in turn relate to higher inflation rates of food products.

description: The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, was introduced with the release of July data in August 2002. Designated the C-CPI-U, the index supplements the existing Consumer Price Indexes already produced by the BLS: the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The C-CPI-U employs a Tornqvist formula and utilizes expenditure data in adjacent time periods in order to reflect the effect of any substitution that consumers make across item categories in response to changes in relative prices. The new measure is designed to be a closer approximation to a "cost-of-living" index than the present measures. The use of expenditure data for both a base period and the current period in order to average price change across item categories distinguishes the C-CPI-U from the existing CPI measures, which use only a single expenditure base period to compute the price change over time.; abstract: The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, was introduced with the release of July data in August 2002. Designated the C-CPI-U, the index supplements the existing Consumer Price Indexes already produced by the BLS: the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The C-CPI-U employs a Tornqvist formula and utilizes expenditure data in adjacent time periods in order to reflect the effect of any substitution that consumers make across item categories in response to changes in relative prices. The new measure is designed to be a closer approximation to a "cost-of-living" index than the present measures. The use of expenditure data for both a base period and the current period in order to average price change across item categories distinguishes the C-CPI-U from the existing CPI measures, which use only a single expenditure base period to compute the price change over time.

Key information about India Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• India Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 3.6 % YoY in Feb 2025, compared with a rate of 4.3 % in the previous month.
• India Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1958 to Feb 2025, with an averaged number of 6.6 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 34.6 % YoY in Sep 1974 and a record low of -11.3 % YoY in Jun 1976.

CEIC calculates Consumer Price Index Growth from monthly Consumer Price Index. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation provides Consumer Price Index with base 2012=100. Consumer Price Index Growth prior to January 2012 is sourced from the International Monetary Fund and covers Industrial workers only. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Key information about Ivory Coast Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• Ivory Coast Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 2.6 % YoY in Oct 2024, compared with a rate of 2.8 % in the previous month.
• Ivory Coast Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1961 to Oct 2024, with an averaged number of 3.6 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 38.9 % YoY in Aug 1977 and a record low of -8.8 % YoY in May 1962.

CEIC calculates Consumer Price Index Growth from monthly Harmonized Consumer Price Index. The National Institute of Statistics provides Harmonized Consumer Price Index with base 2014=100. Consumer Price Index Growth prior to January 2019 is calculated from Consumer Price Index with base 2008=100 and prior to April 2010 and data gaps for more recent periods are sourced from the International Monetary Fund.

Key information about Japan Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• Japan Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 3.6 % YoY in Feb 2025, compared with a rate of 4.0 % in the previous month.
• Japan Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1996 to Feb 2025, with an averaged number of 0.2 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 4.3 % YoY in Jan 2023 and a record low of -2.5 % YoY in Oct 2009.

CEIC calculates Consumer Price Index Growth from monthly Consumer Price Index. Statistical Bureau provides Consumer Price Index with base 2020=100. Consumer Price Index Growth prior to January 2011 is calculated from Consumer Price Index with base 2010=100, prior to January 2006 from Consumer Price Index with base 2005=100, prior to January 2001 from Consumer Price Index with base 2000=100 and prior to January 1997 from Consumer Price Index with base 1995=100. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

This statistic illustrates the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) of kitchen furniture in Italy from January 2018 to May 2024, where the year 2015 is 100. Inflation is measured through the construction of the consumer price index, that measures changes in prices of a ‘basket’ of goods and services representative of households consumer expenditure in a specific year. Over the period of consideration, the CPI increased, reaching 1222.5 points as of May 2024.

Key information about Finland Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• Finland Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 6.5 % YoY in Jul 2023, compared with a rate of 6.3 % in the previous month.
• Finland Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1980 to Jul 2023, with an averaged number of 2.1 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 13.7 % YoY in Dec 1980 and a record low of -1.5 % YoY in Oct 2009.

Statistics Finland provides Consumer Price Index Growth with base 2015=100.

Key information about Mozambique Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• Mozambique Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 9.6 % YoY in Apr 2023, compared with a rate of 10.8 % in the previous month.
• Mozambique Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from Dec 1996 to Apr 2023, with an averaged number of 7.4 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 26.8 % YoY in Nov 2016 and a record low of -2.4 % YoY in Mar 1998.

CEIC calculates Consumer Price Index Growth from monthly Consumer Price Index. National Institute of Statistics provides Consumer Price Index with base 2016=100. Consumer Price Index Growth prior to January 2017 is calculated from Consumer Price Index with base December 2010=100

Key information about Laos Consumer Price Index CPI growth

• Laos Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was measured at 12.7 % YoY in Feb 2025, compared with a rate of 15.5 % in the previous month.
• Laos Consumer Price Index growth data is updated monthly, available from May 1994 to Feb 2025, with an averaged number of 6.9 % YoY.
• The data reached an all-time high of 167.1 % YoY in Mar 1999 and a record low of -2.3 % YoY in Aug 2009.

CEIC calculates Consumer Price Index Growth from monthly Consumer Price Index. Lao Statistics Bureau provides Consumer Price Index with base December 2015=100. Consumer Price Index Growth prior to January 2011 is calculated from Consumer Price Index with base December 2010=100 and prior to January 2001 is sourced from the International Monetary Fund. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food is a component of the all-items CPI. The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative market basket of consumer goods and services. While the all-items CPI measures the price changes for all consumer goods and services, including food, the CPI for food measures the changes in the retail prices of food items only.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Web page with links to Excel files For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

Historical (real-time) releases of the measures of core inflation, with data from 1989 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). Data are presented for the current release and previous four releases. Users can select other releases that are of interest to them.

In January 2025, the unadjusted consumer price index (CPI) of all items for urban consumers in the United States amounted to about 317.67. The data represents U.S. city averages. The base period was 1982-84=100. The CPI is defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as “a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services”. The annual consumer price index for urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here. Consumer Price Index The Consumer Price Index (CPI) began in 1919 under the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is published every month. The CPI for all urban consumers includes urban households in Metropolitan Statistical Areas and regions with over 2,500 inhabitants, as well as non-farm consumers living in rural regions. This index was established in 1978 and includes about 80 percent of the U.S. population. The monthly CPI of urban consumers in the United States increased from 292.3 in May 2022 to 304.13 in 2023. Inflation tends not to impact everyone equally for a variety of reasons, including geography - CPI often differs between regions, with a high of 287.49 in the Western region as of 2021. There are also disparities in inflation between income quartiles, in which inflation is generally felt more heavily by lower income households. The annual CPI in the United States has increased steadily over the past two decades, from 140.3 in 1992 to 292.56 in 2022. A forecast of the CPI expects this positive trend to continue, reaching 325.6 by 2027. As of March 2023, the CPI of the nation’s education had increased by 3.5 percent. Further, in the same month costs of recreation, rent, housing, medical care, and food and beverages, gasoline, and transportation increased. Comparatively, the CPI in Hong Kong reached 103.3 in 2022.