In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of the change in price of a basket of goods. The most common measure being the consumer price index. It is the percentage rate of change in price level over time, and also indicates the rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money. The annual rate of inflation for 2023, was 4.1 percent higher in the United States when compared to the previous year. More information on inflation and the consumer price index can be found on our dedicated topic page. Additionally, the monthly rate of inflation in the United States can be accessed here. Inflation and purchasing power Inflation is a key economic indicator, and gives economists and consumers alike a look at changes in prices in the wider economy. For example, if an average pair of socks costs 100 dollars one year and 105 dollars the following year, the inflation rate is five percent. This means the amount of goods an individual can purchase with a unit of currency has decreased. This concept is often referred to as purchasing power. The data presents the average rate of inflation in a year, whereas the monthly measure of inflation measures the change in prices compared with prices one year ago. For example, monthly inflation in the U.S. reached a peak in June 2022 at 9.1 percent. This means that prices were 9.1 percent higher than they were in June of 2021. The purchasing power is the extent to which a person has available funds to make purchases. The Big Mac Index has been published by The Economist since 1986 and exemplifies purchasing power on a global scale, allowing us to see note the differences between different countries currencies. Switzerland for example, has the most expensive Big Mac in the world, costing consumers 6.71 U.S. dollars as of July 2022, whereas a Big Mac cost 5.15 dollars in the United States, and 4.77 dollars in the Euro area. One of the most important tools in influencing the rate of inflation is interest rates. The Federal Reserve of the United States has the capacity to make changes to the federal interest rate . Changes to the rate of inflation are thought to be an imbalance between supply and demand. After COVID-19 related lockdowns came to an end there was a sudden increase in demand for goods and services with consumers having more funds than usual thanks to reduced spending during lockdown and government funded economic support. Additionally, supply-chain related bottlenecks also due to lockdowns around the world and the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant that there was a decrease in the supply of goods and services. By increasing the interest rate, the Federal Reserve aims to reduce spending, and thus bring demand back into balance with supply.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food at Home in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SAF11) from Jan 1952 to Jun 2025 about urban, food, consumer, CPI, housing, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

West Virginia and Kansas had the lowest cost of living across all U.S. states, with composite costs being half of those found in Hawaii. This was according to a composite index that compares prices for various goods and services on a state-by-state basis. In West Virginia, the cost of living index amounted to **** — well below the national benchmark of 100. Virginia— which had an index value of ***** — was only slightly above that benchmark. Expensive places to live included Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California. Housing costs in the U.S. Housing is usually the highest expense in a household’s budget. In 2023, the average house sold for approximately ******* U.S. dollars, but house prices in the Northeast and West regions were significantly higher. Conversely, the South had some of the least expensive housing. In West Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the median price of the typical single-family home was less than ******* U.S. dollars. That makes living expenses in these states significantly lower than in states such as Hawaii and California, where housing is much pricier. What other expenses affect the cost of living? Utility costs such as electricity, natural gas, water, and internet also influence the cost of living. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Connecticut, the average monthly utility cost exceeded *** U.S. dollars. That was because of the significantly higher prices for electricity and natural gas in these states.

Inflation rates in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ranged from 31 percent inflation in Laos to 0.37 percent inflation in Brunei Darussalam. While countries like Vietnam are likely benefitting from more stable inflation than earlier seen, only a few countries are in the 2 to 6 percent range that many economists view as optimal for emerging economies. Effects of high inflation High inflation is generally detrimental to the economy. Prices tend to rise faster than wages, meaning that people and firms have less purchasing power. This in turn leads to slower growth in the gross domestic product (GDP). It also leads to a weaker currency. For countries with a positive trade balance this can be beneficial, because exports are relatively cheaper to foreign buyers. Through the same mechanism, net importers suffer from a weaker currency. Additionally, inflation makes a country’s national debt less expensive if the debt is denominated in the local currency. However, most of this debt is in U.S. dollars, so inflation makes the debt more difficult to service and repay. Risks of deflation With deflation, consumers and firms delay investments because they expect prices to be lower in the future. This slows consumption and investment, two major components of GDP growth. The most common example of this is Japan, where the GDP growth rate has been low for a long time due, in large part, to deflation. For this reason, countries like Brunei would rather see low and stable inflation than slight deflation.

The total costs of Hurricane Katrina amounted to 125 billion U.S. dollars at the time the disaster occurred in 2005. While this is around the same total cost of Hurricane Harvey, when adjusted for inflation the former is more expensive, with the cost being the equivalent of 194 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 (compared to 155 billion U.S. dollars for Hurricane Harvey).

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana on August 9, 2005 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The death toll reached almost 2,000 people. Katrina was also the most expensive U.S. catastrophe since 1992 in terms of property loss.

Harvey, Maria and Irma Katrina was responsible for the spike in insured losses caused by natural disasters globally in 2005. Harvey, Maria and Irma also made quite the impact in 2017 when they hit central America and then made land on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The frequency and intensity of such natural disasters are increasing.

Due to the recent hyperinflation crisis in Venezuela, the average inflation rate in Venezuela is estimated to be around 225 percent in 2026. However, this is well below the peak of 63,000 percent observed in 2018.What is hyperinflation?In short, hyperinflation is a very high inflation rate that accelerates quickly. It can be caused by a government printing huge amounts of new money to pay for its expenses. The subsequent rapid increase of prices causes the country’s currency to lose value and shortages in goods to occur. People then typically start hoarding goods, which become even more scarce and expensive, money becomes worthless, financial institutions go bankrupt, and eventually, the country’s economy collapses. The Venezuelan descent into hyperinflationIn Venezuela, the economic catastrophe began with government price controls and plummeting oil prices, which caused state-run oil companies to go bankrupt. The government then starting printing new money to cope, thus prices rose rapidly, unemployment increased, and GDP collapsed, all of which was exacerbated by international sanctions. Today, many Venezuelans are emigrating to find work and supplies elsewhere, and population growth is at a decade-low. Current president Nicolás Maduro does not seem inclined to steer away from his course of price controls and economic mismanagement, so the standard of living in the country is not expected to improve significantly anytime soon.

The number of home sales in the United States peaked in 2021 at almost ************* after steadily rising since 2018. Nevertheless, the market contracted in the following year, with transaction volumes falling to ***********. Home sales remained muted in 2024, with a mild increase expected in 2025 and 2026. A major factor driving this trend is the unprecedented increase in mortgage interest rates due to high inflation. How have U.S. home prices developed over time? The average sales price of new homes has also been rising since 2011. Buyer confidence seems to have recovered after the property crash, which has increased demand for homes and also the prices sellers are demanding for homes. At the same time, the affordability of U.S. homes has decreased. Both the number of existing and newly built homes sold has declined since the housing market boom during the coronavirus pandemic. Challenges in housing supply The number of housing units in the U.S. rose steadily between 1975 and 2005 but has remained fairly stable since then. Construction increased notably in the 1990s and early 2000s, with the number of construction starts steadily rising, before plummeting amid the infamous housing market crash. Housing starts slowly started to pick up in 2011, mirroring the economic recovery. In 2022, the supply of newly built homes plummeted again, as supply chain challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and tariffs on essential construction materials such as steel and lumber led to prices soaring.

All potato chips, regardless of style of chips, flavor, packaging type or size."

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

As of December 30, 2024, the major economy with the highest yield on 10-year government bonds was Turkey, with a yield of ***** percent. This is due to the risks investors take when investing in Turkey, notably due to high inflation rates potentially eradicating any profits made when using a foreign currency to investing in securities denominated in Turkish lira. Of the major developed economies, United States had one the highest yield on 10-year government bonds at this time with **** percent, while Switzerland had the lowest at **** percent. How does inflation influence the yields of government bonds? Inflation reduces purchasing power over time. Due to this, investors seek higher returns to offset the anticipated decrease in purchasing power resulting from rapid price rises. In countries with high inflation, government bond yields often incorporate investor expectations and risk premiums, resulting in comparatively higher rates offered by these bonds. Why are government bond rates significant? Government bond rates are an important indicator of financial markets, serving as a benchmark for borrowing costs, interest rates, and investor sentiment. They affect the cost of government borrowing, influence the price of various financial instruments, and serve as a reflection of expectations regarding inflation and economic growth. For instance, in financial analysis and investing, people often use the 10-year U.S. government bond rates as a proxy for the longer-term risk-free rate.

When converted to the value of one US dollar in 2020, goods and services that cost one dollar in 1700 would cost just over 63 dollars in 2020, this means that one dollar in 1700 was worth approximately 63 times more than it is today. This data can be used to calculate how much goods and services from the years shown would cost today, by multiplying the price from then by the number shown in the graph. For example, an item that cost 50 dollars in 1970 would theoretically cost 335.5 US dollars in 2020 (50 x 6.71 = 335.5), although it is important to remember that the prices of individual goods and services inflate at different rates than currency, therefore this graph must only be used as a guide.

In 2024, the retail price for a dozen eggs in the United States was **** U.S. dollars. Egg prices in the United States peaked in this year. Previously, the highest average price was in 2015, when a dozen eggs cost **** U.S. dollars on average. U.S. egg production The United States was one of the leading producers of eggs in the world in 2021, ranking fourth behind China, India, and Indonesia. In that year, approximately ***** billion eggs were produced in the United States. There are two main categories that farm chickens fall into: broiler chickens and laying hens. The first are raised for meat and the second are raised for laying eggs. The U.S. state with the most laying hens is Iowa, with about **** million in 2022. Some of the other top egg-producing states include Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Egg retail in the United States Perhaps because eggs are uniform in taste and appearance, and most consumers cannot tell one brand of chicken egg apart from another, private label eggs have the highest sales among fresh egg brands in the United States. Eggland’s Best is the leading name brand of fresh eggs in the United States, with sales of ****** million U.S. dollars in 2023. The amount that U.S. consumer units spend on eggs varies from region to region. In 2021, consumers in the Western United States spent an average of about *** U.S. dollars on eggs over the course of the year. The Midwestern United States had the lowest average expenditure on eggs in that year.

In 2020, global gross domestic product declined by 6.7 percent as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak. In Latin America, overall GDP loss amounted to 8.5 percent.

Astrazeneca was the leading pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom as of March 7, 2024, with a market capitalization amounting to approximately ***** billion U.S. dollars. GlaxoSmithKline followed as the second largest pharma company in the country, with market capitalization of nearly **** billion U.S. dollars. Examining the development of the FTSE 100 Index, which was launched in January 1984 with a base level of 1,000, increased by more than sevenfold to date. What is the FTSE 100 index? The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, commonly known as the "Footsie", is the most widely recognized stock market index in the United Kingdom. It is made up of the 100 largest blue-chip companies on the London Stock Exchange. Companies from various sectors, such as healthcare, consumer goods, and energy, are included in the index, as are leading banks of the United Kingdom, such as HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and Barclays. Moreover, it can be seen as a reflection of the investment climate in the United Kingdom. What is not included in the FTSE 100 Index? Most notably, the FTSE 100 Index, like most indices, is not adjusted for inflation. While inflation in the United Kingdom has gone down dramatically since 2023, it might be useful to adjust the historic figures on the index when comparing historic data to current levels. This is especially important when the index seems to have increased by a few percentage points because inflation may have increased at a faster rate than stock prices.