How fast have US consumer prices risen since 1913, and what is $100 from one year worth in another?

US consumer prices (CPI-U) rose 2.6% in 2025, annual average over annual average, and BEA's PCE price index rose 2.6%; the CPI-U index went from 9.9 in 1913 to 321.943 in 2025 (1982-84 = 100), so $100 of 1913 purchases cost $3,252 at 2025 prices, an average rise of 3.2% a year.

Choose a figure

US consumer price inflation, 2025

2.6

% change in average consumer prices from the previous year, 2025, annual average over 2024 annual average

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only one source (BLS CPI-U), so it cannot be checked against another.

Each source by year: % change in average consumer prices from the previous year

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table

Year	BLS, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted
1914	1
1915	1
1916	7.9
1917	17.4
1918	18
1919	14.6
1920	15.6
1921	-10.5
1922	-6.1
1923	1.8
1924	0
1925	2.3
1926	1.1
1927	-1.7
1928	-1.7
1929	0
1930	-2.3
1931	-9
1932	-9.9
1933	-5.1
1934	3.1
1935	2.2
1936	1.5
1937	3.6
1938	-2.1
1939	-1.4
1940	0.7
1941	5
1942	10.9
1943	6.1
1944	1.7
1945	2.3
1946	8.3
1947	14.4
1948	8.1
1949	-1.2
1950	1.3
1951	7.9
1952	1.9
1953	0.8
1954	0.7
1955	-0.4
1956	1.5
1957	3.3
1958	2.8
1959	0.7
1960	1.7
1961	1
1962	1
1963	1.3
1964	1.3
1965	1.6
1966	2.9
1967	3.1
1968	4.2
1969	5.5
1970	5.7
1971	4.4
1972	3.2
1973	6.2
1974	11
1975	9.1
1976	5.8
1977	6.5
1978	7.6
1979	11.3
1980	13.5
1981	10.3
1982	6.2
1983	3.2
1984	4.3
1985	3.6
1986	1.9
1987	3.6
1988	4.1
1989	4.8
1990	5.4
1991	4.2
1992	3
1993	3
1994	2.6
1995	2.8
1996	3
1997	2.3
1998	1.6
1999	2.2
2000	3.4
2001	2.8
2002	1.6
2003	2.3
2004	2.7
2005	3.4
2006	3.2
2007	2.8
2008	3.8
2009	-0.4
2010	1.6
2011	3.2
2012	2.1
2013	1.5
2014	1.6
2015	0.1
2016	1.3
2017	2.1
2018	2.4
2019	1.8
2020	1.2
2021	4.7
2022	8
2023	4.1
2024	2.9
2025	2.6

What this number counts

Counts: Change in the average price of the goods and services bought by US urban consumers (CPI-U concept)
Where: United States, U.S. city average
When: Calendar year 2025, annual average over 2024 annual average (yearly average over the period)

The figure from BLS CPI-U, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (1 source)

Source	Figure and year	Definition	Quality	Counts for
BLS, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjustedBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) · Official economic statisticsRetrieved 2026-10-27	2.62025	Change in the CPI-U annual average index from the previous year's annual average, computed from BLS's published index (CUUR0000SA0, 1982-84 = 100) and rounded to one decimal. Annual average = mean of the monthly indexes (period M13 in the BLS file). October 2025 is missing (footnote X), so the 2025 average uses 11 months.	4 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. BLS publishes the full method in its Handbook of Methods (CPI chapter: concepts, design, calculation, history). Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a federal statistical agency. Yes: Full count or representative sample. Probability samples of urban areas, outlets and items, designed to represent the spending of all urban consumers. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Every monthly and annual average index is downloadable as flat files from download.bls.gov. No: No known break or quality problem. Method breaks inside the series (CPI-U created in 1978, rental equivalence in 1983, geometric means in 1999) and October 2025 was not collected.	100%

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

BLS CPI-U 100%

BLS CPI-U100%

How the trust score was worked out

Quality32 / 40: How well the sources are made
Agreement15 / 30: Unknown with one source, so set to half
Independence6 / 20: How many separate ways the number was measured
Freshness10 / 10: How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

Official economic statistics · 1

No source of these kinds: independent count.

Single source: nothing to check it against
BLS CPI-U, 1921: BLS began regular publication of a national index, the U.S. city average, and estimated it back to 1913; BLS says that early estimate used food prices only. source
BLS CPI-U, 1940: First comprehensive revision: weights from a 1934-36 expenditure study, prices from the 34 largest cities, weighted average of cities. source
BLS CPI-U, 1953: Second comprehensive revision: weights from a 1950 survey, medium and small cities added, homeownership costs added. source
BLS CPI-U, 1964: Third comprehensive revision: single-person households added to the target population; suburbs added to price collection. source
BLS CPI-U, 1978: Fourth comprehensive revision: BLS added the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and renamed the older index the CPI-W; probability sampling introduced. source
BLS CPI-U, 1983: Homeownership costs replaced by rental equivalence (owners' equivalent rent) in the CPI-U from January 1983 (CPI-W from January 1985). source
BLS CPI-U, 1987: Fifth comprehensive revision: weights from the 1982-84 Consumer Expenditure Survey; housing survey redesigned. source
BLS CPI-U, 1998: Sixth comprehensive revision: weights from the 1993-95 Consumer Expenditure Survey; item classification extensively revised. source
BLS CPI-U, 1999: BLS began using a geometric mean formula for most basic indexes, which it says mitigates lower-level substitution bias; owners' equivalent rent estimated directly from rents. source
BLS CPI-U, 2002: Expenditure weights updated every two years (biennial) instead of at decade-long intervals; chained CPI-U (C-CPI-U) added. source
BLS CPI-U, 2004: Price collection extended to all business days of the month. source
BLS CPI-U, 2007: Indexes published to three decimal places from January 2007 (one decimal before). source
BLS CPI-U, 2023: Expenditure weights updated every year instead of every two years. source
BLS CPI-U, 2025: October 2025 index not published: BLS footnote X, "Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations". The 2025 annual average is the mean of the 11 published months. source

Years each source has a figure here

'01'05'10'15'20'25BLS CPI-U

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

US PCE price index change, 2025

2.6

% change in the PCE price index from the previous year, 2025, annual average over 2024 annual average

Moderate trust, 71 of 100 Only one source (BEA PCE), so it cannot be checked against another.

Each source by year: % change in the PCE price index from the previous year

Show the data as a table

Year	BEA, NIPA Table 2.3.7, line 1: Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), % change from preceding year (series DPCERV)
1930	-4.2
1931	-10.7
1932	-11.8
1933	-3.6
1934	4.5
1935	2.5
1936	0.9
1937	3.6
1938	-2.3
1939	-1
1940	0.9
1941	6.2
1942	12.4
1943	9.2
1944	5.7
1945	4
1946	7
1947	10.1
1948	5.7
1949	-0.8
1950	1.2
1951	6.8
1952	2
1953	1.3
1954	0.8
1955	0.4
1956	2
1957	3
1958	2.4
1959	1.5
1960	1.6
1961	1
1962	1.2
1963	1.2
1964	1.4
1965	1.4
1966	2.5
1967	2.5
1968	3.9
1969	4.5
1970	4.7
1971	4.2
1972	3.4
1973	5.4
1974	10.4
1975	8.3
1976	5.5
1977	6.5
1978	7
1979	8.9
1980	10.8
1981	9
1982	5.6
1983	4.3
1984	3.8
1985	3.5
1986	2.2
1987	3.1
1988	3.9
1989	4.4
1990	4.4
1991	3.3
1992	2.7
1993	2.5
1994	2.1
1995	2.1
1996	2.1
1997	1.7
1998	0.8
1999	1.5
2000	2.5
2001	2
2002	1.3
2003	2.1
2004	2.5
2005	2.9
2006	2.8
2007	2.6
2008	3
2009	-0.3
2010	1.8
2011	2.5
2012	1.9
2013	1.3
2014	1.4
2015	0.2
2016	1
2017	1.7
2018	2
2019	1.4
2020	1.1
2021	4
2022	6.6
2023	3.8
2024	2.6
2025	2.6

What this number counts

Counts: Change in the price of goods and services bought by or on behalf of US households and nonprofits (PCE price index concept)
Where: United States
When: Calendar year 2025, annual average over 2024 annual average (yearly average over the period)

The figure from BEA PCE, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (1 source)

Source	Figure and year	Definition	Quality	Counts for
BEA, NIPA Table 2.3.7, line 1: Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), % change from preceding year (series DPCERV)Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) · Official economic statisticsRetrieved 2026-10-27	2.62025	Change in BEA's chain-type (Fisher) price index for personal consumption expenditures (pce), annual over annual, as BEA publishes it. It covers goods and services bought by households and by nonprofits and third parties on their behalf (such as employer-paid health insurance and Medicare), and uses a Fisher formula and weights from business data. Series DPCERV from BEA's NIPA annual flat file (https://apps.bea.gov/national/Release/TXT/NipaDataA.txt), published to one decimal. BEA builds much of the PCE price index from CPI component prices, so it is shown as its own number, not as a second source for the CPI.	5 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. BEA documents the method in NIPA Handbook chapter 5 and its PCE price index pages. Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a federal statistical agency. Yes: Full count or representative sample. Built from price data covering all personal consumption expenditures, largely CPI and PPI detail, weighted by BEA's spending estimates. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Every annual value is in BEA's NIPA flat file (NipaDataA.txt). Yes: No known break or quality problem. BEA recomputes the whole series on current definitions at each comprehensive update, so it has no break; past values change between vintages.	100%

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

BEA PCE 100%

BEA PCE100%

How the trust score was worked out

Quality40 / 40: How well the sources are made
Agreement15 / 30: Unknown with one source, so set to half
Independence6 / 20: How many separate ways the number was measured
Freshness10 / 10: How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

Official economic statistics · 1

No source of these kinds: independent count.

Single source: nothing to check it against

Years each source has a figure here

'01'05'10'15'20'25BEA PCE

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

CPI-U annual average index (1982-84 = 100), 1913-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
All items	321.94	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	All items
1913	9.9
1914	10
1915	10.1
1916	10.9
1917	12.8
1918	15.1
1919	17.3
1920	20
1921	17.9
1922	16.8
1923	17.1
1924	17.1
1925	17.5
1926	17.7
1927	17.4
1928	17.1
1929	17.1
1930	16.7
1931	15.2
1932	13.7
1933	13
1934	13.4
1935	13.7
1936	13.9
1937	14.4
1938	14.1
1939	13.9
1940	14
1941	14.7
1942	16.3
1943	17.3
1944	17.6
1945	18
1946	19.5
1947	22.3
1948	24.1
1949	23.8
1950	24.1
1951	26
1952	26.5
1953	26.7
1954	26.9
1955	26.8
1956	27.2
1957	28.1
1958	28.9
1959	29.1
1960	29.6
1961	29.9
1962	30.2
1963	30.6
1964	31
1965	31.5
1966	32.4
1967	33.4
1968	34.8
1969	36.7
1970	38.8
1971	40.5
1972	41.8
1973	44.4
1974	49.3
1975	53.8
1976	56.9
1977	60.6
1978	65.2
1979	72.6
1980	82.4
1981	90.9
1982	96.5
1983	99.6
1984	103.9
1985	107.6
1986	109.6
1987	113.6
1988	118.3
1989	124
1990	130.7
1991	136.2
1992	140.3
1993	144.5
1994	148.2
1995	152.4
1996	156.9
1997	160.5
1998	163
1999	166.6
2000	172.2
2001	177.1
2002	179.9
2003	184
2004	188.9
2005	195.3
2006	201.6
2007	207.34
2008	215.3
2009	214.54
2010	218.06
2011	224.94
2012	229.59
2013	232.96
2014	236.74
2015	237.02
2016	240.01
2017	245.12
2018	251.11
2019	255.66
2020	258.81
2021	270.97
2022	292.66
2023	304.7
2024	313.69
2025	321.94

Price change excluding food and energy (% change on previous year), 1930-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

CPI-U less food and energy (BLS)
PCE excluding food and energy (BEA)

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
CPI-U less food and energy (BLS)	2.8	2025	63 Moderate
PCE excluding food and energy (BEA)	2.8	2025	71 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	CPI-U less food and energy (BLS)	PCE excluding food and energy (BEA)
1930	–	-3.7
1931	–	-8.3
1932	–	-11
1933	–	-4.8
1934	–	2.3
1935	–	1.1
1936	–	1.1
1937	–	4.1
1938	–	-0.5
1939	–	-0.8
1940	–	1
1941	–	5.2
1942	–	11
1943	–	7.8
1944	–	7.1
1945	–	4.6
1946	–	6.2
1947	–	8.5
1948	–	5.5
1949	–	0.1
1950	–	1.4
1951	–	6.1
1952	–	2
1953	–	2.2
1954	–	1.1
1955	–	1
1956	–	2.3
1957	–	3
1958	2.4	2.2
1959	2	2.2
1960	1.3	1.8
1961	1.3	1.2
1962	1.3	1.4
1963	1.3	1.3
1964	1.6	1.5
1965	1.2	1.3
1966	2.4	2.2
1967	3.6	3.1
1968	4.6	4.3
1969	5.8	4.7
1970	6.2	4.7
1971	4.7	4.7
1972	3	3.2
1973	3.6	3.8
1974	8.3	7.9
1975	9.1	8.4
1976	6.5	6.1
1977	6.3	6.4
1978	7.4	6.6
1979	9.8	7.3
1980	12.4	9.2
1981	10.4	8.8
1982	7.4	6.5
1983	4	5.1
1984	5	4.1
1985	4.3	4.1
1986	4	3.5
1987	4.1	3.2
1988	4.4	4.2
1989	4.5	4.2
1990	5	4.1
1991	4.9	3.6
1992	3.7	3
1993	3.3	2.7
1994	2.8	2.2
1995	3	2.2
1996	2.7	1.9
1997	2.4	1.8
1998	2.3	1.3
1999	2.1	1.3
2000	2.4	1.8
2001	2.6	1.9
2002	2.4	1.7
2003	1.4	1.6
2004	1.8	2
2005	2.2	2.2
2006	2.5	2.4
2007	2.3	2.2
2008	2.3	2
2009	1.7	0.9
2010	1	1.4
2011	1.7	1.6
2012	2.1	1.9
2013	1.8	1.5
2014	1.7	1.5
2015	1.8	1.2
2016	2.2	1.6
2017	1.8	1.6
2018	2.1	1.9
2019	2.2	1.6
2020	1.7	1.4
2021	3.6	3.5
2022	6.2	5.4
2023	4.8	4.2
2024	3.4	2.9
2025	2.8	2.8

About this data

Every source on this page (4)

Who is behind the sources

100% Statistics office

Each publisher, its funding and its own description

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) · Statistics officeFunding: U.S. federal budget, through the Department of Labor. sourceIn its own words: “…the principal fact-finding agency in the broad field of labor economics and statistics…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) · Statistics officeFunding: U.S. federal budget, through the Department of Commerce. sourceIn its own words: “The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) promotes a better understanding of the U.S. economy…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27

BLS, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjustedBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (statistics office) · Official economic statisticsUsed for 2 numbers; counts toward 2. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page
BEA, NIPA Table 2.3.7, line 1: Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), % change from preceding year (series DPCERV)Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (statistics office) · Official economic statisticsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 1. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page
BLS, CPI-U all items less food and energy, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjustedBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (statistics office) · Official economic statisticsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 1. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page
BEA, NIPA Table 2.3.7, line 25: PCE excluding food and energy, % change from preceding year (series DPCCRV)Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (statistics office) · Official economic statisticsUsed for 1 number; counts toward 1. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page

Why the numbers differ (5)

The CPI and the PCE price index are separate numbers, not two sources for one number: BEA builds much of the PCE price index from BLS's CPI component prices, so agreement between them is not independent confirmation.
The CPI-U measures prices paid out of pocket by urban households; BEA's PCE price index also covers spending made for households by others, such as employer-paid health insurance and Medicare, and rural households.
BEA names four reasons the two differ: the formula effect (the CPI uses a modified Laspeyres formula, the PCE index a Fisher formula), the weight effect (household survey weights against business data weights), the scope effect, and other effects (McCully, Moyer and Stewart, Survey of Current Business, November 2007). (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
From 2000 to 2025 the CPI-U annual change was above the PCE index change in 22 of 26 years; the gap averaged 0.4 percentage points. Calculated from the two series on this page. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
The CPI-U is never revised after release (except seasonal factors, not used here); the PCE price index is revised with each annual and comprehensive update of the national accounts.

Common mistakes (4)

Annual average change is not December-to-December change. This page compares each year's average with the previous year's. In 2022 the CPI-U annual average rose 8.0% but December 2022 was 6.5% above December 2021; in 2025, 2.6% against 2.7%. Calculated from the BLS monthly indexes. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
The index level is not an inflation rate. To convert dollars, divide the two years' index levels: $100 in 1913 times 321.943 / 9.9 gives $3,252 in 2025 prices. BLS's CPI Inflation Calculator uses monthly indexes, so its figure for a given month differs from the annual one. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Core inflation (excluding food and energy) is not the price change people pay for. Food and energy are left out because their prices swing, not because households do not buy them.
Long comparisons cross method changes: an early-1980s inflation figure and a current one were not measured the same way. BLS's R-CPI-U-RS research series re-estimates 1978 onwards with current methods. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

Context (4)

Sources considered and not used (4)

BLS CPI-U research series (R-CPI-U-RS): It re-estimates the same BLS price collection with current methods, so it is not an independent line, and BLS labels it a research series. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Chained CPI-U (C-CPI-U): Same BLS price collection with a different formula, starting only in December 1999; it would not be an independent line. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) copies of CPI-U and PCE: They republish BLS and BEA data; the page reads the publishers' own files instead.
PCE price index before 1930: BEA's annual price change series DPCERV starts in 1930 (index from 1929), so the PCE line has no earlier years. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

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Cite as: RealStats, “How fast have US consumer prices risen since 1913, and what is $100 from one year worth in another?”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page. Scores use formula version 1.0.
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