US inflation rate (CPI)
Change in consumer prices over the last 12 months, measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
All items (CPI-U)
3.7%
Data for: September 2026
Previous: 3.4% (August 2026)
Core (excluding food and energy)
2.6%
Data for: September 2026
Previous: 2.4% (August 2026)
What it is
The CPI tracks the prices of a basket of goods and services bought by urban households. The inflation rate is the percentage change of the index (not seasonally adjusted) compared with the same month a year earlier. Core CPI leaves out food and energy, which are volatile.
Why it matters
Inflation erodes purchasing power. Measures from the same CPI family adjust Social Security benefits and federal tax brackets, and many wages and leases are indexed to the CPI. The Federal Reserve targets 2% inflation (measured by a related index, PCE), so the CPI strongly influences interest rates.
Recent history
| Date | All items (CPI-U) | Core (excluding food and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 3.7% | 2.6% |
| August 2026 | 3.4% | 2.4% |
| July 2026 | 3.4% | 2.5% |
| June 2026 | 3.5% | 2.6% |
| May 2026 | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| April 2026 | 3.8% | 2.8% |
| March 2026 | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| February 2026 | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| January 2026 | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| December 2025 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| November 2025 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| September 2025 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| August 2025 | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| July 2025 | 2.7% | 3.1% |
| June 2025 | 2.7% | 2.9% |
| May 2025 | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| April 2025 | 2.3% | 2.8% |
| March 2025 | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| February 2025 | 2.8% | 3.1% |
| January 2025 | 3.0% | 3.3% |
We calculate the 12-month change from the official index values; it matches the BLS published rate to one decimal place. Months without data (for example during a federal shutdown) are left out.
How to read
Latest: 3.7%
Where it comes from
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items (series CUUR0000SA0)
Careful
Information, not advice
What to do
Compare with the related indicators
Reading the us inflation rate (cpi) figure
What the latest us inflation rate (cpi) reading says
The most recent value on this page is 3.7%, for September 2026. Against the previous reading of 3.4%, that is +0.3% — a move up. Monthly, mid-month for the previous month is how often U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items (series CUUR0000SA0) publishes it, so a single reading is a snapshot and not a trend. The 20 observations in the table above, from January 2025 onwards, are what gives the figure context.
Where the us inflation rate (cpi) figure sits in its own history
Across the 20 readings loaded here, the series moved between 2.3% and 4.2%. The latest value sits inside that range, so nothing in this window is exceptional. A window this short cannot show a cycle. It shows the direction of travel and the size of the usual swing, which is enough to tell a normal move from an unusual one, and no more than that.
Who sets the us inflation rate (cpi) and who it affects in United States
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items (series CUUR0000SA0) publishes the us inflation rate (cpi) series, and the page links the exact dataset and its licence below. Nothing here is a second-hand copy: the figure above is read from that source and shown with the date the source gave it. People reach this page searching for "us inflation rate", and the honest answer is the published figure plus its date. A national figure is an average: your own rate, bill or salary in United States will sit above or below it.
Glossary
Policy rate
The interest rate a central bank sets to steer the economy, and the floor under most other rates in that currency. It moves only when the rate-setting committee decides, so its history is a series of steps rather than a continuous line.
Year-on-year inflation
The change in a price index against the same month a year earlier. It can fall while prices are still rising, because it measures the speed of the increase, not the level of prices.
Basis point
One hundredth of a percentage point. Central banks and markets talk in basis points because "a 0.25 point cut" and "a 25 basis point cut" are the same thing, and the second wording leaves no room for doubt.
Real rate
An interest rate after inflation is taken out, roughly the quoted rate minus the inflation rate. A savings account paying less than inflation has a negative real rate, which means the money loses purchasing power.
Revision
A later correction of a published figure, as the statistics office receives more complete data. Values marked provisional or estimated are the ones most likely to change, which is why the page keeps the source flag.
National average
A figure averaged over a whole country, and therefore not a quote for you. Your own mortgage rate, salary or grocery bill depends on your region, your lender or your shop and will sit above or below the average.
Yield
The annual return an investor earns by lending money through a bond, expressed as a percentage of its price. Price and yield move in opposite directions: when a bond gets cheaper, its yield rises.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, all items less food and energy (series CUUR0000SA0L1E)
Update frequency: Monthly, mid-month for the previous month
Information only, not financial advice. Figures come from the official source shown and may be revised.