What is the current inflation rate in the US?
Food and energy prices in particular can be highly volatile due to factors like weather or supply chain issues, so excluding these categories from core inflation gives a clearer picture of long-term price trends.
In April 2025, the headline inflation rate was 2.3% and core inflation was 2.8%.
Headline inflation was lower than core inflation in April 2025.
Year-over-year percent change of CPI-U, all urban areas, not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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When inflation rates are positive, it means that the price of goods is increasing. When inflation decreases—for example, from 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.0% in June 2023—prices are still rising, just at a slower pace than before. If the inflation rate is above zero, prices are rising. Prices only fall during deflation, which occurs when the inflation rate drops below zero, signaling a general decline in the cost of goods and services.
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Since the CPI was first measured in 1913, inflation has fluctuated but has generally remained positive. The last time headline inflation exceeded 10% was between July and October 1981. The all-time high was in June 1920, when inflation reached 23.7%. The most recent month in which there was deflation was April 2015.
The all-time high for a CPI-base inflation rate was in June 1920 at 23.7%.
Year-over-year percent change of CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Price changes within the basket of goods can vary widely. To account for this, the CPI uses a weighted system to represent how much the average consumer spends on a particular category it compared to everything else, so housing-related costs have more weight than something like recreation.
The weighted system means that even if the prices of some items spike the headline inflation rate reflects the overall change in costs across the entire basket of goods. While the current headline inflation rate is 2.3%, the cost of eggs has increased by 49.3% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, motor fuel prices have dropped by 11.7%.
When only looking at items considered in the core inflation rate, educational books and supplies had the highest price increase at 10.2%. Public transportation dropped the most (-5.6%).
Annual price changes vary widely by type of spending.
Year-over-year percent change of CPI-U (Apr 2024 to Apr 2025), by expenditure class, not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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The CPI is representative of all urban areas in the US. Because every area has its own mix of supply and demand, inflation rates differ by location too. Based on data from April 2025 for urban areas tracked in the CPI, the New York, NY area had the highest inflation rate at 3.9%.
The inflation rate in the New York, NY area was 1.6 percentage points higher than the US city average in April 2025.
Year-over-year percent change of CPI-U (Apr 2024 to Apr 2025), not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Bureau of Labor Stati
