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The latest complete annual-average U.S. inflation rate in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-U data is about 2.7% for 2025, calculated from the published annual-average index values. This article uses one consistent measure throughout the historical table: the percentage change in the annual-average CPI-U index from the previous calendar year.
U.S. inflation rate by year
The table reports the annual-average percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items. The index base is 2013=100. BLS publishes the annual-average index levels; the percentages below are calculated from those levels as the change from the previous year.
| Calendar year | Annual-average CPI-U index | Annual-average change from previous year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 134.655 | Not stated in the cited BLS index table; calculate by comparing with the 2023 annual average. |
| 2025 | 138.289 | About 2.7% (calculated) |
For 2025, the calculation is (138.289 ÷ 134.655 − 1) × 100, rounded to one decimal place. The index values are from the BLS U.S. city average CPI table. The 2.7% is a calculation from those values, not a percentage quoted in that index table.
What “annual inflation” means
Inflation rates depend on which months are compared. For this year-by-year table, annual inflation means the change between the average CPI-U index for one calendar year and the average for the preceding calendar year. BLS explains that “CPI annual average indexes use 12 successive months of CPI values” in its guide to calculating CPI percentage changes.
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- Annual-average change: compares each calendar year’s 12-month average index with the previous calendar year’s 12-month average. This is the convention used in the table.
- December-to-December change: compares the December index with the December index one year earlier. It measures the year-end-to-year-end change, not the change between annual averages.
- Monthly 12-month change: compares one month’s index with the same month a year earlier. Always name the month because the rate changes over the year.
These figures can differ because the comparison periods differ. A matching rounded percentage does not make two measures interchangeable.
How the latest monthly reading differs from the annual rate
The BLS reported a 3.4% unadjusted CPI-U increase over the 12 months through August 2026. That is a dated, rolling monthly comparison—not a full-year 2026 annual-average rate. The same BLS release comparison table reported a 2.7% change through December 2025, also a December-to-December comparison rather than the annual-average calculation above. See the BLS CPI comparison table.
Because 2026 is still in progress, its completed annual-average inflation rate cannot yet be compared with the finished calendar-year averages in the table. For context, the 2025 annual-average rate calculated from BLS’s annual-average index levels is also about 2.7%, but its calculation window is different from the December 2025 12-month reading.
What CPI-U does—and does not—measure
CPI-U tracks price changes for a defined basket of goods and services consumed by all urban consumers. It is a broad national measure, not a record of the price movement of every item or any one household’s personal cost of living. Spending patterns differ among households, and prices can move by different amounts across categories; the BLS release table reports changes for all items and component categories.
The index is a level expressed in index points, while an inflation rate is a percentage change between index values. A higher index level alone does not state the rate of change for a particular period.
Which CPI series should you use?
This table uses the standard CPI-U annual-average series and does not mix in other CPI measures. Two related series answer different methodological questions:
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- C-CPI-U: accounts for consumers’ substitution among categories in its final form. It is first published preliminarily and revised as expenditure data become available, so its values should not be spliced into a CPI-U history without clear labeling.
- R-CPI-U-RS: a distinct research estimate that applies many methodological improvements retrospectively from 1978. It is not the same historical series as CPI-U.
The BLS describes the C-CPI-U and the CPI research series separately. For a like-for-like annual history, choose one series and keep it consistent.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why historical CPI figures may change
For stable annual-average comparisons, the table uses the unadjusted annual-average index. Seasonally adjusted CPI data are designed to remove predictable seasonal patterns; BLS recalculates seasonal factors annually and may revise seasonally adjusted indexes for five prior years. If precision matters, identify whether a value is seasonally adjusted and specify the data vintage.
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BLS also cautions that archived CPI releases may be revised by later releases and directs users to current databases for the latest figures. The latest complete year therefore depends on the date of publication. The values shown here cover 2025, the latest complete annual-average year in the cited BLS table; check the BLS CPI data page for current data.
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