US Inflation Rate (CPI)
The latest US Consumer Price Index, the monthly trend, and what it means for whether your raise actually grows your purchasing power.
4.2%
Headline CPI-U (all items)
2.9%
Core (less food & energy)
May 2026
12 months ending
Source: BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, NSA), retrieved via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Year-over-year change, not seasonally adjusted.
Inflation Rate Over the Last 18 Months
The solid line is headline CPI (all items); the dashed line is core CPI (less food and energy). When headline runs above core, a temporary food or energy shock is usually the cause.
Which Number Our Raise Calculators Use
The headline rate above (4.2%) is the most recent official monthly print. A single month can spike on a temporary energy or food move — which is why core inflation (2.9%) often tells a calmer story.
Because a pay raise lasts all year, our calculators frame “real” raises against a stabler trailing figure — 3.3% (12 months ending March 2026) — rather than chasing each monthly headline. Stable annual figure used site-wide; May 2026 headline spiked to 4.2% on a transient energy shock (core was 2.9%). See our methodology for how every figure on the site is sourced and kept consistent.
What This Means for Your Raise
A raise only grows your purchasing power if it beats inflation. At the latest headline rate of 4.2%, here is what common raises are worth in real terms:
A 3% raise
−1.2% real
loses purchasing power against inflation
A 5% raise
+0.8% real
grows your purchasing power after inflation
And because the new dollars of a raise are taxed at your marginal rate, the raise needed to truly break even is a bit higher than inflation. Work out yours with the raise-to-beat-inflation calculator or model a cost-of-living raise.
Monthly CPI Inflation Rate
| Month | Headline | Core |
|---|---|---|
| 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% | 3% |
| 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% | 3.3% |
| December 2024 | 2.9% | 3.2% |
| November 2024 | 2.7% | 3.3% |
BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, NSA), retrieved via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Series: CPIAUCNS, CPILFENS. Retrieved 2026-06-16; data through May 2026. View source.
Inflation Rate Questions
- What is the current US inflation rate?
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted) rose 4.2% over the 12 months ending May 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy — was 2.9% over the same period.
- What is the difference between headline and core inflation?
- Headline inflation (all items) includes food and energy, which can swing sharply month to month. Core inflation excludes them, so it tracks the underlying trend more smoothly. When the two diverge, the gap is usually a temporary food or energy shock rather than a change in the broad price trend.
- What inflation rate should I use to evaluate my raise?
- For a raise, the stabler trailing figure matters more than a single volatile month. Our calculators use 3.3% (12 months ending March 2026) for real-raise framing so the whole site stays internally consistent; the latest monthly print is shown here for reference. Either way, a raise only grows your purchasing power if it beats inflation after tax.
- How is the inflation rate calculated?
- The 12-month inflation rate is the percentage change in the CPI index between the latest month and the same month one year earlier. We pull the official BLS CPI-U series and compute this year-over-year change for both the all-items and the less-food-and-energy index.