top of page

DATA FILE · DF-002

Consumer Price Index — CPI-U Inflation

How much has the CPI-U all-items price index changed over twelve months, and what does that say about purchasing power?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Last verified Oct 9, 2026

Latest reading

+3.4 percent change from the same month a year earlier

Measurement period
August 2026
Release date
Sep 11, 2026
Frequency
Monthly
Seasonal adjustment
Not seasonally adjusted

CPI-U all items rose 3.4 percent over the twelve months ending August 2026. This file reports a twelve-month inflation rate, not an index level or a seasonally adjusted monthly change. July's twelve-month rate was also 3.4 percent. No revision to these readings is recorded.

Open the primary data release (opens in a new tab)

Previous period and revision

Measurement period
July 2026
Previously released value
+3.4

Values use the same unit shown above. A revision changes the estimate for an earlier period; it is not a new reporting period’s reading.

Read the original previous-period release (opens in a new tab)

What this measures

The twelve-month change in prices for the representative CPI-U consumer basket across the U.S. city average. It measures price change for urban consumers, not wage growth.

What it does not establish

It does not measure every household's cost increase or purchasing power by itself. A lower inflation rate does not mean prices returned to an earlier level. Do not mix this all-items, unadjusted annual comparison with core inflation, CPI-W, or a seasonally adjusted monthly rate.

Methodology

Series CUUR0000SA0: CPI for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted, underlying index base 1982–84=100. Displayed transformation is 100 × (index for month t / index for month t−12 − 1), using the one-decimal twelve-month change published by BLS. It is not an annualized one-month rate. CPI-U unadjusted readings are considered final when released, apart from corrections; seasonal-factor revisions apply to seasonally adjusted series, not this selection. Archive releases preserve the values available on each release date.

Observation history and release vintages

Next scheduled release

Oct 14, 2026. The agency’s release calendar controls the schedule.

Read the Related Article

Help strengthen the record

Found a measurement error or a newer primary release?

Send evidence or a correction →
bottom of page