Personal Inflation Rate

Is Your Personal Rate Higher or Lower Than the CPI?

The CPI is a national average of prices and may not report the same inflation that you or your family experience.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices paid by consumers for a fixed market basket of goods and services.

The CPI divides consumer expenditures into seven major groups of goods and services. You can estimate your personal inflation rate using the table below.

How much do you spend on the following items each month?

The national inflation rate, as measured by the CPI, was 2.1% at the end of 2017 and averaged about 1.6% over the last 10 years.


Your Results

Based on the dollar amounts you entered, the percentage of your total expenditures in each category is shown below. Those percentages, as compared to the CPI average percentages, determine your personal inflation rate.

Monthly total expenses: $0.00
Percentage to food (CPI average: 15.239%): 0.00%
Percentage to housing (CPI average: 40.561%): 0.00%
Percentage to clothing/apparel (CPI average 3.037%): 0.00%
Percentage to transportation (CPI average 15.586%): 0.00%
Percentage to medical care (CPI average 8.496%): 0.00%
Percentage to recreation (CPI average 5.631%): 0.00%
Percentage to education & communication (CPI average 6.720%): 0.00%
Percentage to other (CPI average 4.730%): 0.00%
Your personal inflation rate based on your consumption habits: 0.00%
This compares to the national inflation rate: 0.00%

Your experience is determined by how you actually spend your money. In the CPI, each good or service is "weighted" relative to others in the market basket. If you do not drive an automobile, your transportation costs may be significantly different than someone who does. If your medical expenses are above the expenditure weight used in the relevant CPI, you may be forced to spend less on other goods and services.

How Your Personal Inflation Rate Compares to the National Average


This is a hypothetical illustration intended for educational purposes only. Personal inflation rates are based on national CPI averages (for the period 12/2016 to 12/2017) and do not account for regional differences in prices. Your actual results may vary based on region.