CPI Index - Historical Chart
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average. Gray shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Series CPIAUCSL. Shaded areas = NBER recession dates. Updated 2026-03-09.
What the Jan 2026 Data Shows
At 326.6, the cpi index in Jan 2026 is above the 10-year average of 275.5 by 51.08. The metric has risen in each of the last 6 months.
What This Metric Measures
This page tracks the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, tracking the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services (1982-84 = 100). The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, series CPIAUCSL, updated monthly.
Historical Context
The all-time peak was 326.6 in Jan 2026. The all-time trough was 21.5 in Jan 1947. During COVID-19 in 2020, the reading hit 262.1 (Dec 2020). Year-over-year, the metric has moved 2.8%.
Why It Matters
CPI is the headline inflation gauge. It determines cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, influences Fed interest rate decisions, and directly affects how far each dollar goes. For businesses, inflation increases input costs. For borrowers, inflation erodes the real value of debt — a small silver lining for debtors, but one overwhelmed by the interest rate hikes the Fed imposes to fight it.
What This Means for Business Owners
Understanding where this metric stands relative to historical norms helps business owners make better borrowing decisions. Metrics far from their 10-year average often signal turning points that affect the cost and availability of credit.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) - Frequently Asked Questions
The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) is at 326.59 as of Jan 2026 per FRED series CPIAUCSL. The index uses 1982-84 as the base period (=100). A reading of 326.59 means prices have risen roughly 227% since that base period.
The year-over-year CPI change shows the annual inflation rate. To calculate it, compare the current CPI to the value 12 months ago. The Fed targets 2% annual inflation measured by PCE (a related but different index).
The Fed raises the federal funds rate to cool inflation when CPI grows too fast (above 2% annualized for PCE). Higher rates increase borrowing costs for everyone: mortgages, business loans, credit cards, auto loans.
CPI measures what consumers pay out of pocket. PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) includes employer-paid healthcare and adjusts for substitution effects. The Fed officially targets PCE, but CPI gets more media attention and moves markets.
Inflation erodes the real value of fixed-rate debt, which theoretically helps borrowers. But the interest rate increases the Fed implements to fight inflation more than offset this benefit for most borrowers, especially those with variable-rate debt.
FRED series CPIAUCSL, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS surveys prices for about 80,000 items across 75 urban areas.