The biggest inflation-drivers over the past year
Did your rent go up compared to last year? Or perhaps the price of your groceries, rideshare services, or your gym membership? Inflation might be partly why. Inflation refers to general price increases in an economy, and it’s a measure of a nation’s economic well-being. Some inflation is to be expected (the Fed aims to keep it at 2%), but too much inflation increases the cost of living. We have the data on the biggest drivers of inflation in the past year to help you make sense of potential changes in your spending.
- Overall prices rose 3.5% from June 2025 to June 2026, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). This was lower than May’s year-over-year rate of 4.2%, but still higher than the Fed’s target. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the CPI-U to measure price changes across the full range of goods and services urban households buy.
- Housing was the single biggest driver of inflation. It was responsible for 1.5 percentage points, or about two-fifths of total inflation. Housing prices (which also includes rent) were 3.3% higher in June 2026 than a year prior.
- The weight assigned to each category reflects its relative importance in a typical household budget. Housing, which includes shelter, utilities, and household operations, holds the largest share of the CPI, hence, it can be the biggest inflation driver while not having the biggest year-over-year change. Transportation has the second-highest weight, while food and beverages are third.
- Transportation was also more expensive, with prices up 6.5% year over year, followed by other goods and services (4.6%) and apparel (3.9%). Meanwhile, education and communication prices dropped 0.1%.
- Zero in on more specific categories here. Plus, our inflation calculator lets you track price changes across 100+ years of data.
Is beef getting more expensive?
What are you paying at the meat counter? The stakes are high: beef prices are one of the more tangible ways Americans are feeling inflation right now. The “beef and veal” category in the CPI-U rose 12.9% over the past year. We carved into the data to see where average beef prices rank and how they’ve changed over time.
- The average price of ground beef in US cities was $6.75 per pound as of May.
- Adjusted for inflation (which, as previously mentioned, is rising), beef prices were near historic highs. As of May, chuck roast was $9.61 per pound — its second-highest price since 1989. Ground beef and sirloin steak were at their seventh-highest prices, and round steak was at its sixth-highest.
- Sirloin steak prices climbed the most in 12 months, rising $2.07 per pound. Chuck roast was $1.73 higher, followed by round steak ($1.39) and ground beef ($0.76).
- The West had the highest prices for sirloin steak and chuck roast, while the Northeast paid the most for ground beef.
Tell Congress Americans need data
Data is the love letter we send to our future selves. It’s partly why roads get repaired and why unemployment support exists when you need it, and it helps ensure the power grid can handle a summer heat wave. Government data makes daily life work.
But the systems collecting that data haven’t kept up with modern needs, and the numbers aren’t always easy for Americans to find or use. Agencies like the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the EPA deserve better tools to do their jobs well.
Join USAFacts Founder Steve Ballmer and sign our open lettertelling Congress to modernize how the government collects and uses data.
Data behind the news
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The federal government announced it is withholding $1 billion in Medicaid funds from California and Minnesota while it investigates possible fraud. (By the way, Medicaid turned 60 years old this week.)
From the Northeast to the West Coast, it’s wildfire season. Here’s how much land wildfires burn in the US.
Stay sharp with the weekly fact quiz.
One last fact
Did you know the Energy Information Administration tracks how many households have a fridge in their garage? In 2024, 20 million households — 15% of households nationwide — had a secondary fridge in their garage. Learn about the “second fridge belt” on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok!
