U.S. inflation rate in 2015: 0.12%

Inflation by City

Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 2014 to 2015 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $1):

• San Diego, California: 3.92% average rate, $1 → $1.04, cumulative change of 3.92%
• San Francisco, California: 2.56% average rate, $1 → $1.03, cumulative change of 2.56%
• Seattle, Washington: 1.34% average rate, $1 → $1.01, cumulative change of 1.34%
• Denver, Colorado: 1.18% average rate, $1 → $1.01, cumulative change of 1.18%
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida: 0.99% average rate, $1 → $1.01, cumulative change of 0.99%
• Boston, Massachusetts: 0.63% average rate, $1 → $1.01, cumulative change of 0.63%
• Tampa, Florida: 0.35% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of 0.35%
• Atlanta, Georgia: 0.33% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of 0.33%
• Phoenix, Arizona: 0.15% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of 0.15%
• New York: 0.13% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of 0.13%
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: -0.09% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of -0.09%
• Houston, Texas: -0.09% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of -0.09%
• Chicago, Illinois: -0.30% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of -0.30%
• St Louis, Missouri: -0.41% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of -0.41%
• Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas: -0.50% average rate, $1 → $1.00, cumulative change of -0.50%
• Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota: -0.62% average rate, $1 → $0.99, cumulative change of -0.62%
• Detroit, Michigan: -1.32% average rate, $1 → $0.99, cumulative change of -1.32%

San Diego, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 1 years between 2014 and 2015 (3.92%).

Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 1 years between 2014 and 2015 (-1.32%).

Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data.

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £1.00 in 2014 would be equivalent to £1.01 in 2015, an absolute change of £0.01 and a cumulative change of 0.99%.

In Canada, CA$1.00 in 2014 would be equivalent to CA$1.02 in 2015, an absolute change of CA$0.02 and a cumulative change of 1.61%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $0.00 and total percent change of 0.12%.

Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 2014 and 2015.

Compare these values to the overall average of 0.12% per year:

It's important to note that not all categories may be tracked since 2014. This table and visualization use the earliest available data for each category.

How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $1, 2014 to 2015

This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 236.736 in the year 2014 and 237.017 in 2015:

$1 in 2014 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.00 in 2015.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 2014 and 2015, we use the following formula:

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

Alternate Measurements of Inflation

The above data describe the CPI for all items. Also of note is the Core CPI, which measures inflation for all items except for the more volatile categories of food and energy. Core inflation averaged 1.83% per year between 2014 and 2015 (vs all-CPI inflation of 0.12%), for an inflation total of 1.83%.

When using the core inflation measurement, $1 in 2014 is equivalent in buying power to $1.02 in 2015, a difference of $0.02. Recall that for All Items, the converted amount is $1.00 with a difference of $0.00.

In 2014, core inflation was 1.75%.

Chained CPI is an alternative measurement that takes into account how consumers adjust spending for similar items. Chained inflation averaged -0.12% per year between 2014 and 2015, a total inflation amount of 1.83%.

According to the Chained CPI measurement, $1 in 2014 is equal in buying power to $1.00 in 2015, a difference of $0.00 (versus a converted amount of $1.00/change of $0.00 for All Items).

In 2014, chained inflation was 1.45%.

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $1 in the S&P 500 index in 2014, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $1.10 in 2015. This is a return on investment of 9.54%, with an absolute return of $0.10.

These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.

The compounding effect of inflation would account for 0.12% of returns ($0.00) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $1 investment is $0.10.

News headlines from 2014

Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:

• Violent protests erupt in Kiev, leading to clashes between protestors and riot police: President Viktor Yanukovych is ousted five days later.
• Russia formally annexes Crimea amid international condemnation.
• ISIS forces occupy government buildings and other key strategic locations in the city of Mosul.
• Malasya Airlines Flight 17 shot down by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine by a Buk surface-to-air missile. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed.

Data Source & Citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.

» Read more about inflation and investment.