Purchasing power of the US consumer dollar
What a consumer dollar buys today compared with 1982-84.
- Latest
- 29.7
- Previous
- 29.9
- Change
- −0.2
- Frequency
- Monthly
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Purchasing power of the US consumer dollar
What a consumer dollar buys today compared with 1982-84.
- Purchasing power
- 29.7
Data table
| Period | Purchasing power |
|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 29.7 |
| Aug 2026 | 29.9 |
| Jul 2026 | 29.9 |
| Jun 2026 | 29.9 |
| May 2026 | 29.8 |
| Apr 2026 | 30.0 |
| Mar 2026 | 30.3 |
| Feb 2026 | 30.6 |
| Jan 2026 | 30.7 |
| Dec 2025 | 30.9 |
| Nov 2025 | 30.9 |
| Sep 2025 | 30.8 |
About this indicator
- What it measures
- The purchasing power of the consumer dollar, with 1982-84 = 100. A value of 30 means a dollar now buys what 30 cents bought in 1982-84.
- How it is calculated
- Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the reciprocal of the CPI (not seasonally adjusted): 100 ÷ CPI × 100.
- How to read it
- The line falls whenever prices rise. Each 1% rise in prices lowers it by about 1%.
- Caveats
- It reflects average urban consumer prices, not any one household's spending, and says nothing about whether incomes kept pace.
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Typical release
- Monthly with the CPI.
Sources
- CPI: Purchasing Power of the Consumer Dollar View at the source (opens in a new tab)
Recent observations
Newest first. For a calculated figure, the source value it comes from is shown beside it.
| Period | Purchasing power | First recorded here |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 29.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Aug 2026 | 29.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jul 2026 | 29.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jun 2026 | 29.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| May 2026 | 29.8 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Apr 2026 | 30.0 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Mar 2026 | 30.3 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Feb 2026 | 30.6 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jan 2026 | 30.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Dec 2025 | 30.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Nov 2025 | 30.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Sep 2025 | 30.8 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Aug 2025 | 30.9 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jul 2025 | 31.0 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jun 2025 | 31.0 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| May 2025 | 31.1 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Apr 2025 | 31.2 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Mar 2025 | 31.3 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Feb 2025 | 31.3 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Jan 2025 | 31.5 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Dec 2024 | 31.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Nov 2024 | 31.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Oct 2024 | 31.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Sep 2024 | 31.7 | 20 Oct 2026 |
Revisions
We record a revision when a value we already hold changes at the source. Tracking began on 20 Oct 2026, so revisions made before then are not shown, and figures are in the source's own units.
No revisions detected
No stored value has changed since tracking began.
Related indicators
United States · Inflation and purchasing power