Inflation rate history · 2018
Inflation Rate in 2018
In 2018, US consumer prices rose 2.44% — the 44th-highest of the 66 years on record. Here's where that sits in 66 years of inflation, the story behind it, what 2018's money is worth today, and how it compares with the 2.63% of 2025.
- 2018 inflation rate 2.44% annual CPI
- vs prior year +0.31 pts from 2.13% in 2017
- vs today 2.63% in 2025
- 1960–2025 average 3.74% long-run norm
What happened to inflation in 2018
In 2018, inflation ran at 2.44%, up from 2.13% in 2017. That made it the 44th-highest of the 66 years on record, and below the long-run average of 3.74%. For comparison, inflation sits at about 2.63% today.
What 2018's money is worth today
A rate is abstract until it's a price tag. Using the Consumer Price Index, here's what a given sum of 2018 dollars would have to grow to in order to buy the same goods today — the cumulative effect of every year of inflation in between:
Cumulative inflation since 2018 comes to about 28% — prices have risen roughly 1.3× over that span. Put another way, $100 today had the buying power of about $78 in 2018. See the full value of a dollar in 2018. To run your own figure across any two years, use the inflation calculator.
How 2018 compared
Across the full 1960–2025 record, inflation has averaged about 3.74%, so 2018 ran below that long-run norm. Within the 2010s, inflation averaged roughly 1.77%, and 2018 sat above its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2013, the rate was 1.46%. The following year, 2019, inflation eased to 1.81%.
Inflation shapes borrowing costs: when prices run hot, lenders demand higher rates to compensate. See what mortgage rates did in 2018 for the other side of the same story.
This is one year out of the whole story. For the complete history — every year since 1960, the all-time high and the deflation low, the decade-by-decade view, and what drives inflation over time — see historical inflation rates, 1960–today.
Inflation in 2018 — FAQ
What was the inflation rate in 2018?
Consumer price inflation averaged 2018: 2.44%, based on the annual change in the Consumer Price Index. That was up 0.31 points from 2.13% the year before.
Was inflation high or low in 2018?
Measured against the full 1960–2025 record, 2018's 2.44% was the 44th-highest of the 66 years on record, and below the long-run average of 3.74%.
What is $100 from 2018 worth today?
Because of cumulative inflation, $100 in 2018 has the same buying power as about $128 today — prices have risen roughly 28% (about 1.3×) since then. Put another way, $100 today had the buying power of about $78 in 2018.
How does 2018 inflation compare with today?
In 2018, prices rose 2.44%, versus 2.63% in 2025 — a difference of 0.19 points. The long-run (1960–2025) average is 3.74%.
Data: World Bank, World Development Indicators, via APIVerve. Our tables, charts and text are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: share and adapt them for non-commercial use as long as you credit us. For commercial use or bulk data, use the APIVerve API. See the data terms. Cite as: Digest Your Finances, “US Inflation Rate by Year”, https://digestyourfinances.com/studies/historical-inflation-rate/2018/ — based on World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY-NC 4.0.
