Mapping the rising cost of goods and services for U.S. consumers

The administration likes to cherrypick data points to make estimates appear more favorable. For example, a recent chart cherrypicked a handful of spending categories where cost decreased year-over-year, based on monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It looked like costs of all the things were going down. However, you and I and everyone else knows that our bills are a lot higher these days.

So here is a more honest landscape of how prices have changed, based on the most recent data from BLS.

Price Changes for All Spending Categories

See the increase and decrease in costs year-over-year for June 2026. Categories are sized by percentage of average spending.

Eggs cost less than they did a year ago, but that’s because of the shortage that made prices relatively high last year. Car and telephone prices are down, but there was a lot of tariff drama last year, which again made prices relatively high when compared to now.

Gas prices and categories related to them, such as oil, airline fares, and postage, are up significantly since last year. The war in Iran continues on.

Mainly though, on a given month, there are goods and services that have decreased in price and others that have increased. Overall, prices go up with time. If claiming success in one area, it’s just as easy to claim failure in another.

Notes

The above is based on the Consumer Price Index for June 2026 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inspo comes from the New York Times classic in 2008 on all of inflation’s little parts.