Atlanta inflation calculator: CPI-U since 1917

The CPI-U for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, priced by the BLS in even months. Type an amount and two dates to bring it to Atlanta prices.

U.S. average, a metro area, a region or a city-size class

Value in August 2026

$192.35

$100.00 in 2000 average buys what $192.35 buys in August 2026, Atlanta.

Cumulative price change+92.4 %
Average per year+2.54 %
Index, 2000 average170.6
Index, August 2026328.15
U.S. average over the same dates$194.53 (+94.5 %)
BLS seriesCUURS35CSA0
How this is computed

Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · BLS series CUURS35CSA0, priced in even months

The Atlanta CPI-U rose 2.9 % over the 12 months to August 2026, below the 3.4 % of the U.S. city average and below the 3.1 % of the South region. The index covers Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, not seasonally adjusted, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it in February, April, June, August, October and December. The figure to note is shelter: +0.9 % over 12 months, against +3.2 % nationally. Food at home moved +5.2 %, against +1.8 % for the nation. Atlanta posted 10.7 % on the 2022 annual average, 2nd of the 23 metros that year, and 1.7 % in 2025. Since the 2019 average, $1,000 has needed $1,346 at Atlanta prices. The October 2026 index is due November 10, 2026.

Atlanta from 2021 to 2025

Annual average prices rose 6.1 % in 2021 and 10.7 % in 2022, then 4.9 % in 2023 and 2.6 % in 2024. In 2025 the rate eased to 1.7 %, against 2.2 % for the South, and the December 2024 to December 2025 change was 0.9 %. That 2025 average uses 5 months, not 6, because October 2025 is missing.

Shelter well below the national pace

In Atlanta the shelter 12-month change is +0.9 %, below the national +3.2 %. Housing as a whole was +1.4 %. Shelter weighs 35.625 % of the national CPI-U basket (BLS weights for December 2025), so a slow shelter index weighs on the all-items rate even when other groups rise. The local shelter sample is priced in six-month panels, and a metro index has far fewer units than the national one.

Groceries and the rest

Food at home climbed +5.2 % over 12 months, faster than the national +1.8 %. A $150 grocery run from September 2025 would cost $158 at that rate. Energy rose +17.0 % (nation +20.4 %) and transportation +6.3 %. Medical care was -0.3 %, recreation +3.9 %. Other goods and services have a gap in the Atlanta data, so no recent 12-month change exists.

Apply an Atlanta spending group to your amount

Same purchase in September 2026

$159.60

Cumulative price change+6.4 %
Average per year+2.85 %
All items, same dates+5.2 %
Index, 2024 average308.937
Open the full calculator →

The even-month rhythm and October 2025

October is an Atlanta month, so the 2025 lapse in appropriations cost it a full index. The BLS carried even-month survey prices from August to October in its computation, and it did not publish two-month changes for December 2025 in even-month cities. For October 2025 the calculator uses August 2025. The next October, released November 10, 2026, will have no 12-month change for Atlanta.

A series with a hole

The Atlanta index opens in December 1917, base 1982-84=100. There is a break: no Atlanta index is published between December 1986 and December 1997. For dates in that window, use the South region or the national index. Across the years that are published, the fastest is 1919 at 16.3 %, and the steepest drop 1921 at -13.2 %.

Atlanta CPI by spending group

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, CPI-U not seasonally adjusted. All items: base 1982-84=100; each group keeps the base period of its own BLS series, so compare the changes, not the levels.
IndexLevelLatest month12-month change
All items328.15August 2026+2.9 %
Housing355.987August 2026+1.4 %
Shelter398.47September 2026+0.9 %
Food and beverages347.394August 2026+3.6 %
Food at home328.704September 2026+5.2 %
Energy332.277September 2026+17.0 %
Transportation298.268August 2026+6.3 %
Medical care517.127August 2026-0.3 %
Apparel156.884August 2026+2.6 %
Recreation103.778August 2026+3.9 %
Education and communication144.278August 2026+0.4 %
Other goods and services572.886August 2026n/a
All items less food and energy322.868August 2026+1.7 %

Atlanta inflation by year

Annual averages published by the BLS. The 2025 average leaves out the missing October.
YearAnnual averageChangeDecember to December
2025317.247+1.7 %+0.9 %
2024311.937+2.6 %+2.6 %
2023303.94+4.9 %+3.6 %
2022289.673+10.7 %+8.1 %
2021261.633+6.1 %+9.8 %
2020246.653+1.2 %+1.6 %
2019243.731+2.2 %+3.3 %
2018238.577+2.4 %+1.4 %
2017232.887+3.3 %+3.2 %
2016225.463+1.7 %+2.6 %
2015221.631+0.3 %+1.4 %
2014220.969+2.2 %+0.9 %
2013216.267+1.6 %+2.4 %
2012212.782+1.8 %+1.2 %
2011209.102+2.8 %+3.0 %
2010203.468+1.2 %+1.0 %

Questions people ask

Why is shelter inflation so low in Atlanta?

The Atlanta shelter index was +0.9 % over 12 months against +3.2 % nationally. The BLS publishes the number without explaining local causes. A metro shelter index rests on a small sample of housing units priced in six-month panels, so it can drift from the national trend and change direction slowly. Your own rent depends on your lease.

What was Atlanta inflation in 2022?

10.7 % on the annual average, from the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell CPI-U. The U.S. city average rose 8.0 % that year and the South region 8.6 %. Among the 23 metros with a 2022 rate, Atlanta ranks 2nd. From December 2021 to December 2022 the change was 8.1 %.

Is the Atlanta CPI only for the city of Atlanta?

No. The BLS area is Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, a metropolitan area, not the city alone. Prices from across it make up one index. Other parts of Georgia fall under the South region index, or the Size Class B/C index for smaller urban areas.

Keep going

South region inflation

+3.4 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the South region CPI-U.

Miami inflation

+3.7 % over the 12 months to August 2026, from the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL CPI-U.

Tampa inflation

+1.9 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL CPI-U.

Rent inflation

Shelter, rent and owners' equivalent rent in the CPI: the heaviest item, by metro, and what October 2025 did to it.

Food inflation

Grocery prices and restaurant meals in the CPI: the latest rates, by metro, and the long climb since 2019.

Official sources for this page

Prepared by

Independent publisher of inflation calculators built month by month from the CPI-U indexes of the 23 metro areas, 4 regions and 2 city-size classes

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Results apply the published CPI indexes to the amount you type. An index tracks the average prices paid by urban consumers in an area, not your own budget, and it does not compare price levels between cities. A month the BLS did not publish is never filled in: the calculator names the index it uses instead.

Indexes through September 2026, BLS files read on