Phoenix inflation calculator: CPI-U since 2017

The CPI-U for Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, published by the BLS in even months, with annual averages from 2002. Enter an amount and two dates.

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

Value in August 2026

$138.06

$100.00 in 2018 average buys what $138.06 buys in August 2026, Phoenix.

Cumulative price change+38.1 %
Average per year+4.05 %
Index, 2018 average138.875
Index, August 2026191.724
U.S. average over the same dates$133.40 (+33.4 %)
BLS seriesCUURS48ASA0
How this is computed

Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · BLS series CUURS48ASA0, priced in even months

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale prices rose 2.5 % in the 12 months to August 2026. The U.S. city average rose 3.4 % and the West region 3.2 % over the same months, so Phoenix ran below its region. Two details set this index apart. Its base is December 2001=100, not the 1982-84 used by most metros, and the monthly series held here begins only in December 2017, with annual averages back to 2002. It is also priced in even months, which means it lost its October 2025 index to the lapse in appropriations. Since December 2017, $1,000 has grown to $1,427 on the Phoenix index, against $1,380 on the West index and $1,359 on the national one. The fastest year so far was 2022, at 11.5 %. Among spending groups, energy led with +13.6 % over its latest 12 months.

A base of December 2001, monthly data from 2017

Most metro indexes equal 100 on average over 1982 to 1984. Phoenix equals 100 in December 2001. Its level in August 2026, 191.724, is therefore on a different scale from Los Angeles or Denver, and you should never compare the raw numbers across areas. Percent changes are fine to compare, because a base only fixes where 100 sits.

Monthly Phoenix indexes in this calculator start in December 2017. Before that month, back to 2002, only annual averages are held, so an earlier date uses the annual average of its year, and the result says so. Before 2002 there is no Phoenix figure at all; the West region index, which starts in 1966, is the nearest published series.

2022, the year Phoenix led the metros

Phoenix prices rose 11.5 % on an annual average basis in 2022, the highest rate of the 23 metros with an annual average that year. The years after it read 5.2 % in 2023, 2.2 % in 2024, 1.2 % in 2025. The slowest year since 2002 is 2009, at -1.4 %, a year when the annual average fell.

Phoenix against the West since 2018

Since the 2018 average

2.4 points

Phoenix, $1,000 becomes$1,381 (August 2026)
West, $1,000 becomes$1,357 (September 2026)
Per year, Phoenix+4.05 %
Per year, West+3.78 %
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The groups that move Phoenix now

Over the latest 12 months, the fastest Phoenix group was energy (+13.6 %), then transportation (+8.3 %). Phoenix energy ran behind the national energy index (+20.4 %). Shelter came in at +1.8 % and food at home at +0.5 %. Core prices, which leave out food and energy, were +1.3 %.

Take the whole monthly Phoenix series instead. From December 2017 to August 2026, Phoenix prices rose 42.7 %, more than the 38.0 % of the West region and the 35.9 % of the nation. In 2022 alone, the West region rose 8.0 % on an annual average basis.

The Phoenix medical care index has its own gap: it starts in October 2018, later than the other groups. Small local samples make such series jumpy, and the BLS urges users of escalator clauses to consider national or regional indexes for that reason.

Even months and the 2025 lapse

Phoenix is priced in February, April, June, August, October and December. October 2025 fell during the lapse in appropriations, so there is no Phoenix index for it and no two-month change for December 2025. The 2025 annual average is the mean of 5 published indexes instead of six. The next Phoenix index, for October 2026, is due on November 10, 2026, and it will come without a 12-month change, because the BLS does not publish one where October 2025 is missing.

Phoenix CPI by spending group

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, CPI-U not seasonally adjusted. All items: base December 2001=100; each group keeps the base period of its own BLS series, so compare the changes, not the levels.
IndexLevelLatest month12-month change
All items191.724August 2026+2.5 %
Housing212.496August 2026+0.8 %
Shelter230.708September 2026+1.8 %
Food and beverages194.961August 2026+1.5 %
Food at home192.249September 2026+0.5 %
Energy305.219September 2026+13.6 %
Transportation165.067August 2026+8.3 %
Medical care266.755August 2026+0.8 %
Apparel163.262August 2026+7.6 %
Recreation133.283August 2026+3.9 %
Education and communication120.012August 2026+0.2 %
Other goods and services189.249August 2026+1.4 %
All items less food and energy183.487August 2026+1.3 %

Phoenix inflation by year

Annual averages published by the BLS. The 2025 average leaves out the missing October.
YearAnnual averageChangeDecember to December
2025185.665+1.2 %+2.2 %
2024183.481+2.2 %+1.6 %
2023179.497+5.2 %+2.7 %
2022170.652+11.5 %+9.5 %
2021153.032+5.0 %+9.7 %
2020145.724+2.0 %+0.5 %
2019142.92+2.9 %+3.4 %
2018138.875+4.2 %+4.3 %
2017133.324+2.5 %not priced
2016130.107+1.6 %not priced
2015128.019+0.2 %not priced
2014127.823+1.6 %not priced
2013125.782+1.3 %not priced
2012124.197+2.2 %not priced
2011121.483+2.8 %not priced
2010118.227+0.6 %not priced

Questions people ask

What is the current Phoenix inflation rate?

2.5 % over the 12 months to August 2026, on the CPI-U for Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, not seasonally adjusted. The West region was at 3.2 % and the U.S. city average at 3.4 % over the same months. Phoenix is published in even months only.

What does the December 2001 base of the Phoenix CPI mean?

It means the Phoenix index equals 100 in December 2001, while most metro indexes equal 100 over 1982-84. The base changes the level, 191.724 in August 2026, but not the percent change between two dates. Compare Phoenix with other areas in percent, never in index points.

Can I calculate Phoenix inflation for years before 2018?

Yes, back to 2002, but only with annual averages: monthly Phoenix indexes start in December 2017. A month before that uses the annual average of its year, with a note. For an amount older than 2002, use the West region, published since 1966, or the U.S. city average.

Does the Phoenix CPI cover Mesa and Scottsdale?

Yes. The BLS area is Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, a single metropolitan area with one index, so prices from Mesa and Scottsdale are in the same sample as Phoenix. There is no other local CPI for Arizona. Elsewhere in the state, the West region or the Size B/C class is the usual choice.

Keep going

West region inflation

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

Denver inflation

+4.0 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO CPI-U.

Los Angeles inflation

+3.7 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA CPI-U.

CPI by city

The 23 metro areas the BLS publishes, their rhythm, latest month and 12-month inflation, side by side.

October 2025 CPI

The month the BLS never published, why, and what it changes for calculators, contracts and the 2026 figures.

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