American inflation is cooling. Prices rose 3.4% over the 12 months ended July 2026, down from 3.5% the month before. 

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) groups everything people buy into 12 major categories to track how prices change over time. 

In the visualization above, we rank the eight major buckets by their percentage surge over the last year. 

It is based on the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

For most things people buy, the worst of the inflation era genuinely appears to be fading. Only gas prices saw the steepest jump. 

TL;DR

• U.S. inflation slowed to 3.4% in July 2026, but gasoline prices surged 24.6% over the same 12 months, the single biggest price jump in the entire CPI report.
• Strip out energy, and the inflation picture looks almost calm, with core prices rising just 2.5%, close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
• Used car prices and drug costs are actually falling, while food and shelter costs are holding relatively steady.

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Energy Is the Outlier, and It Is a Big One

Total energy costs climbed 14.7% over the year, more than four times the overall inflation rate of 3.4%. 

Within that, gasoline is the most aggressive component. 

Natural gas for home heating rose 4.3%, and electricity was up 4.2%, both meaningful but nowhere near the gasoline figure.

To put 24.6% in practical terms: a tank of gas that cost $60 in July 2025 would cost roughly $74.76 by July 2026.

For anyone commuting five days a week, that is a cost that hits repeatedly, every single week, in a way that a modest rise in shelter costs or food prices simply does not.

Where Prices Are Behaving

Outside of energy, the picture is noticeably calmer. 

• Food prices rose 3.0% over the year, split between food away from home at 3.4% and groceries at 2.7%. 
• Shelter, one of the most stubborn inflation drivers in the post-pandemic period, came in at 3.2%. 
• Transportation services rose 2.9%, and medical care services climbed 2.7%. 

None of these numbers are painless, but they are all at levels far more manageable than those Americans were experiencing two years ago.

ALSO READ: UK Inflation Drops to 3%, But Remains Higher Than Most of Past Decade

What Things Are Getting Cheaper?

Used cars and trucks fell 1.9% over the year. 

During the pandemic, used-vehicle prices were among the most notorious inflation stories in the American economy, with supply chain disruptions sending prices to historic highs. 

That shock has now fully reversed. New vehicle prices are up just 0.5%, essentially flat.

Medical care commodities, covering prescription drugs and medical products, fell 2.7%. 

That drop sits in striking contrast to medical care services, which rose 2.7% over the same period. 

The cost of the prescription is going down. The cost of the doctor who writes it is going up. 

It is an unusual split that gets almost no attention in the broader inflation conversation.

NOTE: CPI measures price change, not affordability. It does not tell you whether wages kept pace with any of these increases.

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ELI5

Most prices in America are rising slowly now, which is good news. 

But gasoline is up nearly 25% compared to last year, and that one category is making inflation feel much worse than it actually is for most people. Meanwhile, used cars and prescription drugs are getting cheaper. 

Source

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index.