Inflation
3.4%12 months ending July 2026CPI rose 0.1% in JulyNational facts
The United States, by the numbers
One place for dated, source-linked facts about the economy, federal finances, household costs, people, energy, and the federal tax system.
Reviewed August 31, 2026- Population
- 341.8M
- Indicators
- 18
- Source standard
- Primary
Latest releases
At a glance
Each number keeps its own reporting period. Open the detailed cards below for definitions, limitations, and direct source links.
Unemployment
4.1%July 20266.9 million people unemployedReal GDP growth
1.5%Q2 2026, annualizedBEA second estimateHome-price change
+2.1%Q2 2025 to Q2 2026+0.3% from the prior quarterThe economy now
Prices, work, and growth
The latest nationwide releases, kept in their original reporting periods so monthly and quarterly measures are not mixed together.
Consumer price inflation
Change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, before seasonal adjustment.
Measures, breakdown, and sources
Consumer inflation, two official lenses12 months ending July 2026
| Measure | Headline | Core | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI-UBLS | 3.4% | 2.5% | Prices paid directly by urban consumers |
| PCEBEA | 3.7% | 3.3% | Consumer spending, including purchases made on people's behalf |
- Monthly change
- +0.1%
- Food
- 3.0%
- Energy
- 14.7%
- Shelter
- 3.2%
Core measures exclude food and energy. CPI and PCE use different formulas, weights, and coverage; the Federal Reserve states its 2% longer-run inflation goal in PCE terms. Monthly and 12-month changes also use different seasonal-adjustment conventions.
Share of the civilian labor force without a job, available for work, and actively seeking work, with limited exceptions.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- People unemployed
- 6.9M
- Labor-force participation
- 61.4%
- Payroll change
- −23,000
- Average hourly earnings
- $37.62
The unemployment rate comes from the household survey. The payroll change and average earnings come from the separate establishment survey.
Inflation-adjusted change in the value of goods and services produced in the United States.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Q1 real GDP
- +2.1%
- Private domestic final sales
- +4.2%
- Real gross domestic income
- +2.2%
- GDP price index
- +6.4%
Quarterly changes are seasonally adjusted annual rates. They are not the same as year-over-year changes.
Real average hourly earnings
Change in average hourly earnings for private nonfarm payroll employees after adjusting for consumer-price inflation.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Real hourly earnings
- $11.30
- Real weekly earnings
- $387.72
- Monthly real change
- −0.1%
- Nominal hourly earnings
- $37.62
The real-dollar amounts use 1982–1984 dollars. This is an average for private nonfarm payroll employees, not median pay or a measure of every worker’s purchasing power.
Underlying inflation trend
Median and trimmed-mean CPI
These Cleveland Fed measures change which price movements are set aside each month, helping reveal whether inflation is broad-based or being driven by unusually large moves.
- Median CPI
- 2.7% 12-month change
- 16% trimmed-mean CPI
- 2.6% 12-month change
- Selected period
- July 2026 January 2020–July 2026
- Median CPI
- 16% trimmed-mean CPI
View chart data
| Month | Median CPI | 16% trimmed mean |
|---|---|---|
| January 2020 | 2.9% | 2.4% |
| February 2020 | 2.9% | 2.4% |
| March 2020 | 2.9% | 2.3% |
| April 2020 | 2.8% | 2.2% |
| May 2020 | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| June 2020 | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| July 2020 | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| August 2020 | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| September 2020 | 2.7% | 2.4% |
| October 2020 | 2.6% | 2.2% |
| November 2020 | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| December 2020 | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| January 2021 | 2.2% | 2.0% |
| February 2021 | 2.1% | 2.0% |
| March 2021 | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| April 2021 | 2.1% | 2.4% |
| May 2021 | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| June 2021 | 2.3% | 3.0% |
| July 2021 | 2.2% | 3.1% |
| August 2021 | 2.4% | 3.2% |
| September 2021 | 2.7% | 3.6% |
| October 2021 | 3.1% | 4.2% |
| November 2021 | 3.5% | 4.7% |
| December 2021 | 3.7% | 5.0% |
| January 2022 | 4.2% | 5.5% |
| February 2022 | 4.5% | 5.9% |
| March 2022 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| April 2022 | 5.2% | 6.3% |
| May 2022 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| June 2022 | 5.9% | 6.9% |
| July 2022 | 6.2% | 6.9% |
| August 2022 | 6.5% | 7.1% |
| September 2022 | 6.7% | 7.2% |
| October 2022 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| November 2022 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| December 2022 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| January 2023 | 6.8% | 6.5% |
| February 2023 | 6.9% | 6.3% |
| March 2023 | 6.8% | 6.0% |
| April 2023 | 6.6% | 5.9% |
| May 2023 | 6.4% | 5.4% |
| June 2023 | 6.2% | 4.9% |
| July 2023 | 5.8% | 4.7% |
| August 2023 | 5.5% | 4.4% |
| September 2023 | 5.4% | 4.2% |
| October 2023 | 5.2% | 4.0% |
| November 2023 | 5.2% | 3.9% |
| December 2023 | 5.1% | 3.7% |
| January 2024 | 5.0% | 3.6% |
| February 2024 | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| March 2024 | 4.7% | 3.6% |
| April 2024 | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| May 2024 | 4.5% | 3.3% |
| June 2024 | 4.3% | 3.2% |
| July 2024 | 4.2% | 3.2% |
| August 2024 | 4.2% | 3.1% |
| September 2024 | 4.1% | 3.1% |
| October 2024 | 4.0% | 3.1% |
| November 2024 | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| December 2024 | 3.7% | 3.1% |
| January 2025 | 3.6% | 3.1% |
| February 2025 | 3.5% | 3.0% |
| March 2025 | 3.4% | 2.9% |
| April 2025 | 3.4% | 3.0% |
| May 2025 | 3.5% | 3.0% |
| June 2025 | 3.6% | 3.2% |
| July 2025 | 3.7% | 3.2% |
| August 2025 | 3.6% | 3.3% |
| September 2025 | 3.5% | 3.2% |
| October 2025 | 3.3% | 3.0% |
| November 2025 | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| December 2025 | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| January 2026 | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| February 2026 | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| March 2026 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| April 2026 | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| May 2026 | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| June 2026 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| July 2026 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
Method and limitations
FactVote compounds the Cleveland Fed's seasonally adjusted one-month changes over rolling 12-month windows and rounds the results to one decimal place, matching the bank's published 12-month readings.
- Median CPI keeps only the price change at the weighted middle of the distribution; it is not the inflation rate of a typical household.
- The 16 percent trimmed mean removes components in the lowest 8 percent and highest 8 percent of the monthly price-change distribution.
- The October 2025 observation uses the Cleveland Fed's interpolated CPI component data because BLS did not publish an October 2025 CPI report.
- These are CPI-based measures of underlying inflation, not substitutes for headline CPI or the Federal Reserve's PCE-based inflation objective.
The federal ledger
Deficit, debt, and interest
Treasury figures separate the current fiscal-year flow of money from the daily balance the federal government owes.
Amount by which federal outlays exceeded federal receipts during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Receipts
- $4.49T
- Outlays
- $6.28T
- July deficit
- $432.3B
- Fiscal-year start
- October 1
The deficit is a flow accumulated during a fiscal year, not the government’s total debt. This year-to-date amount is not a full-year projection.
Federal debt held outside federal government accounts, including holdings of investors, the Federal Reserve, and foreign governments.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Total public debt outstanding
- $40.08T
- Intragovernmental holdings
- $7.76T
- Publicly held share
- 80.6%
- Update frequency
- Business daily
This is a nominal outstanding balance on one day. It is not the annual deficit, and debt held by the public excludes most debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts.
Gross federal outlays for interest on the public debt during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- July interest outlays
- $117.6B
- Share of FYTD outlays
- 18.6%
- Trust-fund interest received
- $206.7B
- Fiscal-year start
- October 1
Treasury’s gross interest-on-public-debt line is broader than the net-interest measure used in some budget analyses. The outlay share is calculated from Treasury’s published totals.
Debt over time
Debt held by the public compared with GDP
Annual debt and nominal GDP use the same dollar scale. The lower panel shows the more meaningful comparison: debt as a share of the economy.
202598.1%debt held by the public relative to GDP
- Debt held by the public
- $30.17T
- Nominal GDP
- $30.76T
- Debt relative to GDP
- 98.1%
- Debt held by the public
- Nominal GDP
- Debt as a share of GDP
From 2000 to 2025, debt held by the public grew +785% in nominal dollars, while nominal GDP grew +200%.
Explore what drove annual borrowingReceipts, outlays, the deficit, and major spending categories for the selected year2025 deficit: $1.77T
The debt chart and every value below update together.
Fiscal year 2025
Spending exceeded receipts
The federal government spent $7.01T and collected $5.24T. The $1.77T gap required borrowing.
- Receipts
- $5.24T
- Deficit
- $1.77T
- Outlays
- $7.01T
What the government spent
Major categories as shares of annual outlays
Choose another year above to update this breakdown.
Selected budget component over time
Nominal annual outlays and the category’s share of total federal spending. Dollar values are not adjusted for inflation.
- 2025 outlays
- $1.58T
- Share of all outlays
- 22.5%
- Annual outlays
- Share of total outlays
What changed from the previous year?
How the annual budget balance changed
From fiscal year 2024 to 2025, the deficit narrowed by $40.7B.
Compared with fiscal year 2024
Borrowing pressure−$40.7Bdecreased
- Receipts change
- +$317B Receipts rose $317B
- Outlays change
- +$276B Outlays rose $276B
- Deficit change
- −$40.7B The deficit narrowed by $40.7B.
Changes that moved borrowing pressure
Largest year-over-year contributors
Select a contributor to update its history and reviewed activity below. Bars show its effect on the annual gap.
Reviewed government activity
Social Security actions in fiscal year 2025
Published relationships are filtered by the action date and this spending category. A relationship does not establish that an action caused the change.
No reviewed social security actions matched fiscal year 2025.The collection covers current officeholders and current-term federal records, so older fiscal years will usually be empty.
View all reviewed activity related to the federal deficitView borrowing-driver data
| Fiscal year | Receipts | Outlays | Surplus / deficit | Social Security | Medicare | Medicaid | National defense | Net interest | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $2.03T | $1.79T | $236B | $409B | $197B | $118B | $294B | $223B | $547B |
| 2001 | $1.99T | $1.86T | $128B | $433B | $217B | $129B | $305B | $206B | $572B |
| 2002 | $1.85T | $2.01T | −$158B | $456B | $231B | $148B | $348B | $171B | $657B |
| 2003 | $1.78T | $2.16T | −$378B | $475B | $249B | $161B | $405B | $153B | $717B |
| 2004 | $1.88T | $2.29T | −$413B | $496B | $269B | $176B | $456B | $160B | $736B |
| 2005 | $2.15T | $2.47T | −$318B | $523B | $299B | $182B | $495B | $184B | $789B |
| 2006 | $2.41T | $2.66T | −$248B | $549B | $330B | $181B | $522B | $227B | $848B |
| 2007 | $2.57T | $2.73T | −$161B | $586B | $375B | $191B | $551B | $237B | $788B |
| 2008 | $2.52T | $2.98T | −$459B | $617B | $391B | $201B | $616B | $253B | $905B |
| 2009 | $2.10T | $3.52T | −$1.41T | $683B | $430B | $251B | $661B | $187B | $1.31T |
| 2010 | $2.16T | $3.46T | −$1.29T | $707B | $452B | $273B | $693B | $196B | $1.14T |
| 2011 | $2.30T | $3.60T | −$1.30T | $731B | $486B | $275B | $706B | $230B | $1.18T |
| 2012 | $2.45T | $3.53T | −$1.08T | $773B | $472B | $251B | $678B | $220B | $1.13T |
| 2013 | $2.78T | $3.45T | −$680B | $814B | $498B | $265B | $633B | $221B | $1.02T |
| 2014 | $3.02T | $3.51T | −$485B | $851B | $512B | $302B | $603B | $229B | $1.01T |
| 2015 | $3.25T | $3.69T | −$442B | $888B | $546B | $350B | $590B | $223B | $1.10T |
| 2016 | $3.27T | $3.85T | −$585B | $916B | $595B | $368B | $593B | $240B | $1.14T |
| 2017 | $3.32T | $3.98T | −$665B | $945B | $597B | $375B | $599B | $263B | $1.20T |
| 2018 | $3.33T | $4.11T | −$779B | $988B | $589B | $389B | $631B | $325B | $1.19T |
| 2019 | $3.46T | $4.45T | −$984B | $1.04T | $651B | $409B | $686B | $375B | $1.28T |
| 2020 | $3.42T | $6.52T | −$3.10T | $1.10T | $776B | $459B | $725B | $345B | $3.12T |
| 2021 | $4.05T | $6.82T | −$2.77T | $1.13T | $696B | $521B | $754B | $352B | $3.36T |
| 2022 | $4.90T | $6.27T | −$1.37T | $1.22T | $755B | $592B | $766B | $476B | $2.46T |
| 2023 | $4.44T | $6.13T | −$1.69T | $1.35T | $848B | $616B | $820B | $658B | $1.83T |
| 2024 | $4.92T | $6.74T | −$1.82T | $1.46T | $874B | $618B | $874B | $880B | $2.03T |
| 2025 | $5.24T | $7.01T | −$1.77T | $1.58T | $997B | $668B | $916B | $970B | $1.88T |
Official OMB historical tables · actuals through 2025Table 1.1 — Summary of receipts, outlays, and surpluses or deficitsTable 3.2 — Outlays by function and subfunctionTable 15.1 — Outlays for health programs
View chart data
| Year | Debt held by public | Nominal GDP | Debt/GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $3.41T | $10.25T | 33.3% |
| 2001 | $3.32T | $10.58T | 31.4% |
| 2002 | $3.54T | $10.93T | 32.4% |
| 2003 | $3.91T | $11.46T | 34.2% |
| 2004 | $4.30T | $12.22T | 35.2% |
| 2005 | $4.59T | $13.04T | 35.2% |
| 2006 | $4.83T | $13.82T | 35.0% |
| 2007 | $5.04T | $14.47T | 34.8% |
| 2008 | $5.80T | $14.77T | 39.3% |
| 2009 | $7.54T | $14.48T | 52.1% |
| 2010 | $9.02T | $15.05T | 59.9% |
| 2011 | $10.13T | $15.60T | 64.9% |
| 2012 | $11.28T | $16.25T | 69.4% |
| 2013 | $11.98T | $16.88T | 71.0% |
| 2014 | $12.78T | $17.61T | 72.6% |
| 2015 | $13.12T | $18.30T | 71.7% |
| 2016 | $14.17T | $18.80T | 75.3% |
| 2017 | $14.67T | $19.61T | 74.8% |
| 2018 | $15.75T | $20.66T | 76.3% |
| 2019 | $16.80T | $21.54T | 78.0% |
| 2020 | $21.02T | $21.38T | 98.3% |
| 2021 | $22.28T | $23.73T | 93.9% |
| 2022 | $24.25T | $26.05T | 93.1% |
| 2023 | $26.24T | $27.81T | 94.3% |
| 2024 | $28.19T | $29.30T | 96.2% |
| 2025 | $30.17T | $30.76T | 98.1% |
Method and limitations
FactVote aligns the published annual series by year. Debt is the balance at the end of the federal fiscal year; nominal GDP is economic activity during the calendar year. The published ratio provides the standard scale comparison.
- Debt is a stock measured on a date; GDP is a flow measured across a year.
- Both dollar lines are nominal and therefore include economy-wide price changes.
- The expanded borrowing view uses federal fiscal-year outlays. Program categories explain annual spending, not ownership or allocation of accumulated debt.
- The annual series ends in 2025; the current daily debt card above is newer and should not be substituted into an unfinished GDP year.
Household costs
Housing and borrowing
A long-run Census snapshot alongside the most recent nationwide measures of price movement and mortgage rates.
Median respondent-estimated value of owner-occupied housing units in the Census American Community Survey period.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Homeownership rate
- 65.2%
- Owner costs with mortgage
- $1,963/mo
- Owner costs without mortgage
- $638/mo
- Housing units
- 148.3M
This is a multi-year survey estimate of occupied homes, not a current listing price or the median price of a recent sale.
Median contract rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of tenant-paid utilities and fuels.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Households
- 129.2M
- People per household
- 2.53
- Same home one year ago
- 87.7%
- Broadband at home
- 91.0%
The national median combines very different local markets and is not a measure of current asking rents.
Nationwide change in the FHFA repeat-sales House Price Index for single-family properties.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Quarter-over-quarter
- +0.3%
- Monthly June change
- 0.0%
The index measures price change among properties with repeat mortgage transactions; it does not report a median dollar sale price.
National average rate in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, based on mortgage applications submitted by lenders.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- 15-year fixed
- 5.98%
- Prior week, 30-year
- 6.65%
This is a survey average. A borrower’s rate depends on credit, loan type, points, down payment, and other terms.
The nation
People, health, and communities
Population, income, education, health, and public-safety measures from national government sources.
U.S. resident population estimate
Census Bureau estimate of the resident population of the United States.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Exact estimate
- 341,784,857
- Change since 2020 base
- +3.1%
- Under age 18
- 21.1%
- Age 65 and older
- 18.9%
The resident population excludes people who usually live outside the United States and is revised as Census updates its estimates.
Median money income received by households during the prior 12 months, inflation-adjusted to 2024 dollars.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Per-capita income
- $44,673
- People in poverty
- 10.6%
- Civilian labor force
- 63.0%
This is a multi-year survey estimate. Household income is not the same as wages, wealth, or disposable income after taxes.
Share of adults age 25 or older who completed high school or an equivalent credential.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Bachelor’s degree or higher
- 35.7%
- Under 65 without insurance
- 9.6%
- Under 65 with a disability
- 9.3%
- Foreign-born residents
- 14.1%
The measures apply to different age groups. They are grouped here as a compact household snapshot, not as a combined score.
Power and household costs
Energy and electricity
Current household energy prices, the national supply-and-trade balance, emissions, and the electricity mix over time.
Average revenue collected by U.S. electricity providers per kilowatthour sold to residential customers.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Change from June 2025
- +5.0%
- June 2025
- 17.47¢/kWh
- 2025 annual average
- 17.30¢/kWh
- All-sector June average
- 14.48¢/kWh
This is an average price calculated from provider revenue and electricity sales, not a typical household bill or an advertised utility rate. The 2025 and 2026 values are preliminary.
Average U.S. retail price of regular-grade gasoline, including federal and state taxes.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Weekly change
- +3.6¢
- Change from one year ago
- +93.8¢
- Prior week
- $4.049/gal
- One year ago
- $3.147/gal
This is a weekly national survey average. Prices vary substantially by region and station, and the series is not seasonally adjusted.
Approximate amount by which total U.S. energy exports exceeded energy imports after different energy sources are converted to a common heat-content measure.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Energy production
- 106.96 quads
- Energy consumption
- 96.26 quads
- Energy exports
- 31 quads
- Energy imports
- 21 quads
A quad is one quadrillion British thermal units. Production, consumption, and trade do not reconcile exactly because of stock changes, adjustments, and independent rounding.
Estimated U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and non-combustion uses of energy products.
Breakdown, definition, and source
- Change from 2024
- +2% · +115M metric tons
- Transportation
- 1.87B metric tons
- Electric power
- 1.49B metric tons
- Industrial
- 960M metric tons
This measure covers energy-related carbon dioxide only. It excludes other greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide sources outside EIA’s energy-product scope, and the 2025 estimate is subject to revision.
2026 tax year
Federal tax structure
Headline federal rates and deductions. These are national rules, but they do not show what any particular person or business ultimately owes.
Individual income tax
Seven marginal rates
Single-filer taxable-income brackets for tax year 2026. Only the dollars inside each band are taxed at that band’s rate.
- 10%$0–$12,400
- 12%$12,401–$50,400
- 22%$50,401–$105,700
- 24%$105,701–$201,775
- 32%$201,776–$256,225
- 35%$256,226–$640,600
- 37%Over $640,600
Standard deduction
$16,100Single filer- Married filing jointly
- $32,200
- Head of household
- $24,150
Employee payroll tax
7.65%6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare- 2026 Social Security wage base
- $184,500
- Medicare wage cap
- None
Corporate income tax
21%Federal rate on taxable incomeCredits, deductions, special regimes, and state taxes can change effective tax rates.
Primary sourceInternal Revenue Service: Instructions for Form 1120National coverage
The facts are the foundation
Every national fact card now connects to a reviewed set of congressional measures, formal presidential actions, and official executive-branch records, with the evidence and source trail front and center.