Inflation Winners and Losers: Which Spending Categories Rose the Most Since 2020

All 8 BLS spending categories ranked by inflation since 2020

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks eight major spending categories within the CPI-U index. Each has its own publicly accessible data series. Here they are ranked from highest to lowest cumulative inflation from 2020 to 2025:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages, 2020-2025. Base period: 1982-84 = 100. Data accessible at bls.gov/cpi.

The range from 8.8% (apparel) to 37.7% (transportation) is a nearly 4x difference over the same five years. For households where transportation and housing together represent 50%+ of spending, total cumulative inflation easily exceeded 30%. For households with no car, low rent, and high clothing spend, it may have been closer to 18%.

Use our Inflation Price Calculator to see exactly what any past price is worth in today's dollars — or what a current price would have cost in any prior year.

The biggest losers: categories that far outpaced the average

Transportation: +37.7% (6.6% annualized)

Transportation was the hardest-hit major category and it was not a single cause. Three separate shocks hit simultaneously:

• Used vehicles (+40%+ at peak): A global semiconductor shortage beginning in late 2020 forced automakers to slash production. With new vehicles scarce and heavily backordered, buyers flooded the used market. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index peaked in early 2022, up over 50% from pre-pandemic levels. Prices have partially corrected but remain elevated.
• Gasoline: Energy prices collapsed in early 2020 (WTI crude briefly went negative in April 2020) and then rebounded sharply. The Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 pushed U.S. average gasoline prices above $5/gallon in many markets. Gasoline is tracked separately as CUUR0000SETB01.
• Auto insurance (+54% since 2020): Rising repair costs, more expensive parts, and higher vehicle replacement values pushed premiums to record levels. Auto insurance (CUUR0000SETA02) became one of the fastest-rising sub-components in the entire CPI basket.

Housing: +28.9% (5.2% annualized)

Housing is the largest single component in the CPI basket at roughly 34% of total weight, making it the biggest driver of aggregate inflation. Within housing, two forces dominated:

• Shelter (rent + owners' equivalent rent): The shelter sub-index (CUUR0000SAH1) rose even faster than overall housing. Remote-work-driven migration created demand surges in previously affordable metros. Rental vacancy rates hit multi-decade lows. BLS measures shelter with a lag — actual market rents were running 15-20% higher in 2022 before the official index caught up.
• Household energy: Natural gas and electricity prices rose sharply, particularly in 2022. Household energy is tracked as CUUR0000SAH2.

Food & Beverages: +27.3% (4.9% annualized)

Food inflation was both broad and uneven across sub-categories. The main drivers:

• Eggs (+200%+ at peak): The 2022-2023 avian influenza outbreak resulted in the culling of over 58 million birds. The supply collapse was severe enough to cause retail egg prices to nearly triple at peak. A second wave of avian flu in late 2024 renewed price pressure into 2025. Eggs are tracked as CUUR0000SEFJ.
• Fats and oils (+35%+): Global sunflower oil supply disruption from the Ukraine conflict, combined with tight corn and soybean markets, pushed cooking oils to record prices.
• Food away from home: Restaurant prices rose faster than grocery prices throughout the period. Labor costs for food service workers rose sharply, and many states raised minimum wages. Food away from home (CUUR0000SEFV) outpaced food at home for most of the 2021-2025 period.

The winners: categories with below-average inflation

Apparel: +8.8% (1.7% annualized)

Clothing has been structurally deflationary for decades due to global manufacturing. The pandemic briefly disrupted supply chains and caused a spike in 2021, but apparel prices quickly normalized. Several factors kept apparel inflation at the bottom of the rankings:

• Global manufacturing competition (Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia) keeps production costs low
• Fast fashion retailers compete aggressively on price, including Shein entering the U.S. market at scale
• Supply chain disruptions were shorter-lived in apparel than in vehicles or commodities
• Consumer willingness to trade down to private label is high

Other Goods & Services: +17.4% (3.3% annualized)

This catch-all category includes personal care products, tobacco, haircuts, and funeral expenses. It came in below the national average, with inflation primarily driven by services (haircuts, personal care) rather than goods. Personal care products faced similar supply chain pressures as other consumer goods but largely normalized by 2023.

Why did some categories deflate while others surged?

The divergence in category inflation rates reflects three structural forces:

Supply chain concentration

Categories most dependent on a small number of globally concentrated suppliers or critical inputs were hit hardest. Semiconductors (auto industry), grain exports (food), and refined petroleum (energy and transportation) are all highly concentrated. A disruption in any single chokepoint — a Taiwan fab, a Ukrainian port, a Texas refinery — can cause outsized price spikes with long recovery times.

Labor intensity

Service categories that are difficult to automate — housing construction, restaurant meals, medical care, auto repair — absorbed rising labor costs directly into prices. From 2020 to 2022, average hourly earnings in leisure and hospitality rose over 15%. These labor cost increases are sticky: wages rarely fall even when demand cools.

Tradability and global competition

Categories where goods are freely traded globally and face intense foreign competition — apparel, consumer electronics, toys — remained anchored by international price competition. A shirt can be sourced from 40 countries. A house cannot. This tradability gap explains why apparel ran at 1.7% annualized while housing ran at 5.2%.

What does this mean for your purchasing power?

A 2020 dollar is worth approximately $0.81 in 2025 at the overall 24.0% cumulative rate. But that average masks significant variation:

• In transportation terms, a 2020 dollar buys only $0.73 worth of transportation services in 2025
• In housing terms, a 2020 dollar buys $0.78 worth of housing
• In apparel terms, a 2020 dollar still buys $0.92 worth of clothing

The practical implication: if your income grew by 24% since 2020 (matching the national average), you broke even — but only if your spending exactly matches national averages. Most households spend more on housing, food, and transportation than the national average weights suggest, meaning most people experienced real purchasing power losses.

To measure the impact on a specific dollar amount, use our Inflation Price Calculator — enter any price from any year and see its equivalent in any other year, using actual BLS CPI data.

Frequently asked questions about inflation by spending category

Which spending category had the highest inflation since 2020?

Transportation had the highest cumulative inflation of any major BLS category from 2020 to 2025, rising 37.7% (6.6% annualized). This was driven by used car price spikes during the semiconductor shortage, elevated gasoline prices following the Russia-Ukraine war, and a sharp increase in auto insurance premiums.

Which spending category had the lowest inflation since 2020?

Apparel had the lowest cumulative inflation at 8.8% (1.7% annualized), less than half the national average. Global manufacturing competition, supply chain normalization, and aggressive pricing from fast-fashion retailers all suppressed clothing price growth throughout the period.

Why did egg prices rise so much faster than overall inflation?

Egg prices experienced severe supply shocks from avian influenza outbreaks independent of general inflationary pressure. The 2022-2023 outbreak led to the culling of over 58 million birds. Reduced supply against steady demand sent retail prices to record highs. A second avian flu wave in late 2024 renewed pressure into 2025.

Why did used car prices increase so much during inflation?

A global semiconductor shortage from 2021 to 2022 sharply cut new vehicle production. With new cars scarce or backordered, demand moved into the used market. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index rose over 50% at its peak. Prices have partially corrected but remain above pre-2020 levels.

How do I calculate what something costs today versus 2020?

Multiply the original price by (1 + cumulative inflation rate). A $200 monthly grocery bill in 2020 would cost approximately $255 in 2025 using the 27.3% food inflation rate. Use our Inflation Price Calculator to do this automatically for any amount and time period using official BLS data.

Data sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U sub-indices (annual averages, 2020-2025). BLS series IDs: CUUR0000SA0 (All Items), CUUR0000SAT (Transportation), CUUR0000SAH (Housing), CUUR0000SAF (Food & Beverages), CUUR0000SAE (Education & Communication), CUUR0000SAR (Recreation), CUUR0000SAM (Medical Care), CUUR0000SAC (Other Goods & Services), CUUR0000SAA (Apparel). Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (Cox Automotive). All figures independently verified against accurate.software calculators. Analysis by the staff at accurate.software.