GoKawiilA monthly dataset tracking the US Consumer Price Index from 1913 to present — decomposing 96.9% of cumulative purchasing power loss into four concentrated episodes that reshaped the American economy. Eco3min Research · Last updated: March 2026 · Frequency: Monthly · Coverage: Jan 1913 – Feb 2026
The US Consumer Price Index has tracked the cost of living since 1913, providing the longest continuous measure of inflation in the American economy. Over 113 years and 1,357 monthly observations, the CPI reveals a fundamental pattern that challenges the common perception of inflation as a slow, steady erosion: purchasing power destruction is not gradual. It arrives in concentrated bursts — episodic regime breaks separated by extended periods of relative stability. This page provides the complete monthly dataset with regime classification, episode tagging, and a decomposition analysis that quantifies exactly when and how the destruction occurred.
TL;DR The US dollar has lost 96.9% of its purchasing power since 1914 — but this destruction was not gradual. Four inflationary episodes (WWI, WWII and the post-war boom, the Great Inflation of 1968–1982, and the post-COVID surge of 2021–2023) account for 72% of the total cumulative price increase, despite spanning only 29% of the total time. Inflation is not a slow leak. It is a series of regime breaks.
Latest Observation — February 2026 327.5
CPI-U Index 2.4%
YoY Inflation $3.05
Value of $100 (1914) 3.3%
Rolling 10Y Ann. Rate
Key Research Findings The US dollar has lost 96.9% of its purchasing power since January 1914. The CPI index has risen from 10.0 to 327.5 — a 32.7× multiplier — according to BLS data (series CPIAUCSL, retrieved March 2026).
since January 1914. The CPI index has risen from 10.0 to 327.5 — a — according to BLS data (series CPIAUCSL, retrieved March 2026). This destruction was not gradual . Four concentrated inflationary episodes — WWI (1916–1920), WWII and the post-war boom (1941–1951), the Great Inflation (1968–1982), and the post-COVID surge (2021–2023) — account for 72% of the total cumulative price increase , despite spanning only 29% of the 113-year dataset.
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