Have Costs Increased or Decreased Since 2018?
Since 2018, Americans have experienced the most significant inflationary period in four decades. Here's what the data shows about how prices changed — and which categories saw the biggest increases.
The Short Answer
Costs have increased substantially since 2018 across nearly every major category of consumer spending. The United States experienced relatively moderate inflation from 2018 through 2020, followed by the sharpest inflationary surge since the early 1980s during the 2021-2023 period. The primary drivers included pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, unprecedented government stimulus spending, the 2022 energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine, and sustained demand that outpaced constrained supply. By 2026, inflation has moderated from its 2022 peak but prices have not returned to 2018 levels — they remain significantly elevated from where they were before the inflationary period began.
Overall Price Levels
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, measures the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. From January 2018 to the end of 2024, the CPI increased by approximately 28-32%, meaning that goods and services that collectively cost $100 in 2018 cost roughly $128-$132 by the end of that period.
This is a significant increase by historical standards. For comparison, the CPI increased approximately 14% during the entire 2010-2018 period — roughly the same time span. The 2021-2023 inflationary period compressed years’ worth of typical price increase into a much shorter window.
Housing Costs
Housing saw among the largest increases of any major spending category. The median sale price of an existing home in the United States was approximately $247,000 in January 2018. By 2023, it had reached $400,000 before moderating slightly. Rental prices rose substantially across most major metropolitan areas and many smaller cities, driven by insufficient housing supply, strong demographic demand from millennials entering the home-buying market, and the migration patterns accelerated by remote work.
Mortgage rates added an additional cost burden: the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was approximately 4.4% in 2018, fell to historic lows around 3% during 2020-2021, and then rose sharply to above 7% in 2023 — significantly increasing the monthly carrying cost of a home purchase at elevated prices.
Groceries and Food
Grocery prices rose sharply during the inflationary period. The BLS food-at-home index increased approximately 25% between 2018 and 2024. Eggs experienced particularly dramatic increases — from approximately $1.30-$1.50 per dozen in 2018 to over $3.00 and, during the 2023 avian flu outbreak, exceeding $5.00 per dozen in many markets. Beef, chicken, dairy, and bread all saw significant price increases.
Food-away-from-home (restaurant prices) also increased substantially — driven by higher ingredient costs, rising labor costs as restaurants competed for workers, and increased rental and operating costs. The average restaurant meal cost meaningfully more in 2024 than in 2018.
Energy Costs
Energy prices were highly volatile over this period. Gasoline prices were approximately $2.50-$2.80 per gallon nationally in 2018, fell sharply during the 2020 pandemic demand collapse, and then rose dramatically — reaching national averages above $5.00 per gallon in summer 2022 before retreating. Electricity prices increased as well, driven by utility infrastructure costs, fuel costs, and in some regions the costs of transitioning to renewable sources. Natural gas prices spiked sharply in 2022 due to the Ukraine war’s effect on global energy markets.
Healthcare and Insurance
Healthcare costs continued their long-term trend of increasing faster than general inflation. Health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored coverage increased consistently throughout this period. Drug prices, while subject to increasing political pressure and some policy intervention, remained elevated relative to other countries and continued rising for many products.
What Decreased in Cost
Not all costs increased. Electronics and technology products — smartphones, laptops, televisions, streaming services relative to their capability — generally became cheaper or offered more value for the same price. Streaming entertainment became broadly affordable during this period. Solar panels and batteries for home energy storage decreased substantially in cost per unit of production capacity. Some apparel categories, particularly basic goods, remained competitive due to global supply chains.
The Net Effect on Household Budgets
The cumulative effect of the 2021-2023 inflationary period on household budgets was significant and unevenly distributed. Lower-income households, which spend higher proportions of their income on food, rent, and energy (the categories with the highest inflation), were disproportionately affected. Higher-income households with significant asset holdings — particularly real estate and equities — saw the value of those assets increase through much of the same period, partially offsetting the purchasing-power erosion from inflation. The period since 2018 has been one of the more economically consequential for American household finances in recent decades, and its effects on savings, homeownership rates, and consumer confidence remain visible.