Affordability for key essentials remains a sticky issue in the United States. This graphic shows the cumulative rate of inflation across key goods and services in the U.S. between 2000 and September 2025.
Items with the highest inflation
Hospital services have consistently outpaced inflation over the past several decades, with costs rising a stunning 275% since 2000. For perspective, hospital services increased 6.9% annually as of June 2024, faster than nursing homes (6%), prescription drugs (2.4%), and overall inflation (3%). Today, nearly one in five dollars spent in the U.S. economy goes toward health care, up from one in 20 in 1960.
College tuition and fees have also skyrocketed, rising 196% since 2000. Factors driving up costs include the hiring of more faculty and increased spending to attract students. Additionally, state funding has seen a long-term downward trend, meaning that public colleges must rely more on tuition from students to fund operations.
Housing inflation has jumped 111%, compared to a 92% increase for all U.S. items. When interest rates hovered near 0% in 2020 during the pandemic, it turbocharged housing demand, leading prices to spike to multiple record highs, even as interest rates increased.
More broadly, prices for essential services have significantly outpaced overall inflation, fueled by consolidation and labor-intensive operations.
Items with the lowest inflation
Conversely, the inflation rate on some items is below the overall inflation rate, such as for new and used vehicles at 25%, averaging an annual increase of less than a percent. Like the housing market, however, prices for vehicles increased notably over the pandemic amid supply chain bottlenecks. On the other hand, software has seen a clear deflationary trend, driven by the rise of cloud computing and subscription models. TV prices are 98% lower than they were in 2000, thanks to technological advancements and rising manufacturing efficiency.
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