U.S. Consumer Price Trends
Category Overview: median price trend per category. Item Detail: drill into individual items from the selected categories. Everything is compared with general inflation (CPI).
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Data & methodology
Uses the original Group 1 notebook’s cleaned dataset: 19 columns dropped, 160 missing prices filled using historical calendar-month changes, with linear interpolation for romaine lettuce. The same 55 items, category mapping, trailing 12-month averages, and year-over-year calculations are retained.
The straight dotted inflation line connects only the baseline and final CPI comparison; it is not the monthly CPI trajectory. Bargains are measured as item price change minus CPI change, in percentage points. Cost increase by category compares sums of item prices, as in the notebook. These sums mix source units and are illustrative, not a quantity-weighted household basket.
Price data: Kaggle / BLS, January 2015–July 2026. CPI: FRED CPIAUCSL, snapshot retrieved October 1, 2026. Internal CPI gaps are interpolated; comparison endpoints must have published CPI. Saved layout applies to this browser. Download full cleaned dataset.