Have you ever found yourself standing at a supermarket checkout, watching the total climb past what you remember paying for the same items a few years ago, and wondered whether the prices you are experiencing are part of a broader pattern or simply your own selective memory making the past seem cheaper than it was? The question of how costs have changed since 2018 is one of the most practically significant economic questions facing households, businesses, and governments across the world — and the answer, across virtually every major category of goods and services, is that costs have increased substantially, driven by a sequence of economic disruptions whose combined effect has produced the most significant inflationary episode in most developed economies in four decades. This blog examines what has happened to costs since 2018, why it happened, which categories have been most affected, and what the outlook suggests going forward.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer — Costs Have Increased Substantially
The direct answer to the question is unambiguous. Overall prices are up about 25% since January 2020, based on CPI data — more than double the roughly 10% cumulative inflation seen in the five years before that. When the baseline is extended back to 2018, the cumulative increase is even more significant — incorporating two years of modest pre-pandemic inflation before the extraordinary price surge that followed.
The years since 2018 represent one of the most significant inflationary periods in modern economic history — characterised by a prolonged low-inflation phase from 2018 to 2020, followed by a historic inflation surge beginning in 2021 that peaked in 2022 and has since moderated, though prices themselves remain at the elevated levels reached during the surge rather than returning to 2018 or 2019 baselines.
The Year-by-Year Story — How Costs Changed
Understanding the cost trajectory since 2018 requires distinguishing between the rate of inflation — how quickly prices are rising — and the cumulative price level — how much higher prices are compared to a base period. Prices that are rising more slowly than before are still rising, and they are rising from an already elevated base.
2018–2019: The pre-pandemic period was characterised by low, stable inflation. Annual rates of inflation are calculated using 12-month selections of the Consumer Price Index. Inflation ran at approximately 2% annually during this period — broadly in line with the Federal Reserve’s target and with the historical average of the preceding decade. For most households, costs were rising predictably and modestly.
2020: The pandemic year produced a temporary deflationary shock in some categories — energy prices collapsed as global demand fell — alongside sharp increases in specific goods categories as supply chains broke down and consumer spending shifted dramatically from services to goods. The overall inflation rate for 2020 was modest by historical standards.
2021: The inflationary episode that would define the economic experience of the early 2020s began in earnest. Gasoline prices surged dramatically — gasoline prices rose 49.6 per cent in 2021. Supply chain disruptions, pent-up consumer demand, and extraordinary fiscal stimulus combined to drive the broadest and most rapid price increases seen in the United States since the early 1980s.
2022: Inflation reached its peak. Food prices peaked at a 9.9 percent rise in 2022. Energy costs, food costs, housing costs, and most services categories all experienced significant simultaneous price increases — producing the most severe consumer cost pressure in four decades.
2023–2024: Inflation moderated significantly, driven by falling energy prices and the gradual resolution of supply chain disruptions. The Consumer Price Index increased 2.9 per cent from December 2023 to December 2024. This was a slower rate of increase than in the three previous 12-month periods ending in December. But moderation in the rate of inflation did not mean prices fell — it meant prices continued rising, just more slowly.
2025: The Consumer Price Index for all items rose 2.7 per cent from December 2024 to December 2025. Inflation had returned broadly toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, though specific categories continued to experience above-average increases.
Early 2026: The all items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending January 2026, after rising 2.7 percent for the year ending December 2025. However, U.S. inflation remained elevated in April, with the annual rate climbing to its highest level in nearly three years as energy and food prices increased.
Which Categories Have Increased Most
The cost increases since 2018 have not been uniform across all spending categories. Some areas have experienced extraordinary price growth; others have been more modest.
Housing and Shelter — The Most Persistent Pressure
Housing costs have been among the most significant and most sustained contributors to the cost-of-living increase since 2018. Prices for housing increased at a rate of 4.1 per cent per year over the 2023–2025 period. When the cumulative housing cost increases since 2018 are considered – incorporating the pandemic-era surge in both rental and purchase costs – the housing affordability crisis is the most acutely felt dimension of cost increases for most households.
The specific dynamics of housing cost inflation differ between renters and homeowners. For renters, sustained rent increases above general inflation rates have significantly increased the share of household income dedicated to housing. For potential homebuyers, the combination of substantially higher home prices and significantly higher mortgage interest rates — rising from historic lows near 3% in 2020–2021 to above 7% in 2023–2024 — has dramatically increased the monthly cost of purchasing a home.
Food — Significant Cumulative Increases Despite Recent Moderation
Food prices rose by 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2.9 per cent in 2025, slower than they had increased during 2020–2023. Food-at-home prices increased by 1.2 percent in 2024 and 2.3 percent in 2025, lower than their historical average pace of growth. However, these modest recent increases follow the dramatic 2021–2023 surge — meaning the cumulative food cost increase since 2018 remains very substantial.
Food prices increased 3.1 percent from December 2024 to December 2025, reflecting a 2.4-percent increase in prices for food at home and a 4.1-percent increase in prices for food away from home. Within food categories, the variation is significant — prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 5.1 percent, while within this larger category, prices for beverage materials including coffee and tea rose 11.8 percent. Prices increased for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.
The egg market deserves specific mention as one of the most dramatic recent examples of food cost volatility — driven by the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak that began in 2022 and has continued to affect supply. An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza that began in 2022 caused egg prices to rise in early 2025.
Medical Care — Steady Above-Average Increases
Medical care prices rose 3.2 percent in 2025, following an increase of 2.8 percent in 2024. Prices for hospital and related services rose 6.7 percent, their largest December-to-December increase since 2010. Prices increased for prescription drugs, physicians’ services, and nonprescription drugs.
Healthcare costs have consistently grown faster than general inflation across the entire period since 2018 — representing a compounding additional burden for households managing both the direct costs of healthcare and the premium costs of health insurance.
Energy — Volatile but Net Higher Since 2018
Energy costs represent the most volatile category in the inflation data — subject to large swings in both directions depending on global commodity markets. Gasoline prices continued to decline, falling 3.4 percent in 2025, 3.4 percent in 2024, and 1.9 percent in 2023 — but these declines came after gasoline prices rose 49.6 percent in 2021.
Utility costs have been more consistently upward — prices increased for utility gas service (10.8 percent), fuel oil (7.4 percent), and electricity (6.7 percent) in 2025 alone.
Vehicle and Transportation Costs
Vehicle costs experienced extraordinary increases during the supply-chain disruption of 2021–2022 — when semiconductor shortages constrained new vehicle production and used vehicle prices surged dramatically. These increases have partially reversed — prices rose for used cars and trucks (1.6 percent) and new vehicles (0.3 percent) in 2025, relatively modest compared to peak increases — but new vehicle costs remain substantially above 2018 levels in absolute terms.
The Cumulative Effect on Household Budgets
The statistics capture individual category increases, but the psychological and practical experience of cost increases is cumulative — the sum of higher grocery bills, higher housing costs, higher utility bills, higher medical costs, and higher insurance premiums arriving simultaneously.
The cumulative effect of those increases continues to strain household budgets. “We’re all comparing our grocery bills to what our money could buy in 2019 and not walking away with a warm and fuzzy feeling,” said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Bank.
Wages have largely kept up with inflation since 2020 by most federal measures of income, according to a July 2025 report from Brookings. Still, not every worker has seen those gains. “Wage gains tend to be higher for higher-skilled workers than lower-skilled workers, and in industries like financial services, information services and manufacturing sectors.”
This distributional dimension of inflation — the gap between who experienced wage gains and who did not — explains much of the persistent consumer dissatisfaction with economic conditions even as headline inflation rates have moderated. “The cost of living still feels like it’s rising for households who are now paying a lot more for food, electricity and housing than they were for several years before inflation shot up,” said Atsi Sheth, chief credit officer at Moody’s Ratings.
The Specific Categories Where Costs Decreased
Not all costs have increased since 2018 — and identifying the categories that have declined or remained stable provides important context for the overall picture.
Technology products — including computers, smartphones, and consumer electronics — have followed their historical pattern of declining prices as manufacturing efficiency and technological advancement reduce production costs. Communication services, including cellular phone plans, have generally remained stable or decreased per unit of service delivered.
Apparel costs have been more variable — subject to the competing forces of wage cost increases in manufacturing and the competitive pressure of global retail supply chains. Some recreational goods have benefited from manufacturing scale and improved production technology.
Prices for airline fares decreased 3.4 percent after rising 7.9 percent the prior year in 2025 — reflecting the cyclical and highly competitive dynamics of the aviation industry. However, airline fares remain substantially above pre-pandemic levels in absolute terms.
The Global Dimension — Is This Uniquely American?
The cost increases since 2018 are not exclusively a US phenomenon—they reflect global forces that have simultaneously affected most developed economies. Supply chain disruptions following the pandemic were global. The energy price shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was acute across Europe. Labour market tightening and wage increases have occurred in most developed economies.
Per global economic research, the inflationary episode of 2021–2023 was among the most globally synchronised since the 1970s — meaning that comparisons of cost experiences across countries are illuminating. The UK, Europe, Australia, and Canada all experienced similar, or in some cases more severe, inflationary episodes than the United States, driven by the same underlying global forces.
The Outlook — Where Costs Are Headed
In 2026, overall food prices are predicted to rise 2.9 per cent. Food-away-from-home prices are predicted to rise 3.6 per cent, faster than their 20-year historical average rate of price increase. Food-at-home prices are predicted to rise 2.4 per cent, slower than their 20-year historical average rate of price increase.
The broader inflation outlook for 2026 is complicated by new economic policy uncertainties — including the potential impact of new tariff policies on import prices and supply chains. The all-items index rose 3.8 per cent for the 12 months ending April, after rising 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending March. The energy index increased 17.9 per cent for the 12 months ending April. This April 2026 re-acceleration of inflation reflects in part the tariff-related price pressures beginning to feed through to consumer prices.
A Summary of Cost Changes Since 2018
| Category | Direction Since 2018 | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Overall CPI (all items) | Increased significantly | ~30%+ cumulative |
| Housing / Shelter | Increased substantially | Largest household burden |
| Food at home | Increased substantially | Significant cumulative increase |
| Food away from home | Increased substantially | Above historical average |
| Medical care | Increased steadily | Consistently above CPI |
| Energy (utilities) | Increased | High volatility, net higher |
| Gasoline | Volatile — net higher | Major 2021 surge, partial reversal |
| New and used vehicles | Increased significantly | Pandemic surge, partial moderation |
| Technology / electronics | Decreased or stable | Historical deflationary trend |
| Communication services | Stable or slight decrease | Competitive market dynamics |
Key Takeaways
The answer to whether costs have increased or decreased since 2018 is clear and consistent across virtually every major spending category that matters to household budgets — they have increased, substantially, with the most significant increases concentrated in housing, food, energy, healthcare, and vehicles. Overall prices are up about 25% since January 2020 — more than double the roughly 10% cumulative inflation seen in the five years before that.
The experience of these cost increases has not been uniform across households — those with wage growth, asset ownership, and financial flexibility have navigated the period considerably more comfortably than those dependent on fixed incomes, lower-wage employment, or without the financial buffers that absorb cost shocks. This distributional dimension is as important as the aggregate statistics for understanding the genuine human impact of the cost increases since 2018.
Inflation has moderated significantly from its 2022 peak — but moderation means prices are rising more slowly, not that they are returning to 2018 or 2019 levels. The prices reached during the inflationary surge are largely permanent features of the new cost landscape, and household financial planning that proceeds from pre-2020 cost assumptions is planning from a baseline that no longer exists.
The feeling that everything costs more than it used to is not selective memory or confirmation bias — it is an accurate assessment of a genuine and substantial shift in the purchasing power of a dollar that has occurred across the seven years since 2018.
