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Annual US Inflation Rate

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Sample iframe

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<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/personal-finance/sims/inflation-rate/main.html" height="450px" scrolling="no"></iframe>

About This MicroSim

This visualization displays 30 years of US inflation rates, helping students understand how prices change over time and why inflation matters for personal finance decisions. The chart shows annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes with interactive hover details.

Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives

After completing this activity, students will be able to:

  1. Define inflation and explain how it's measured
  2. Analyze historical inflation patterns and their causes
  3. Calculate how inflation erodes purchasing power
  4. Apply inflation considerations to long-term financial planning

Target Audience

High school students learning about economic concepts.

Prerequisites

  • Basic understanding of percentages
  • Familiarity with the concept of prices

Activities

  1. Exploration: Identify the highest and lowest inflation years in the past 30 years
  2. Calculation: Determine how much $100 from 1995 would buy today
  3. Analysis: Compare inflation during recession years vs growth years

Assessment

  • Explain what a 3% annual inflation rate means for purchasing power
  • Calculate the real return on a savings account earning 2% when inflation is 4%
  • Identify three factors that can cause higher inflation

References

  1. Bureau of Labor Statistics - CPI - Official US inflation data
  2. Federal Reserve Economic Data - Historical economic indicators
  3. Investopedia - Inflation - Educational resource