What were annual inflation rates under Biden vs Trump by year?

1. A short chronology: how the recent cycles played out

Inflation rose sharply after the pandemic, reaching its Biden-era high of about 9.0–9.1% in summer 2022, then trended down into late 2024 where December 2024 measured about 2.9% year‑over‑year; when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 the year‑over‑year CPI was roughly 3.0%, and through much of 2025 readings clustered around 2.7–3.0% depending on the metric ^{[6] [7] [4] [5]}.

2. The headline numbers people cite — average rates vs. peaks

Multiple actors use different averages and timespans. Several outlets and analysts report Biden’s four‑year average inflation near 4.95% (often rounded to “about 5%”) while White House and allied materials cite a nearly 5% average for Biden and a roughly 2.5–2.7% average for Trump’s early months — figures that are mathematically defensible depending on which months are included and whether the measure is CPI, core CPI, or PCE ^{[1] [2] [3] [8]}.

3. Apples and oranges: which index and which months matter

Inflation claims hinge on choices: monthly year‑over‑year CPI, core CPI (excluding food and energy), or the Fed‑preferred PCE index can produce different short‑term readings. For example, core inflation readings under Trump were reported around 3.0% in some months, slightly below Biden’s last months, but that difference is sensitive to whether one uses December 2024, January 2025, or a later rolling average ^{[5] [9] [10]}.

4. Political messaging vs. independent fact checks

The Trump White House has repeatedly touted big improvements — “inflation has dropped to an average of just 2.7%” — while fact‑checking outlets and reporters note those claims omit context (which months are averaged, which inflation measure) and sometimes compare a single Biden peak to an early Trump average in a misleading way ^{[2] [11] [12] [13]}. Independent reporters document that the inflation rate at the moment Trump took office was about 3.0% and that subsequent modest declines in core measures have produced mixed conclusions depending on the metric used ^{[7] [5] [10]}.

5. What “average under a president” actually means — and its limits

A presidential “average” is a convenient sound bite but conceals timing: Biden inherited very low inflation in early 2021, saw a dramatic surge into 2022, then a multiyear descent; Trump’s early term numbers reflect inherited momentum plus policy changes (including tariffs) whose inflationary effects may lag. Analysts warn that short windows (first 6–12 months) are too brief to attribute causation decisively to a president rather than to monetary policy, supply shocks and prior fiscal choices ^{[6] [9] [13]}.

6. The disagreement among sources — where they converge and diverge

Sources agree on the facts that Biden’s peak year‑over‑year CPI hit roughly 9.0–9.1% in 2022 and that inflation fell to about 3% by early 2025 ^{[6] [7]}. They diverge on interpretation: the White House and allied pages frame Trump’s early average as a victory (about 2.5–2.7%), while independent fact‑checkers and news outlets say those comparisons can be misleading and note some measures rose again later in 2025 ^{[2] [8] [11] [13]}.

7. Practical takeaway for readers asking “what were the rates by year?”

Available sources give these broad, consistent anchors: Biden-era annual averages cluster near about 5% (2021–2024 average ≈4.9–5.0%) with a 2022 peak ≈9.0–9.1%; Trump’s second‑term early months averaged in the high‑2s to about 3.0% depending on the measure, and administration averages of 2.5–2.7% reflect selective time windows ^{[1] [6] [3] [4]}.

Limitations and next steps: the sources provided do not list a complete, month‑by‑month table of official BLS or BEA annual rates for every calendar year; to produce an exact year‑by‑year numeric table you should consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI annual figures or the BEA PCE series directly (not found in current reporting).