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How does Biden's inflation rate compare to previous US presidents?
Executive summary
Joe Biden’s term saw a sharp spike in consumer prices early in his presidency — a 12‑month peak of 9.1% CPI in June 2022 — and an average year‑over‑year inflation rate over his four years reported in sources as roughly 4.95%–5.3% depending on the calculation (Investopedia: 4.95%; RealClearPolitics: ~5.3%) [1] [2] [3]. Inflation cooled later in his term to around 3.0% by January 2025, but real wages across Biden’s four years were reported to have fallen modestly because price growth outpaced wage gains [4] [1].
1. Biden’s inflation headline: the 2022 spike and the later cooling
The defining inflation moment of the Biden presidency was the 12 months ending June 2022, when headline CPI rose 9.1% — the largest 12‑month jump in over 40 years — driven by pandemic recovery effects, energy shocks after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, supply bottlenecks and fiscal stimulus according to contemporary summaries [1]. After the peak, inflation declined through 2023–24 as the Federal Reserve tightened policy; by January 2025 year‑over‑year CPI was about 3.0%, and the Fed began easing policy as inflation approached but remained above its 2% target [4] [1].
2. Measuring “Biden’s inflation”: averages, totals, and purchasing power
Different reporters and analysts present Biden’s inflation in different metrics: Investopedia calculated an average year‑over‑year inflation of 4.95% for Biden’s term, while other summaries report total price increases over four years equivalent to roughly a 21–21.4% rise (about 5.3% per year by simple division) [2] [3]. Texas A&M analysis emphasizes the distributional effect: wages rose but not enough to fully offset the price surge, leaving real (inflation‑adjusted) average hourly earnings down about 1.3% across Biden’s term [4].
3. How this compares to immediate successor and predecessor snapshots
Contemporary coverage of the period after Biden shows inflation had moderated by the time he left office (around 3.0%–3.2% depending on the month) and then moved modestly under the next administration: some outlets report a similar or slightly higher headline rate under Trump’s early months (about 3.0%); core measures (excluding food and energy) showed small declines from Biden’s last full month to September 2025 (from roughly 3.2% to 3.0%) [5] [6]. Analysts note that whether inflation “improved” depends on which measure you use and which months you compare [6].
4. Political framing and competing narratives
Political communications framed the numbers very differently. The Trump White House characterized Biden’s four years as an “inflation disaster,” citing averages and lost purchasing power [7]. Independent outlets and fact‑checking sites underscore nuance: the worst spike did occur under Biden (9.1% peak), inflation fell from that peak but remained elevated for years, and political claims about whose policies “caused” or “ended” inflation are contested and sensitive to metric choice [1] [6].
5. What economists and outlets highlighted as causes and consequences
Coverage attributes the 2021–22 surge to a mix of pandemic‑era fiscal stimulus, supply disruptions, energy shocks from the war in Ukraine, and labor/market dynamics — plus monetary policy responses by the Fed that eventually brought inflation down [1] [4]. Commentators also linked persistent public frustration to slow recovery in real wages and cost pressures, which had political consequences for both administrations [8] [9].
6. Limits of the available reporting and what’s not in these sources
Available sources do not provide a single, definitive “Biden vs. every prior president” ranked table using one standardized presidential‑term inflation metric; they offer multiple measures (yearly averages, four‑year total, peaks, core vs headline) and emphasize different aspects, like wage purchasing power or short‑term trends (not found in current reporting). Precise comparisons across all past presidents using identical methodologies are not presented in these specific articles; Investopedia gives a cross‑presidential series but other outlets focus on recent administrations [2].
7. Bottom line for readers: read the metric, not only the headline
When asked “How does Biden’s inflation compare to previous presidents,” the correct answer is conditional: Biden presided over the largest single‑year CPI spike in decades (9.1% in June 2022) and higher-than‑target average inflation across his term (roughly 4.95%–5.3% by available calculations), but inflation did decline substantially by the end of his term and the political debate centers on causes, timing and wage‑adjusted impacts rather than a single number [1] [2] [4].