What was annual inflation rate each year of the Biden presidency?

1. The headline timeline: from low inflation to a historic spike

When Biden entered office, year‑over‑year CPI inflation was 1.4% (January 2021); inflation then climbed through 2021 and into 2022, peaking at about 9.1% in June 2022 — the highest reading in roughly 40 years — before entering a gradual descent ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Year‑by‑year framing journalists use

Reporting and retrospectives typically highlight 2021 as the year inflation accelerated from low pandemic‑era levels; 2022 as the year of the big jump (peaking at ~9.1%); 2023 as the year inflation fell significantly but remained above the Fed’s 2% target (with readings around 3% by mid‑2023); and 2024 as a year of further cooling though still above 2% for most months ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

3. Different metrics, different emphases: CPI vs. PCE and cumulative measures

Most coverage cited here uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year‑over‑year numbers and political calculations. The Federal Reserve prefers the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index; some partisan and congressional statements instead emphasize cumulative CPI increases since January 2021 (claims of ~17% or ~19–20% cumulative increases appear in GOP statements and committee releases) — these different choices change the headline story and political messaging ^{[3] [4] [2]}.

4. How analysts and outlets summarize the presidency on inflation

Mainstream outlets and fact‑checkers note that inflation “roared back” during Biden’s term, shrinking real paychecks and becoming a defining political liability; others place the surge in the context of the pandemic recovery, supply chains, energy price swings and fiscal stimulus ^{[2] [1] [6]}. Some partisan sources frame cumulative rises as a “20% inflation tax” attributable to administration policy ^{[4] [3]}.

5. Political narratives and competing agendas

Republican committees and some conservative analysts present cumulative CPI increases (e.g., 17.1% or 19.3% since Biden took office) as an indictment of Biden’s fiscal choices; neutral fact‑checks and mainstream business outlets stress timing (pandemic shocks, supply constraints, and global energy) and note the Fed’s decisive rate hikes beginning in 2022 as the key policy response ^{[4] [3] [2] [6]}.

6. What the numbers mean for households

Multiple sources report that inflation outpaced wage growth for many months under Biden, eroding purchasing power even as nominal incomes rose; fact‑check and data summaries show real median household income rose by 2024 relative to 2020 but that inflation remained the dominant political and economic story for voters ^{[2] [5]}.

7. Limits of available reporting and what’s not in these sources

The supplied sources do not list a neat, single row of calendar‑year CPI percentages for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 in one table. They provide key datapoints — 1.4% at inauguration, ~9.1% peak in June 2022, and declines toward ~3% by mid‑2023/2024 — and partisan cumulative totals ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Exact calendar‑year averages for each full year are not tabulated in the provided excerpts; those figures are not found in current reporting supplied here.

8. Bottom line for readers

Available sources agree on the arc: low inflation at the moment Biden took office, a sharp spike to roughly 9% in mid‑2022, and a multi‑year descent toward the Fed’s target but remaining above 2% through much of his term; political actors use either peak monthly rates or cumulative CPI since 2021 to push competing narratives ^{[1] [2] [3]}. For precise, year‑by‑year CPI percentages presented as a single table, consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the PCE series — those specific calendar‑year numbers are not consolidated in these articles and statements (not found in current reporting).