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A monthly explainer generated directly from Basket Index data. Republished by Basket Index, attributed to public BLS, FRED, and EIA sources.
As of Mar 2026 · Base 100 = Jan 2020
Generated from Mar 2026's observations.
As of March 2026, the Basket Index for a US family of 4 sits at 134.3 — meaning the cost of a standard household basket has risen 3.6% versus a year ago and is up 2.69% from the previous month.
Most of the move comes from gasoline (regular unleaded), rent of primary residence, electricity (residential) and ground beef (100% beef). Together these items account for roughly 92% of the year-over-year basket cost change.
Offsetting the increases: eggs (grade a, large) (-60.2%), bread (white loaf) (-6.1%), chicken (whole, fresh) (-0.9%) are cheaper than a year ago.
Inflation is rarely caused by one thing. Energy prices feed into food production and shipping; rent moves with housing supply and interest rates; and grocery prices respond to supply shocks, weather, and demand patterns. Basket Index does not claim causality — it tracks the prices households actually face, and lets you see which categories are pulling the basket up.
Year-over-year change for each item, ranked by contribution to the basket move.
Items down year-over-year, helping offset the rise.
One email a month. The Basket Index reading, biggest movers, one chart.