The highest inflation in US history was estimated at 30% in 1778

US inflation can generally be split into to two periods—before and after the Federal Reserve

A central bank itself does not mean significant inflation will occur, but economists generally point to factors like two world wars and the printing of money to finance the US federal deficit as primary drivers of price increases.

Inflation was a word before deflation was

The word inflation has Latin roots and technically means an influx of air, first appearing in the English language in the 1890s to describe bike tires. Deflation's first known mention in an economic text was in 1919.

Wedding cost increases have outpaced inflation

The cost of the average US wedding rose by 13.79% between 2023 and 2024, whereas the inflation rate during the same time period was roughly 2.9%.

College tuition has climbed 600% in 40 years

The cost of attending college has outpaced inflation in the US. Tuition has climbed more than 600% in the past 40 years; more than three times the inflation rate. Many students have racked up student loans to cover rising college costs, while others have chosen not to attend college altogether.

You can find the value of a dollar dating back to 1635

The value of a dollar hasn’t been consistent throughout history. An inflation calculator lets you compare the value of dollars from any two years over the past four centuries.

In the 1970s, the US experienced a period of stagflation

It was characterized by high inflation, slow economic growth, and high unemployment. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors, including loose monetary policy that spurred excess demand and spiraling oil prices caused by an OPEC embargo in 1973.

Since 1913, Americans have paid income taxes at varying rates

In the 2020s, the top marginal tax rate has floated around 37%, relatively lower than previous eras. Some have called for boosting the rate significantly to tax the highest earners.

US cities where inflation is rising the most

WalletHub compared 22 major metropolitan areas to see how inflation has risen in the last year using the Consumer Price Index, which describes the average cost of a basket of goods. As of April 2024, Honolulu, Hawaii, clocked in with the greatest year-over-year change in prices, with inflation close to 5%. See the full list here.

Average three-month CD rates reached a historical high of 18.65% in December 1980

Comparatively, average three-month CD rates reached a low of 0.09% in June 2021 amid the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic. When inflation began to rise in 2022, the Fed began initiating rate hikes to incentivize saving.

The causes of American rebellion were multifaceted

British taxes on colonists to pay for the French and Indian War were just one element. Thousands of miles of separation between London and the Colonies, expanding territories, a distinct Colonial identity, and political conflicts combined to prompt the Revolution.

In President Trump's first year of his second term, inflation fell from 3% year-over-year in January 2025 to 2.7% in December

While the price of eggs and bread went down over Trump's first year in office during his second term, coffee and beef prices rose. Utility bills and home insurance continued to surge, but mortgage rates, rent, and home prices began to stabilize in 2025.

The US has carried debt since 1791

After the Revolutionary War, the US owed $75M to nations like France. Debt builds when spending exceeds revenue, funding programs, wars, and economic recovery efforts. Most debt is domestic, like Social Security bonds, with foreign nations also holding a share.

The US unemployment rate soared to over 24% during the Great Depression

The Great Depression was a devastating and prolonged economic recession that followed the crash of the US stock market in 1929.

Venezuela is experiencing hyperinflation

Consumer prices in the country have risen at a fairly quick rate since 1983, but a series of policy miscalculations, falling oil prices, and other factors have sparked extreme levels of inflation since 2017, with citizens losing faith in the value of the national currency.

A boom hit after WWI, with consumerism usurping frugality as an American value

When American soldiers returned home after WWI in the 1920s, they found a country ready to spend money, make a home, and indulge in creature comforts after wartime rationing. This uptick in US wealth and production led to job opportunities for advertising experts.

Financial advice from America’s founding fathers

Several of America's founding fathers—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton—espoused various financial platitudes during their lives. According to the financial publication Kiplinger, much of their advice holds up in modern times. This article rounds up a few wise words from the founding fathers (and even one first lady) about compound interest, taxes, and education. For money-management tips from America's early days, click here.

Colonial Americans used tobacco, wampum, and land-backed notes to solve a chronic coin shortage

British coins rarely circulated in the colonies due to an unfavorable trade balance, forcing colonists to improvise. They traded in Spanish dollars, Native American shells, tobacco warehouse receipts, and eventually paper money backed by land rather than gold.

Revolutionary War reenactments have taken place for centuries

The first known reenactment of the war occurred in 1778, while the war was still ongoing. A journal entry from a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army remarked that soldiers had commemorated a “Glorious victory obtained over the British” at Saratoga with “a Grand sham fight.”

Hamilton's tax on whiskey sparked the first armed rebellion against US federal authority

As Treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton designed an excise tax on whiskey that provoked violent resistance in western Pennsylvania. The Whiskey Rebellion ended when George Washington mobilized state militias under federal authority to enforce the law.

The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history

Between 1861 and 1865, an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers died from battle and disease—more than in all other US wars combined.

George Washington spent thousands of dollars on ice cream in a single summer

Records show that America's first president purchased a "cream machine for ice" as early as 1784. An accounting record from 1790 reveals that Washington spent $200—roughly equivalent to $6,300 today—on ice cream.

The first US stock exchange dates back to the 1790s in Philadelphia

Only two years after that stock exchange in Philadelphia started, the largest stock exchange in the US to date was created: the New York Stock Exchange.

This is the longest the US has gone without a minimum wage increase since 1938

The US government hasn’t increased the federal minimum wage in more than a decade. Some people argue it's wrong that Congress needs to debate whether or not to raise the minimum wage—and that perhaps these raises should be tied to inflation.

The S&P 500 yields a roughly 10.5% average annual return

Tthe factors that go into that calculation are multifaceted—from how inflation impacts it to the stocks themselves. During periods of high inflation, stock performance can be stunted by investor concerns, for instance. The average return also varies based on whether dividends are included.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The numbers on US wine consumption

Ever wonder how much wine the average American drank in 1949? Wonder no more! The answer is 0.89 gallons. That’s way less than 2022, where the number has quadrupled to 2.86 gallons. Check out this simple table that tracks average United States wine consumption from 1934 through 2022, by individuals and as a whole. American wine consumption peaked during the early pandemic but has lessened since then.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.