From $6 eggs to $50,000 cars, these charts show how inflation has defined the past 5 years
Five years ago, few imagined grocery runs would inspire sticker shock or that a very average new car would flirt with a $50,000 price tag. Yet from 2020 through 2024, inflation reshaped American prices, paychecks, and priorities. A pandemic-driven demand surge, supply snarls, war-driven energy spikes, and a forceful policy response combined to produce the fastest inflation in four decades—followed by a bumpy, uneven comedown. The result is a new price level that’s broadly higher—roughly 20% above 2019 on average—with the steepest jumps concentrated in essentials like food, housing, cars, and insurance.
Below is a guided tour of the past five years, using eight “charts” you can imagine—what they would show, why they moved, and what stuck versus what reversed.
Chart 1: The big picture—headline vs. core inflation, 2019–2024
– What it would show: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbing from pre-pandemic calm to a June 2022 peak near 9% year over year, then moderating through 2023–2024. Core inflation (which strips out food and energy) peaks later and cools more slowly.
– Why it moved: Pandemic stimulus and pent-up demand collided with supply shortages. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lifted global energy and food prices. As supply chains healed and the Federal Reserve raised rates aggressively, headline inflation fell, but core services stayed sticky.
Chart 2: Groceries—food at home vs. the egg shock
– What it would show: Food-at-home prices rising about a quarter cumulatively since 2019, with a pronounced 2021–2022 hump. A dramatic spike in eggs in late 2022–early 2023—when avian flu constraints met surging input costs—sent retail prices in many stores above $5–$6 per dozen before easing.
– Why it moved: Weather, disease, energy, and fertilizer costs hit agricultural supply at the same time consumers were eating at home more. As supply normalized, most grocery inflation cooled, but the new baseline stayed higher than pre-pandemic.
Chart 3: Cars—new vs. used, and the march toward $50,000
– What it would show: Used-car prices rocketing in 2021 as chip shortages crippled new-car production, then partially reversing. New-vehicle prices steadily rising roughly 15–20% from 2019 levels, with average transaction prices hovering near $50,000 at the 2022–2023 peak before modest discounts returned.
– Why it moved: A once-in-a-century parts shortage met strong demand and cheap financing. As inventories recovered and rates rose, used-car prices cooled more visibly than new-car prices. Monthly payments stayed high because auto loan rates and insurance both jumped.
Chart 4: Shelter—rents and owners’ costs keep inflation elevated
– What it would show: A delayed but persistent rise in CPI shelter (rent and owners’ equivalent rent), peaking well after market rents did. Even as new-lease asking rents cooled in 2023, reported shelter inflation stayed hot because it updates gradually.
– Why it moved: Pandemic-era moves and low rates pushed up home prices; later, 30-year mortgage rates more than doubled from their lows, crimping affordability and keeping would-be sellers put. Chronic underbuilding magnified the squeeze.
Chart 5: Home prices vs. mortgage rates—affordability shock
– What it would show: Home prices rising sharply from 2020 through 2022, retreating in some markets, then re-accelerating in 2024 amid scarce listings. Mortgage rates leaping from around 3% to 7%+ at times, driving the largest affordability hit in decades.
– Why it moved: A supply shortfall, remote-work reshuffling, and low initial rates lifted prices; later, higher rates locked in owners and kept inventory tight, propping up prices even as borrowing costs surged.
Chart 6: Energy—gasoline whiplash
– What it would show: A rapid run-up in gasoline prices into mid-2022, followed by a volatile comedown. Utility bills and electricity also stepped higher as natural gas prices spiked and then eased.
– Why it moved: War, refinery constraints, and post-pandemic demand drove global energy swings. Energy fed directly into inflation—and into everything shipped, heated, or manufactured.
Chart 7: Goods vs. services—role reversal
– What it would show: Physical goods inflation dominating in 2021–2022 (cars, furniture, appliances), then cooling or even turning negative for some categories in 2023–2024. Services inflation (rent, travel, insurance, medical, dining) proving stickier and keeping overall inflation elevated.
– Why it moved: Supply chains healed and shipping costs fell, relieving goods prices. Services depend more on wages and local capacity; with a strong labor market, they cooled more slowly.
Chart 8: Paychecks—wages vs. prices
– What it would show: Nominal wages rising quickly but trailing inflation in 2021–2022, then catching up as inflation fell. Real wages dipped, then gradually recovered for many workers, with variation by industry and income level.
– Why it moved: A tight labor market boosted pay, especially at the low end. But when prices surge faster than wages, purchasing power shrinks. As inflation cooled, pay gains began to “feel” real again—though the level of prices remained elevated.
How it changed everyday life
– Budget math got harder. Households traded down to private labels, shopped promotions, and cut discretionary buys to afford bigger bills for rent, insurance, and car payments.
– Price transparency eroded. “Shrinkflation” (smaller packages, same price) and fees proliferated, complicating comparison shopping.
– Big purchases were delayed. High financing costs—on cars, homes, and appliances—pushed many buyers to wait, repair, or buy used.
What reversed—and what probably won’t
– Likely to stick: A higher overall price level; structurally costlier services such as housing and insurance; pricier labor-intensive experiences (dining out, childcare).
– Partly reversed: Used-car prices, some durable goods (electronics, furniture) as supply normalized.
– Still in flux: New-vehicle pricing as incentives return; rental inflation as new apartments come online; energy depending on geopolitics and the pace of the energy transition.
Policy’s imprint
– The Federal Reserve lifted interest rates from near zero to the highest in over two decades to quell inflation. That slowed credit-sensitive sectors (housing, autos) and helped bring headline inflation down from its 2022 peak.
– Fiscal support early in the pandemic cushioned incomes and sped the recovery, but also added to demand. Later, supply-chain fixes, a rebound in labor supply (including immigration), and cooling global commodity prices aided disinflation.
The bottom line
The inflation story of the past five years is a tale of two arcs: a rapid climb powered by once-in-a-lifetime shocks and an uneven descent that left prices—and expectations—reset higher. Eggs won’t always be $6 and not every car will cost $50,000, but the era of ultra-cheap essentials appears over. Going forward, the pace of inflation may keep easing, especially in goods, yet the stickier parts—shelter, services, and insurance—will likely define how “expensive” everyday life continues to feel.
Data notes and sources to recreate the charts
– Prices and inflation: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI and sub-indexes: food at home, eggs, new/used vehicles, shelter, energy, services ex-energy)
– Wages: BLS Average Hourly Earnings; Atlanta Fed Wage Growth Tracker; real wages deflated by CPI or PCE
– Autos: Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index; Kelley Blue Book/Edmunds for average transaction prices; auto loan APRs from Federal Reserve/finance trackers
– Housing: S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index; Zillow/Apartment List for asking rents; BLS shelter CPI; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for rates
– Energy: AAA national average gasoline; EIA for fuel and utility prices
Rebuilding these visuals with monthly data from 2019 to 2024 will show the same outline: a sharp peak, a gradual comedown, and a new normal where the composition of inflation—less about goods, more about services—matters as much as the headline number.
