About
Prices, paychecks, and the data behind them
Chart the Cost explains the cost of living with official numbers and clear charts. Our rule is simple: show the receipt. Every number comes with a source you can check.
Where our numbers come from
- Prices: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, and BLS Average Price Data.
- Pay: BLS Current Employment Statistics (average hourly earnings) and Current Population Survey (median weekly earnings).
- Regional costs: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; U.S. Census Bureau.
- U.S. federal statistics are public domain. When we use other sources, we credit them as their licenses require.
How we calculate
- Price changes compare the same month in two years (e.g. September 2000 vs September 2026), so seasonal effects cancel out.
- "Real" means adjusted for inflation using CPI-U.
- Each video description and chart lists the exact BLS series IDs used.
- BLS adjusts some products (TVs, computers, software) for quality changes. We say so whenever it matters.
What we don't do
- No financial advice. We explain data. We don't tell anyone what to buy, sell or invest in.
- No partisan spin. We report numbers and documented causes, not blame.
- No borrowed content. Every chart and video is made by us from public data.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it publicly: a pinned correction on the video, an updated description, and an entry here. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].
No corrections yet.
Disclosures
If we ever use affiliate links or sponsors, they'll be clearly labeled next to the link and in the video. We sell our own spreadsheet tools, and they're always labeled as ours.