How Inflation Could Cost You by 2030 (2024)

Inflation is a measurement of how fast the prices of goods and services increase. As inflation rises, prices do too because it takes more dollars to buy the same things. Deflation is the opposite — it brings lower prices and more buying power.

Both inflation and deflation are tied to a complex web of economic factors — such as supply and demand, wages, government spending, taxes, and more.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a useful indicator of inflation or deflation. It's sort of a cost-of-living index, looking at price changes, over time, for the goods and services used by households.

The prices and predictions that follow are based on historical averages going back to 2000 for different areas of spending.

Average annual inflation rate: 2.39%¹

Housing could be almost 27% more expensive by 2030.¹ That means a house that costs $400,000 today could run you $506,388 in 10 years.

Depending on where you're buying in the future, you could be paying much more than that. In fact, by 2030, the average home in Washington state will probably run you $782,708.²

If you prefer the Aloha state, expect to fork over $889,627 for an average home. And topping the list for the fastest rising housing prices is California, where the average home will likely cost more than $1 million by 2030.²

Average annual inflation rate: 2.33%³

Food and drinks may be about 26% more expensive by 2030.³ That means a trip to the grocery store that costs you $250 now could set you back more than $314.³

If you like fresh fruit, your grocery bills could climb higher even sooner. That's because prices for fresh fruit have been rising at about twice the pace of meat, poultry, and fish.⁴

As food costs across the board continue to rise, they may not be the only thing about your food purchases that change by 2030. Your diet could, too. In fact, by 2030, more folks may give up red meat, replacing it with poultry and dairy products.⁵

Average annual inflation rate: 1.83%⁶

Health care could be 20% more expensive by 2030.⁶ That means care costing you $5,000 today could cost you ~$6,000 in 10 years.⁶

In 2021, a retired couple was projected to need $300,000 in savings to cover health care in retirement. In 2030, those costs could rise to over $350,000.⁷

Average annual inflation rate: 1.38%⁸

Fuel and transportation are likely to be nearly 15% more expensive by 2030.⁸ That means a car that costs $40,000 now could run you $45,858 in 10 years.⁸

However, electric vehicles (EVs) could act as a price disruptor. There could be as many as 145 million EVs on the road by 2030.⁹

Plus, some carmakers are working to cut the cost of batteries for EVs in half by 2030.¹⁰ Paired with self-driving technology, the transportation industry could look completely different in the next 10 years.

Average annual inflation rate: 4.93%¹¹

A public four-year university may be about 62% more expensive by 2030.¹¹ Annual tuition and fees of $4,000 today for a two-year college could cost $6,324 by 2030.¹¹

For a four-year public university that runs you $20,000 today, you're looking at $32,376 within 10 years.⁵ And a private four-year university cost of $44,000 could increase to $68,022 by 2030.¹¹

However, the higher education industry is being massively disrupted by virtual learning and changing educational preferences. Within 10 years, these and other factors are bound to change, making higher education costs challenging to predict.