GDP Deflator: The Broadest Inflation Measure
The GDP deflator is the price index for everything in GDP. Wider than the CPI (which covers consumer goods only), it captures price changes across investment, government, and exports as well. Formula: (Nominal GDP / Real GDP) x 100.
Source: BEA NIPA Table 1.1.9 (Implicit Price Deflators for Gross Domestic Product)
Definition and Formula
Definition: the GDP deflator is the price index implied by dividing nominal GDP by real GDP. It measures the average price change of everything counted in GDP, set to 100 in a reference year. The US series is BEA's implicit price deflator for gross domestic product, NIPA Table 1.1.9, with 2017 as the reference year.
Implicit Price Deflator
Deflator = (Nominal GDP / Real GDP) x 100
Worked, US 2023
($27,825.9bn / $22,724.1bn) x 100 = 122.45
Nominal GDP from BEA Table 1.1.5, real GDP in chained 2017 dollars from Table 1.1.6. BEA publishes the deflator itself as 122.451 for 2023 in Table 1.1.9. Vintage of 30 September 2026 (2026 annual update).
The deflator is 100 in the reference year, currently 2017 for the US series. The 2025 annual value of 128.893 means the same physical output cost 28.9 percent more in 2025 than in 2017. Year-on-year deflator inflation was 2.6 percent in 2025, down from 7.1 percent in 2022, the peak of the recent inflation episode. The quarterly deflator reached 133.411 in the second quarter of 2026.
The deflator is calculated implicitly: nominal GDP is measured directly at current prices, real GDP is constructed by holding prices constant at the base year (with chain-weighting adjustments), and the deflator falls out of the ratio. This makes the deflator the most comprehensive single inflation gauge available because the GDP it deflates already aggregates every final transaction in the economy.
US GDP Deflator Series 2014-2025
| Year | Deflator | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 96.421 | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 100.000 | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 103.979 | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 105.377 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 110.159 | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 118.026 | +7.1% |
| 2023 | 122.451 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 125.587 | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 128.893 | +2.6% |
Index 2017 = 100. Deflator from BEA NIPA Table 1.1.9, implicit price deflator for gross domestic product (series A191RD). Real GDP in chained 2017 dollars (A191RX), nominal GDP in current dollars (A191RC). Taken from BEA's published annual NIPA release file on 17 October 2026, which carries the vintage of the 30 September 2026 release, the 2026 annual update that revised 2021 onward.
GDP Deflator vs CPI vs PCE
Three inflation measures are commonly cited for the US economy, and they typically print different numbers.
CPI (Consumer Price Index)
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tracks a fixed basket of urban consumer goods, weighted by household spending surveys. Most-cited headline inflation number. Tends to run higher than the other two during periods of consumer-services inflation.
PCE Deflator (Personal Consumption Expenditures)
Published by the BEA. Used by the Federal Reserve as its primary inflation gauge in setting the 2 percent inflation target. Covers consumer spending only but with dynamically updated weights and broader scope than CPI (includes healthcare paid by Medicare/Medicaid).
GDP Deflator
Published by the BEA. Covers all final domestic production, not just consumer spending. The broadest measure but only published quarterly. Will diverge from CPI when investment-goods inflation or government-output inflation differs materially from consumer-goods inflation.