How CrowdCPI Works

You're not imagining it. Consumers across the country are paying more than the government's numbers suggest. Here's how we track the gap — and how you can help.

What We Track

CrowdCPI tracks the most widely purchased grocery staples and utility costs — items that every American household buys regularly and whose prices are felt immediately. Each product has a standardized unit of measure so that submissions from different store types are directly comparable.

Where the Government Data Comes From

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) surveys a sample of retailers every month and publishes average retail prices for standardized products. These are the official figures used in CPI calculations and economic reporting. The BLS data is rigorous and well-documented — but it reflects a national sample average, not your store, your ZIP code, or the specific week you were shopping.

We pull BLS data every month on the 15th using the BLS public API. The data is free and public. You can find the original series data at bls.gov.

Where the Consumer Data Comes From

Consumers like you submit what they actually paid at the register — the price on the receipt, at any store, in any ZIP code, on any day. No account required. No email. The submission takes less than 30 seconds.

We ask for: the item, the price you paid, your ZIP code, and optionally where you shopped. That's it. A receipt photo is optional — but submissions backed by a receipt are weighted more heavily because they can be validated.

How Submissions Are Verified

Every submission passes through an automated quality check before entering the database. The check confirms that the price is within a plausible range for that product (for example, eggs can't be $0.01 or $900). Prices that fall outside the plausible range for the unit of measure are flagged and reviewed — they don't automatically appear in the chart.

We require a minimum of 30 submissions for a given product and time period before we display the consumer line on the chart. Below that threshold, we show only the government's official data and note that more reports are needed. This prevents small samples from creating misleading gaps.

What the Gap Means

The gap between the government's price and what consumers report reflects several real factors: geographic variation (prices in rural Idaho are different from Manhattan), store type variation (warehouse clubs vs. convenience stores), the lag between BLS sampling and actual current prices, and potentially prices that are genuinely higher than the national average suggests.

CrowdCPI does not claim the government's data is wrong. We show two different measurements of the same thing — the BLS national sample average, and what real consumers submitted from their actual receipts. That gap is what this site tracks and displays.

Data Quality

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the government report a different price than what I pay?

The BLS average is a national sample across many store types and geographic areas. Your local store, in your neighborhood, at the time you were shopping, may be higher or lower than that average. Both numbers are real but they measure different things.

How do I submit a price?

Go to the submit page. Pick the item, enter what you paid, enter your ZIP code, and optionally note where you shopped. It only takes about 30 seconds and requires no account, email, or tracking.

How often is the data updated?

BLS official prices update on the 15th of each month. Consumer submissions update the aggregates continuously — any approved submission is reflected in the next aggregate computation, which runs daily.

Can I see prices in my specific city?

Yes — the Your area page shows submission data filtered to your ZIP code or state. State-level views require at least 20 submissions from that state to display.

Who runs CrowdCPI?

CrowdCPI is an independent project. We have no affiliation with the BLS, any government agency, or any food or retail company. Contact: [email protected]

Questions or press inquiries: [email protected]