Overview
CPI Inflation sources data directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) API, the official source for US inflation data. Monthly data is available back to 1947, with category breakdowns for detailed inflation analysis.
Live Test CPI Inflation Source →
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the rest are its inputs, and the "field" pair says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("cpiinflation", "field", "yearMonth")=VERVE.CALL("cpiinflation", "field", "yearMonth")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
dateOptional | string | "date", value | Optional date in YYYY-MM format for historical lookup. Omit for current data. date |
categoryOptional | string | "category", value | Optional category filter: all, food, housing, apparel, transportation, medical, recreation, education, gasoline, electricity |
Passing an option
=VERVE("cpiinflation", "date", "2023-06")=VERVE.CALL("cpiinflation", "date", "2023-06")What lands in your sheet
The "field" pair is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Drop the "field" pair and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("cpiinflation")=VERVE.CALL("cpiinflation")The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the "field" pair accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
yearMonth | string | 2026-08 | Year and month in YYYY-MM format for the data |
year | number | 2026 | The year of the CPI data point |
month | number | 8 | The month (1-12) of the CPI data |
category | string | food | The category requested (single-category lookups only) |
indexPremium | number | 350.418 | CPI index value for the requested category (single-category lookups only) |
yearOverYearChangePremium | number | 2.67 | Year-over-year change in percent for the requested category (single-category lookups only) |
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in cpiinflation | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Use cases
- Inflation Tracking
- Monitor inflation trends across different spending categories
- Economic Analysis
- Analyze inflation patterns for economic research and forecasting
- Cost Adjustments
- Calculate inflation adjustments for contracts, salaries, and pricing
- Investment Research
- Factor inflation data into investment decisions and real returns
Other ways to use CPI Inflation
Set up CPI Inflation on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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