What Inflation Did to Prices in Auto Repair and Medical Care

Abstract

This public-data brief uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, drawn from the FRED database, to track how prices for motor vehicle maintenance and repair and for medical care services moved against overall consumer prices from September 2019 to September 2026. Over those seven years the CPI for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose 57.0%, nearly double the 31.2% increase in all items, while medical care services rose 21.2% and did not keep pace with overall inflation. The brief also compares the latest Atlanta metro release with the national one, but those two releases cover different months, August 2026 for Atlanta and September 2026 for the nation, and the Atlanta medical figure is for all medical care while the national one is for medical care services only, so the comparison is not like for like. The CPI measures the price of a fixed basket of goods and services over time; it does not measure what any single business charges, what its costs are, or the demand it sees. No home repair, HVAC, plumbing, roofing or professional-services price series were retrieved for this brief.

Methodology

This brief was prepared by Make It Loud Digital Marketing as a secondary analysis of public data reviewed in October 2026, and figures are reported as published. It draws on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), not seasonally adjusted, accessed through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, using series CUUR0000SETD for motor vehicle maintenance and repair, CUUR0000SAM2 for medical care services, and CPIAUCNS for all items. Seven-year and year-over-year percent changes are calculated from the September index values of those not-seasonally-adjusted series. The 12-month changes the BLS reported for September 2026, namely 3.7% for all items, 5.8% for motor vehicle maintenance and repair, and 2.5% for medical care services, match the figures calculated here. Atlanta metro figures come from the BLS release for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area for August 2026, published September 11, 2026. This is a public-data analysis, not an original survey or peer-reviewed study, and it is not legal, financial or pricing advice.

Findings

From September 2019 to September 2026, the CPI for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose from 298.441 to 468.491, an increase of 57.0%, compared with a 31.2% rise in all items and a 21.2% rise in medical care services over the same period. Year-over-year changes to each September show car maintenance and repair rising faster than overall prices in most years, peaking at 11.1% in the year to September 2022, while medical care services actually fell 2.6% in the year to September 2023 before rising again. In the 12 months to September 2026, car maintenance and repair rose 5.8%, all items rose 3.7%, and medical care services rose 2.5%. The latest Atlanta metro release, for August 2026, shows all items up 2.9% against 3.7% nationally, but the two releases cover different months and the Atlanta medical figure covers all medical care rather than medical care services, so the comparison is not like for like. The data cover auto repair and medical services but not home repair, HVAC, plumbing, roofing or professional services.

Overview

Seven years of CPI data for car repair, medical services and overall prices, and what they do not tell us.

Prices have moved a great deal since 2019, but they have not all moved the same way. This brief uses public Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare two service categories that touch almost every household, motor vehicle maintenance and repair and medical care services, against the overall price level from September 2019 to September 2026. It is deliberate about one limit: the CPI measures the price of a fixed basket over time, so it says nothing about what any one business charges, what its costs are, or the demand it faces.

Over these seven years, the price index for car maintenance and repair rose 57.0%, nearly double the 31.2% increase in all items, while medical care services rose 21.2% and did not keep pace with overall inflation. The observation that customers in automotive may arrive with price questions is an inference drawn from this data, not something the CPI measures.

Download the full brief

You can download the full public-data brief as a PDF. It is a BLS Consumer Price Index analysis prepared by Make It Loud Digital Marketing, dated October 2026, and reproduces the tables, methodology, limitations and sources below.

Finding 1: Car repair prices rose far faster than overall prices

From September 2019 to September 2026, the CPI for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose from 298.441 to 468.491, an increase of 57.0%. Over the same seven years, the all items index rose 31.2% and medical care services rose 21.2%. Car repair prices rose nearly twice as fast as prices overall, while medical care services rose at about two-thirds the overall pace.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U (not seasonally adjusted) via FRED; percent changes calculated from September index values.

Finding 2: Year-over-year changes tell a bumpier story

Looking at the change to each September shows that the seven-year totals came in uneven steps. Car maintenance and repair outpaced overall inflation in most years and peaked at 11.1% in the year to September 2022. Medical care services were the opposite in one striking year, falling 2.6% in the 12 months to September 2023 before rising again.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U (not seasonally adjusted) via FRED; year-over-year changes calculated from September index values.

Finding 3: Atlanta and national figures are not a like-for-like comparison

The most recent Atlanta metro release covers August 2026, while the national figures here are for September 2026, so any comparison mixes two different months. With that caveat, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area showed all items up 2.9% over the year against 3.7% nationally, and shelter up 1.3% against 3.2%. The medical lines are not comparable: Atlanta reported all medical care down 0.3%, while the national figure is for medical care services, up 2.5%.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area (August 2026) and national CPI (September 2026). The two releases cover different months and the medical categories differ, so the columns are not directly comparable.

Finding 4: What the CPI does not cover

The CPI measures the price of a fixed basket of goods and services over time. It does not measure what a business charges, what its costs are, or the demand it sees. The series used here cover motor vehicle repair and medical services, but they do not cover home repair, HVAC, plumbing, roofing or professional services, and the BLS household operations series was incomplete in the data retrieved for this brief. Nothing here should be read as a statement about prices in trades or professional services that were not measured.

What this means for service businesses and marketers

Start from the fact that not all prices moved the same way, because that alone undercuts a lot of loose talk about inflation. In automotive, where the repair index rose 57% in seven years, it is reasonable to expect customers to arrive with price questions, though that is an inference from the data rather than something the CPI measures. Be careful with the phrase prices are rising everywhere, since medical care services rose less than overall prices over this period. When citing any of these figures, name the series and the month, because the comparisons shift depending on which you use. A quarterly refresh of these series is the right way to keep the numbers current.

The data: September index values

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U (not seasonally adjusted) via FRED.

Limitations

The CPI measures the price of a fixed basket over time and is not the same as any one business’s prices, costs or demand. Percent changes here are calculated from September index values of the not-seasonally-adjusted series on FRED, and the BLS-reported 12-month changes for September 2026 of 3.7%, 5.8% and 2.5% match those calculations. No home repair, HVAC, plumbing, roofing or professional-services series were retrieved for this brief. The Atlanta figures are for August 2026 while the national figures are for September 2026, and the Atlanta medical line covers all medical care while the national line covers medical care services only, so the two are not directly comparable. Service-industry pricing may differ from these CPI categories. This brief offers general information only. It is not legal, financial or pricing advice, and figures from third-party public sources may change, so confirm current details before relying on them.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Table 2 (September 2026 release).

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area (August 2026, published September 11, 2026).

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED, BLS series CUUR0000SETD, CUUR0000SAM2 and CPIAUCNS.