Travel Inflation Report: June 2026

Travel costs year-over-year continue to surge, as airfares remain sharply higher compared to the prior year.

Average U.S. travel costs are 11% higher compared to this time in 2025, according to NerdWallet’s Travel Price Index, which combines data from individual travel categories tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Consumer Price Index, such as airfares, lodging, meals and rental cars.

Airfare costs are up 26.7% over the past year, while the cost of eating out and entertainment are up 3.5% and 4.4%, respectively. Lodging prices are also up year-over-year, with a 5.1% increase. To help put those numbers in perspective, overall prices for the past 12 months through May 2026 rose 4.2% before seasonal adjustment, according to BLS data.

The Travel Price Index shows an 11% change in travel prices from May 2025. That’s the highest year-over-year increase since February 2023.

Relative to pre-pandemic prices, May 2026 travel costs are up 22% versus May 2019 (the last full equivalent month before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic). That’s still lower than the 30.8% price increase across all items.

Not every product experiences inflation at the same rate — especially when it comes to travel. Some trips might actually be more or less expensive than in the past, depending on if you’re driving versus flying, if you’re staying in a hotel and whether it involves a rental car.

To help you better understand how travel prices have changed, NerdWallet honed in on five categories:

NerdWallet then compared those costs to prices from one month and one year earlier.

And to broaden the perspective, the data also compares today’s prices to prices 10 years ago. Here’s what today’s travel prices look like:

When comparing May 2026 prices to April May, U.S. airfares are up by 26.7% — a significant increase.

If you zoom out, the outlook is not as bleak: Compared to prices 10 years ago, airfares are up by 6.6%. Meanwhile, the prices for all items tracked by BLS are up 39.4% over that same period.

Those low base fares typically come with upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags, to guarantee an aisle seat or to secure early boarding. Those extra prices are not captured in this data — despite it still impacting one’s travel budget.

Whenever airlines merge, go out of business or even pull out of key markets, that usually translates to less competition on certain routes. These situations give other airlines more pricing power to charge higher fares on certain routes.

Average U.S. hotel and motel room rates are up by 5.1% over the past year. Travelers can generally expect to pay more for the same hotel room this year than they did last year.

Compared to 10 years ago, travelers may be feeling a greater pinch, as hotel room rates are up 26.4% over the past decade. However, that’s still less than the 39.4% increase across all items.

Rental car prices are down 6.1% compared to the year prior. This comes as gas prices have gone up amid the Iran war.

Food prices consistently rise nearly every month, and in May 2026, the cost of food away from home was up 3.5% versus a year prior.

The cost of dining out has increased dramatically in the past decade, with May 2026 prices 50.6% higher than what they were 10 years ago. That’s higher than the 39.4% inflation rate across all items, meaning restaurant prices have risen more than many other categories of goods.

Tickets for movies, theaters and concerts are rising slightly faster than the average rate of inflation, up by 4.4% over the past year. With the cost of dining and entertainment outpacing the rate of inflation, that could suggest that Americans are prioritizing experiences over physical things.

In addition, travel credit cards can offer various money-saving perks, like:

Here are some of the best credit cards that offer travel-related statement credits.

When it comes to airfare, you might be better off booking those flights sooner rather than later. Booking tickets with airline points and miles can also be a great way to save. Keep in mind that while basic economy fares are cheaper, they come with additional restrictions that may be costly in case your plans change.

Methodology

NerdWallet conducted an analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index data released by the U.S. Department of Labor, which was most recently updated in June 2026 and measures prices of items like travel, groceries and cars. Some prices change more than others.

Keep in mind, this data is based on May 2026 information, even though it is released in June 2026. Prices you see may have increased or decreased compared to this data, because it lags one month behind. Due to the government shutdown in 2025 that prevented the collection and release of October 2025 data, we used September 2025 data instead for any month-over-month or year-over-year percent change calculations involving October 2025 data.

And even within the realm of travel, some expenses might go up, while others might go down.

The NerdWallet Travel Price Index combines data from the Consumer Price Index, weighted by the estimated spending in each category, which is based on 2019 travel expenditure data from the BLS.

Here are the spending categories considered, and how heavily each was weighted:

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