US Inflation Calculator
See what a dollar from any year is worth today, using historical CPI data back to 1913.
Compare buying power
CPI-U annual averages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data spans 1913–2025.
Details
Watch the value of a dollar change over time
From a 1950s grocery bill to a salary comparison across decades, see exactly how much buying power inflation has taken — using official government data.
Official CPI data
Built on the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, the same index used for Social Security and tax-bracket adjustments.
Over a century of data
Compare any two years from 1913 to the present — useful for historical context, salary comparisons, or settling a "things were cheaper back then" debate.
Cumulative & annual rate
See both the total price increase between two years and the average annual inflation rate over that span.
Both directions
Find what an old amount is worth today, or how much of today's money it would have taken in the past to match a historical sum.
PDF export
Download a clean summary of any comparison for reports, presentations, or financial planning notes.
100% private
Everything runs in your browser — no account, no tracking, nothing leaves your device.
What people compare
Salary over time
See whether a raise actually keeps up with inflation, or compare an old salary to today's dollars.
Historical prices
Find out what a 1970 house price or 1990 car would cost in today's money.
Research & writing
Convert historical figures to present-day equivalents for articles, essays, and reports.
Retirement planning
Understand how inflation will erode the buying power of a fixed income over decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the inflation calculator work?
It uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To convert a value from one year to another, it multiplies your amount by the ratio of the two years' CPI figures. For example, $100 in 2000 (CPI 172.2) is worth $100 × (322.1 ÷ 172.2) ≈ $187 in 2025 — meaning prices roughly doubled over that span.
What is CPI?
The Consumer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services — housing, food, transportation, medical care, and more. It is the most widely used measure of inflation in the United States and the basis for cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security, tax brackets, and many contracts.
Why does my personal inflation feel higher than the official rate?
CPI tracks an average basket, but your spending may be weighted toward categories rising faster than average — like housing, healthcare, or college tuition, which have outpaced overall CPI for years. If a large share of your budget goes to fast-rising categories, your personal inflation rate will exceed the headline number, even though the official figure is accurate for the average household.
How much has the dollar lost over time?
A lot. A dollar in 1960 has the buying power of roughly $11 today; a dollar in 1990 about $2.40; a dollar in 2010 about $1.48. This steady erosion is why simply holding cash loses real value over decades, and why investing to outpace inflation is central to long-term financial planning.
Is the latest year's figure final?
The most recent year in this calculator is an estimate until the BLS publishes the full year's data. Annual CPI is an average of twelve monthly readings, so the final figure is confirmed after year-end. Earlier years use official published annual averages and do not change.
What is a healthy inflation rate?
The Federal Reserve targets about 2% annual inflation as the sweet spot — low and stable enough to be predictable, but positive enough to avoid the dangers of deflation. Long-run US inflation has averaged roughly 3% per year since 1913, though it has spiked far higher in periods like the 1970s and the early 2020s.
Understanding Inflation and Buying Power
Inflation is the gradual rise in prices that quietly erodes the value of money over time. A dollar today buys less than it did a decade ago, and far less than a generation ago. Understanding how inflation works — and how it compounds — is essential for everything from negotiating a salary to planning a retirement that will last thirty years.
How the CPI measures inflation
The Consumer Price Index tracks the price of a fixed "basket" of goods and services that a typical urban household buys — housing, groceries, gas, healthcare, and more. Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics records prices and computes how the basket's total cost has changed. The percentage change in the CPI is the inflation rate. Because the index is anchored to a 1982–84 base of 100, an index of 322 means prices are roughly 3.2 times their early-1980s level.
Why inflation compounds
Like interest, inflation compounds — each year's increase builds on the last. A seemingly mild 3% annual rate cuts a dollar's buying power roughly in half over 24 years. That is why long stretches of "low" inflation still transform prices: the difference between a coffee costing $1 in 1990 and $3 today is decades of compounding at a few percent a year. The same math that grows investments works against idle cash.
The cost of holding cash
Money sitting in a non-interest-bearing account loses real value every year to inflation. At 3% inflation, $10,000 in cash has the buying power of about $7,400 after a decade and $5,500 after twenty years. This is the core reason financial planners urge investing rather than hoarding cash beyond an emergency fund — to earn a return that at least keeps pace with, and ideally outpaces, rising prices.
Why your inflation may differ from the headline
The CPI reflects an average household, but no one is average. If your spending tilts heavily toward categories that have risen faster than the overall index — housing, healthcare, childcare, or higher education — your personal inflation rate is higher than the published figure. Conversely, someone who spends heavily on goods that have gotten cheaper, like electronics, may experience lower personal inflation. The headline number is accurate for the average basket, not necessarily for yours.
Inflation and your financial plan
Every long-term financial figure should be viewed through an inflation lens. A salary that rises slower than inflation is effectively a pay cut. A retirement target that ignores inflation will fall short, because a fixed income buys less each year. Investment returns matter most in "real" (after-inflation) terms — a 6% return during 3% inflation is really 3% of growth in buying power. Using this calculator to translate past and future dollars into today's terms keeps those decisions grounded in what money can actually buy.