Finance & business
US Inflation Calculator
Enter a dollar amount and two years to see what that money is worth after inflation. This calculator uses the official Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with annual-average values from 1913 through 2025 built right into the page. Inflation steadily erodes the purchasing power of the dollar — a hundred dollars in your grandparents' day bought far more than a hundred dollars buys today — and this tool quantifies exactly how much. Use it to compare historical prices, set salary or rent expectations, plan retirement savings, or simply understand how the cost of living has changed over your lifetime. It runs entirely in your browser and shows the CPI figures it used.
Adjust for inflation
adjusted for inflation
Based on annual-average CPI-U (BLS). Figures are estimates for general information, not financial advice.
How the inflation calculator works
Inflation is measured by tracking the price of a fixed "basket" of goods and services over time. The CPI-U records the average price level each year; dividing one year's index by another tells you how much prices rose or fell in between. To restate an amount in another year's dollars, you simply scale it by the ratio of the two index values.
inflation adjustment formula
Adjusted = Amount × (CPIend ÷ CPIstart) Total change % = (CPIend ÷ CPIstart − 1) × 100 Avg annual % = (CPIend ÷ CPIstart)^(1 ÷ years) − 1CPI = annual-average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers years = end year − start year
The average annual rate is the compound (geometric) rate, which is why a 50% total rise over many years works out to only a low single-digit yearly figure.
Notes & assumptions
- Uses annual-average CPI-U values, not month-specific or seasonally adjusted figures.
- Reflects the nationwide urban average; your personal inflation may differ by region and spending.
- Historical CPI data is final; the most recent year may be revised by the BLS.
Worked example
Suppose you want to know what $100 in the year 2000 is worth in 2024. The annual-average CPI-U was about 172.2 in 2000 and about 313.7 in 2024. The calculation is $100 × (313.7 ÷ 172.2) ≈ $182. In other words, you'd need roughly $182 today to buy what $100 bought at the start of the millennium — a total price increase of about 82%, or an average of around 2.5% per year compounded. Flip the years to see the reverse: what a recent amount would have been worth in older dollars.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CPI and where does this data come from?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices urban consumers pay for a basket of goods and services — food, housing, transportation, medical care and more. This tool uses the CPI-U (for All Urban Consumers) annual-average values published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, covering 1913 through 2025. The index is set so that the 1982–1984 average equals 100, which is why older years have much smaller index numbers.
Why does my answer differ slightly from other calculators?
Small differences usually come from which CPI figure is used. This calculator uses annual averages, while some tools use a specific month (often the latest available), and a few use a different index such as the CPI-W or a chained CPI. Rounding and the exact data revision also matter. For year-to-year comparisons, the annual average is the most stable and widely cited choice.
What does "average annual inflation" mean here?
It is the compound annual growth rate of prices between your two years — the steady yearly rate that, applied each year, would turn the start-year price level into the end-year level. Because inflation compounds, this geometric average is lower than simply dividing the total percentage change by the number of years. It's the same kind of figure economists quote when they say inflation "averaged about 3% a year" over a period.
Can I go backward in time?
Yes. Set a recent start year and an earlier end year to see what a modern amount would have been worth in older dollars. The same formula applies — the calculator simply divides by a larger index, so the equivalent value comes out smaller. This is handy for understanding historical wages, prices or ticket costs in today's terms.
Does this account for my personal spending?
No. The CPI is a broad national average across typical urban household spending. Your own inflation rate can be higher or lower depending on where you live and what you buy — for instance, people who spend a large share on rent, healthcare or college tuition often experience faster price growth than the headline figure. Treat the result as a solid general estimate rather than a precise personal number.