№ 024 · Investing cluster
Inflation Calculator
A dollar doesn’t hold still. Enter an amount and a year and see what it’s worth in another year’s money, using the government’s official CPI-U price data — the cumulative inflation, the average yearly rate, and just how much purchasing power a dollar has lost.
Official BLS CPI-U · 1913–2025
Want to project a balance forward and see it in today’s dollars? Use the Investment Growth Calculator, or the raw compounding in the Compound Interest Calculator.
The amount01
$
From year02
To year03
$100.00 in 2000 is worth
$186.96
in 2025 dollars · 25 years
86.96% inflation2.53%/yr average
Worth in 2025$186.96
Total inflation86.96%
Annual average2.53%
$1 in 2000 buys$1.87
- Equivalent $$186.96
- Original ($100.00)$100.00
| Year 2000 | balance $100.00, contributed $100.00 |
|---|---|
| Year 2001 | balance $102.85, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2002 | balance $104.47, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2003 | balance $106.85, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2004 | balance $109.70, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2005 | balance $113.41, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2006 | balance $117.07, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2007 | balance $120.38, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2008 | balance $125.03, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2009 | balance $124.59, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2010 | balance $126.63, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2011 | balance $130.63, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2012 | balance $133.33, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2013 | balance $135.28, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2014 | balance $137.48, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2015 | balance $137.64, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2016 | balance $139.38, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2017 | balance $142.35, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2018 | balance $145.82, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2019 | balance $148.47, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2020 | balance $150.30, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2021 | balance $157.36, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2022 | balance $169.95, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2023 | balance $176.95, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2024 | balance $182.17, contributed $100.00 |
| Year 2025 | balance $186.96, contributed $100.00 |
Year by year
| Year | Worth (in that year's $) |
|---|---|
| 2000 | $100.00 |
| 2005 | $113.41 |
| 2010 | $126.63 |
| 2015 | $137.64 |
| 2020 | $150.30 |
| 2025 | $186.96 |
How it works · methodology
The math, in the open.
adjusted = amount × CPI[toYear] / CPI[fromYear] total inflation = (CPI[toYear] / CPI[fromYear] − 1) × 100 annual (average) = (CPI[toYear] / CPI[fromYear])^(1 / years) − 1
- amount
- The dollar amount being converted
- CPI[year]
- Annual-average CPI-U for that year
- years
- Number of years between the two
Assumptions & limits
- Uses CPI-U (All Urban Consumers), annual averages — the broadest standard U.S. inflation measure.
- A historical comparison of recorded price levels, not a forecast of future inflation.
- The CPI tracks an average urban basket; your personal inflation can differ with your spending.
- Annual-average basis can differ slightly from a specific month-to-month comparison such as the BLS calculator.
Sources
By the MintNumber Editorial Team·Reviewed
Frequently asked
Questions about inflation
What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
The Consumer Price Index is the U.S. government’s headline measure of inflation, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services a typical urban household buys — food, housing, transport, medical care, and more — so that changes in the index reflect changes in the cost of living. This calculator uses the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the broadest and most widely cited version, and its annual-average values.
How does the calculator adjust for inflation?
It scales your amount by the ratio of the two years’ price levels: the amount times CPI in the later year divided by CPI in the earlier year. If the index doubled between the two years, a dollar buys half as much, so it takes twice as many dollars to match the original purchasing power. The annualized figure restates the total change as a steady yearly rate, which is the more familiar way inflation is quoted.
Why is my personal inflation different from the CPI?
The CPI describes an average urban household’s basket, and yours is not average. If you rent in a city where rents have surged, or you have heavy medical or childcare costs, your personal inflation can run well above the headline number; if you own a home with a fixed mortgage and drive little, it can run below. The CPI is the best broad yardstick, but treat the result as the change in general prices, not a precise measure of your own cost of living.
Is this a forecast of future inflation?
No. This is purely historical — it compares actual recorded price levels between two past years (or the latest complete year). It does not predict where inflation is headed. For a forward-looking view of how rising prices erode an investment, use the investment growth calculator, which lets you project a balance and then deflate it into today’s dollars at an inflation rate you choose.
What is the difference between total and annual inflation?
Total (or cumulative) inflation is the entire price increase across the whole period — prices might be up 80% over a couple of decades. Annual inflation is the average yearly rate that compounds to that total, which for the same example might be only two or three percent a year. Small annual rates compound into large cumulative changes over long spans, which is exactly why a dollar from decades ago feels so different today.
What data does this use, and how far back does it go?
It uses the BLS CPI-U annual-average series, which runs from 1913 through 2025. Years outside that range are clamped to the nearest available year. We refresh the figures once a year after the BLS finalizes the prior year’s annual average. Because the calculator uses annual averages rather than a specific month, results can differ slightly from a month-to-month comparison such as the official BLS inflation calculator.