Inflation Calculator

Type an amount and pick a year from 1913 on, and see what it is worth today, or in any other year, using the official US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The result comes with the total change in prices, the average yearly inflation rate and what a dollar then buys later, plus a table of the same amount from each decade since the 1920s.

How it works

Inflation Calculator is a web page that does its work on your own device. Everything you type or choose is worked out by your browser and never sent to a server, so nothing is stored and there is nothing to delete. There is no account, no sign-up and no limit on how often you use it.

Straight to one job

Value of a Dollar Calculator

Where the numbers come from

The calculator uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, series CUUR0000SA0. It tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services, food, housing, transport, health care and more, bought by people in cities, who make up over 90% of the US population. The index is set so that 1982 to 1984 averages 100. A year's figure is the average of its months, and for today the calculator uses the latest month BLS has published.

How the sum works

An amount from one date is worth the same share of the price level at another: value later = amount × index later ÷ index then. $100 in 2000, when the index averaged 172.2, is worth $100 × 336.940 ÷ 172.2 = $195.67 in September 2026 money. The average yearly rate is the steady rate that would turn one index into the other over the years between them.

What it does and does not tell you

The index measures average prices for the typical urban household. Your own costs may have risen faster or slower: rent, college and health care have outpaced the average for decades, while electronics have fallen. Before 1947 the index covers fewer items and cities, so early figures are rougher. For wages, investments or a specific product, compare against that item's own history.

One month is missing from the official series: October 2025, which BLS did not collect during the 2025 lapse in federal funding. BLS published the 2025 yearly average from the eleven months it has, and the calculator uses yearly averages and the latest month, so the gap does not change any result here.

What it does

• Any year from 1913 to today
• Official CPI-U from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Today means the latest month published
• Total price change and average yearly rate
• Backwards too: today's money in an earlier year
• The same amount from every decade

Questions

What is $100 from 2000 worth today?

About $195.67 in September 2026 money, using the official price index: prices nearly doubled over those years.

What is a dollar from 1950 worth today?

About $13.98 in September 2026 money: the index averaged 24.1 in 1950 and stood at 336.940 in September 2026.

Where does the data come from?

From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, series CUUR0000SA0.

Why does my own cost of living feel higher?

The index is an average basket. Rent, college and health care have risen faster than the average, so households that spend more on them feel more inflation.

How often is the data updated?

BLS publishes each month's index about two weeks after the month ends. The calculator uses the latest month at the time of its last update, shown on the page.

Is anything sent anywhere?

No. The data is built into the page and the sums run in your browser.

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