Inflation Calculator

Multiply the amount by the ratio of the two years' price indexes: amount multiplied by target-year CPI divided by start-year CPI. If the index has doubled between the two years, the equivalent amount doubles. This calculator does that using the annual average CPI-U for every year from 1913 onward, which is the same series government agencies and courts use for cost-of-living adjustments.

Around 3.2% a year compounded since 1913, though that average hides enormous variation. Prices fell sharply in the early 1930s, rose above 13% in 1979 and 1980, sat near 2% for most of the 2010s, then spiked again in 2021 and 2022. Any long-run average is a poor guide to any particular decade, which is why the year-by-year table matters more than the headline figure.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, US city average, all items, on the 1982-84 equals 100 base, using each calendar year's annual average. It is the most widely cited US inflation measure. Note that other measures exist: the PCE price index runs slightly lower and is what the Federal Reserve targets, while the chained CPI is used for tax bracket adjustments.

Yes. Set the later year as the start and the earlier year as the target, or just use the swap button. The result tells you what a modern amount would have been worth historically, which is useful for comparing a current salary or house price against what your parents paid.

Switch to future value mode, set your assumed rate and horizon, and the calculator shows both figures: the nominal amount you would need to match today's buying power, and what today's amount will actually buy by then. At 3% a year, money loses roughly 45% of its purchasing power over twenty years. Nobody can predict future inflation, so try a range of rates rather than trusting a single projection.

Usually because of the reference period. Some tools use a specific month rather than the annual average, some use the CPI-W or a regional index instead of the national CPI-U, and some use mid-year figures. Differences of one or two percent between reputable calculators are normal and reflect methodology, not error.

Inflation means the general price level is rising, so each unit of currency buys less. Deflation is the reverse: prices fall and money gains purchasing power. Deflation sounds appealing but is generally treated as dangerous, because falling prices encourage people to delay spending, which reduces demand further. In the US series you can see it clearly in 1921, 1930 to 1933, 1949 and 2009.

The data is United States CPI, so results are accurate for US dollars. The percentage change is still a reasonable rough guide for other developed economies over long periods, but for anything precise you should use your own country's official index, since inflation histories diverge sharply — particularly during the 1970s and in any country that has experienced a currency crisis.