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US inflation calculator: what your dollars are worth now

What a dollar buys now: illustration of a quiet small-town grocery store aisle at dusk, shelves of goods, no labels, no peopl

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Short answer

Prices in the US have about doubled since 2000. By the official consumer price index, $100 in January 2000 buys what $199.61 buys in September 2026, the latest month of data, and prices rose 3.7% over the past year. Pick any two months since 1913 above.

US inflation calculator

What a dollar amount from one month is worth in another, from the official CPI-U (1913-01 to 2026-09).

Results appear here.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, latest 2026-09.

Key facts

Index usedCPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted
Base1982-84 = 100
Methodamount × CPI(later month) ÷ CPI(earlier month)
Data range1913-01 to 2026-09
$100 in Jan 2000$199.61 in September 2026

How does the calculator work?

It divides the price index of the later month by the index of the earlier month and multiplies your amount by the result. That is the method the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses in its own calculator.

For example, the index stood at 168.800 in January 2000 and 336.940 in September 2026, so $100 then equals $199.61 now.

Which inflation measure is this?

CPI-U, the consumer price index for all urban consumers, covers about nine in ten Americans. It tracks the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services: housing, food, energy, transport, medical care and more.

  • Not seasonally adjusted, which is what you want when comparing the same month across years.
  • Monthly figures are published about two weeks after each month ends.

What can it not tell you?

  • Your own inflation: your spending basket may differ from the average.
  • Wage or asset growth: use it to compare prices, not incomes or investment returns.
  • Other countries: this is the US index only.

When is it updated?

After each monthly CPI release. The latest month in the data is shown under the calculator.

FAQ

Is this the same as the BLS inflation calculator?

It uses the same index, CPI-U, and the same method of comparing two months.

Why does my result differ slightly from other sites?

Rounding and the choice of index explain most gaps: some sites use annual averages or seasonally adjusted data. This one uses monthly CPI-U, not seasonally adjusted.

How far back does it go?

To 1913-01, the start of the official series.

Does it include the newest month?

It includes data up to 2026-09.

Sources

Figures change. Check the primary sources above.