Official U.S. inflation data · 1913–present
U.S. Inflation Calculator
Compare the buying power of U.S. dollars between any two years or months. You can also adjust a salary for inflation or project future prices.
Equivalent buying power
$200.43
$100 in 1999 has the same buying power as this amount in July 2026.
Price equivalent over time
Dollar value by year
The line uses annual CPI averages. The endpoint can use the latest monthly CPI when “today” is selected.
View year-by-year values
| Year | CPI-U | Equivalent value | Annual inflation |
|---|
Inflation-adjusted salary and hourly wage calculator
Find the pay needed to preserve the buying power of an earlier salary or hourly wage, then compare it with actual current pay.
Pay needed to keep pace
—
—
Future inflation and purchasing-power calculator
Project a future price using your own assumed inflation rate. This section is a scenario tool, not a BLS or Federal Reserve forecast.
Projected future cost
—
—
How to use this U.S. inflation calculator
Enter a dollar amount, choose the starting date, and select the comparison date. The result shows how much money would provide approximately the same average buying power in the other period. You can calculate forward, such as “What is $30 from 1999 worth today?”, or backward, such as “What was today’s $100 worth in 1999?”
The latest official data available are for July 2026. CPI is published monthly rather than daily. Therefore, the word “today” in this calculator means the newest CPI month released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How much is $30 from 1999 worth today?
Using the 1999 annual CPI average and the latest CPI for July 2026, $30 in 1999 has buying power equivalent to approximately $60.13. The number updates when BLS releases a newer month.
What was today’s $100 worth in 1999?
Reversing the comparison, $100 at the July 2026 price level equals approximately $49.89 at the average 1999 price level.
What is the current U.S. inflation rate?
The CPI-U all-items index changed 3.4% over the 12 months ending in July 2026. This rate updates automatically with each new official BLS release.
What this calculator measures
The calculator uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, usually called CPI-U. The selected series covers all items in the U.S. city average and is not seasonally adjusted. CPI-U represents the spending patterns of more than 90% of the U.S. population, but it remains a national average. Your personal inflation rate may differ because your spending mix, location, housing situation, medical costs, and transportation expenses are different.
- Dollar value by year or month: compare prices and purchasing power from 1913 through the latest release.
- Cumulative inflation: measure the total change in the CPI price level between two dates.
- Purchasing-power loss: estimate how much of a dollar’s buying power changed over time.
- Average annual inflation: calculate the compound annual rate across the selected interval.
- Salary and hourly wage adjustment: find the pay needed to maintain an earlier wage’s buying power and compare it with actual pay.
- Future inflation projection: test long-term scenarios using an inflation assumption you choose.
U.S. inflation calculator formula
The historical conversion follows a simple CPI ratio: equivalent value = original dollar amount × CPI in the target period ÷ CPI in the starting period. For example, when the target CPI is twice the starting CPI, a basket that cost $100 in the starting period would cost about $200 in the target period.
Annual selections use the official BLS annual average when it exists. For the incomplete current year, the interface clearly labels a year-to-date average of released months. Monthly selections use the index for the exact month. October 2025 is unavailable in the official CPI series because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations, so that month does not appear as a selectable observation.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an official U.S. government inflation calculator?
Economics.MBA created the interface and calculations. The underlying CPI-U observations come directly from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, series CUUR0000SA0. The plugin checks the official data source automatically and displays the newest available month.
Does this calculator use CPI or PCE inflation?
It uses CPI-U, not the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. CPI-U is commonly used for consumer purchasing-power comparisons, contract adjustments, and historical dollar-value questions. PCE uses different weights, scope, and methods, so it can produce a different result.
Why is “today” one month behind?
BLS collects, processes, and releases CPI data on a monthly schedule. No official CPI exists for the current day. Labeling the latest released month is more accurate than pretending that inflation changes through a verified daily index.
What is the difference between the current inflation rate and cumulative inflation?
The current 12-month inflation rate compares the latest CPI with the same month one year earlier. Cumulative inflation compares the total price-level change across any two dates selected in the calculator, so it can cover a few months or more than a century.
Can I compare a newer year with an older year?
Yes. The calculator works in both directions. Swapping the dates answers questions such as how much $100 today would have represented in 1999.
Can CPI show my personal cost of living?
Not exactly. CPI-U measures average price change for a representative urban consumer basket. A household that spends unusually large shares on rent, health care, education, gasoline, or another category may experience a different rate of inflation.
Is the future inflation result a forecast?
No. The future tool compounds the rate entered by the user. It is useful for scenarios, budgets, and retirement planning, but it does not claim to predict future BLS data or Federal Reserve policy.
Primary source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U series CUUR0000SA0. Also see the BLS CPI questions and answers and calculation methodology.