Inflation Calculator

What the CPI actually measures

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is the U.S. government's primary measure of inflation. Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the average price of a broad, fixed basket of goods and services groceries, rent, gasoline, medical care, clothing, and more that a typical urban household buys, and expresses it as a single index number. When that number rises from one year to the next, it means the same basket of goods costs more money, which is what "inflation" means in practice, as opposed to prices rising because the goods themselves changed or improved.

How the conversion math works

This tool multiplies your amount by the ratio of the two years' annual average CPI-U values: adjusted amount = original amount (CPI in target year CPI in original year). For example, the CPI-U averaged about 130.7 in 1990 and about 321.9 in 2025 so $100 from 1990 comes out to $100 (321.9 130.7) $246 today. That means something that cost $100 in 1990 would need to cost roughly $246 now just to represent the same real purchasing power, a cumulative price increase of about 146% over those 35 years.

Why "cumulative price change" isn't the same as an annual inflation rate

The percentage shown alongside your result is the total change in prices across the entire span you selected, not a yearly figure. That 146% cumulative change from 1990 to 2025 works out to an average of roughly 2.6% per year when compounded correctly but a simple average smooths over years of higher and lower inflation, including some notably sharp years in between. Don't divide the cumulative percentage by the number of years to get an annual rate; that arithmetic understates true compounded inflation, since each year's increase compounds on top of the last.

A limitation worth knowing about

The CPI-U is a national average across a standardized basket of goods, so it won't perfectly match any one household's actual spending. If your budget leans heavily toward a category that's risen faster than the average housing costs in a high-demand city, for example your personal experience of inflation can run noticeably higher than the headline number this calculator uses, and the reverse is also true.

FAQ

How far back does this go?
All the way back to 1913, the earliest year for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPI-U data over a century of annual average price levels.

Is this data official?
Yes the figures behind this calculator are the annual average CPI-U index values published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the same government agency and series widely cited in news coverage of inflation.

What exactly does the CPI measure?
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) tracks the average price of a fixed basket of goods and services housing, food, transportation, medical care, and more that a typical urban household buys, and reports it as a single index number each year relative to a base period.

Does the CPI reflect what I personally pay for things?
Not exactly it's a national average basket, so if your spending leans heavily into a category rising faster than average (housing in an expensive city, for instance) your personal inflation experience can run higher or lower than the headline CPI figure.

Why do I see the exact same result if I check two consecutive years?
You won't even low-inflation years typically show a CPI increase of 1-3%, so the equivalent amount always shifts somewhat between adjacent years. If the numbers look identical, double-check that the "from" and "to" year selections are actually different.

Can I use this to adjust a salary or price for inflation?
Yes entering a past salary and comparing it to the current year shows what that salary would need to be today to have the same purchasing power, which is a common way to judge whether a raise has actually kept pace with rising prices.