Free CPI-style tool
Calculate how the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar changed between 1913 and 2026, then review the method, examples, and year-by-year reference data below.
Inflation is the change in the general price level over time. This calculator converts a dollar amount from one year into an estimated equivalent amount in another year and shows cumulative inflation, average annual rate, years elapsed, and buying power lost.
Enter a dollar amount, choose the year the money starts in, then choose the comparison year. The result answers: “What would this amount need to be in the target year to have similar broad purchasing power?”
The formula is straightforward: target-year CPI divided by start-year CPI, multiplied by the starting dollar amount.
If $100 becomes $247, prices are roughly 2.47 times higher across the broad basket represented by the index. That does not mean every product changed by the same amount; rent, food, medical care, tuition, and assets can move differently.
Use the live clocks on Inflation Money to compare broad CPI with debt, money supply, housing, healthcare, tuition, gold, and Bitcoin context.
Reference data
These bundled anchors keep the calculator usable as a static page. Live data refreshes elsewhere on the site may use newer source feeds when available.
| Year | Index | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 9.9 | Earliest calculator anchor |
| 1950 | 24.1 | Post-war price level |
| 1980 | 82.4 | High-inflation decade |
| 1990 | 130.7 | Default start-year example |
| 2000 | 172.2 | Millennium benchmark |
| 2010 | 218.1 | Post-crisis benchmark |
| 2020 | 258.8 | Pre-surge benchmark |
| 2024 | 313.7 | Recent annual benchmark |
| 2026 | 322.6 | Bundled current-page estimate |
Inflation calculator FAQ
CPI-style indexes are a widely used public benchmark for measuring changes in consumer prices over time. They are useful for broad purchasing-power comparisons.
Broad CPI is not category-specific. Use it for a general dollar conversion, then compare it with the live category clocks and history pages for food, rent, medical care, and tuition.
Every household buys a different basket of goods and services. Location, housing tenure, healthcare needs, school costs, and vehicle use can make your personal inflation higher or lower than broad CPI.