Inflation Calculator

What an amount from any year is worth in today's money.

$240.01100 in 1990 equals
140.01%Total price change
2.61%Average inflation per year
Buying power of 100 from 2024, in 1990 money
$41.67
CPI in 1990
130.7
CPI in 2024
313.69

Prices rose 140% between 1990 and 2024, an average of 2.61% a year.

The same amount tracked through the years
YearEquivalent value
1990$100.00
1993$110.56
1996$120.05
1999$127.47
2002$137.64
2005$149.43
2008$164.73
2011$172.10
2014$181.13
2017$187.54
2020$198.02
2023$233.13

About the Inflation Calculator

Money is a moving target. A salary, a house price or a film budget from a previous decade only makes sense once it is restated in current money, and that is what a consumer price index does: it tracks the cost of a representative basket of goods and services so any two years can be compared. This calculator uses the annual average US CPI-U series published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which runs from 1913 to the most recent complete year.

The results answer both directions of the question. It shows what an old amount is worth now, the total percentage change in prices, and the average annual rate that produced it. It also shows the reverse: what today’s money would have bought back then. Long horizons produce startling numbers because inflation compounds, so an apparently mild 3 percent a year doubles prices in 24 years.

How to use the Inflation Calculator

  1. Enter the amount of money you want to convert.
  2. Enter the year it comes from and the year you want it expressed in.
  3. Read the equivalent value, the total price change and the average annual inflation rate.

Frequently asked questions

Which inflation measure does this use?

The US CPI-U annual average, the consumer price index for all urban consumers, indexed so that 1982 to 1984 equals 100. It is the series most commonly quoted as "the" US inflation rate.

Does this work for other countries?

The underlying data is American, so results reflect US prices. Inflation in other countries has followed broadly similar patterns in recent decades, but for anything official use your national statistics office series.

Why does the calculator only go up to a complete year?

It uses annual averages, so the most recent full calendar year is the last data point. Monthly figures for the current year are still being revised and are not included.

How fast does inflation halve the value of money?

Divide 70 by the annual rate. At 3 percent a year prices double, and money loses half its buying power, in about 23 years; at 7 percent it takes only ten.