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Inflation Calculator

Calculate how inflation changes the value of money over time using official US CPI data from 1913 to 2025.

Inflation Calculator

Calculate purchasing power over time

Amount
$
From
To

Original

$100.00

Adjusted Value

$186.96

Total Inflation

+86.96%

Avg. Annual Rate

2.53%

How to Use

  1. 1 Select a calculation mode: US CPI Historical, Forward Projection, or Backward (Buying Power)
  2. 2 Enter a dollar amount — for example, $100
  3. 3 For CPI mode: choose a start year and end year from 1913–2025
  4. 4 For projection modes: set an inflation rate (default 3%) and number of years
  5. 5 View the inflation-adjusted amount, total inflation rate, and average annual rate instantly

What You Get

US CPI-based inflation calculator with data from 1913 to 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Three modes: historical CPI lookup, forward cost projection, and backward purchasing power analysis. Real-time calculations with copy-to-clipboard.

Input: $100 in 1970 → 2025 (CPI)

Output: $100 → $829.74 (729.74% cumulative inflation)

Input: $1,000 at 3% inflation for 30 years (Forward)

Output: $1,000 → $2,427.26 future value

Input: $50,000 at 3% inflation, 20 years ago (Backward)

Output: $50,000 had the buying power of $90,306 today

What is inflation and how is it calculated?

Inflation is the rate at which prices for goods and services increase over time, reducing purchasing power. It is measured using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI tracks the average cost of a "basket" of typical consumer goods including food, housing, transportation, and medical care.

How much is $1 from 1970 worth today?

Using the CPI data in this calculator, $1.00 in 1970 has the same purchasing power as approximately $8.30 in 2025. This means prices have increased by about 730% over 55 years, an average annual inflation rate of roughly 3.9%.

What is the average US inflation rate?

The historical average US inflation rate from 1913 to 2025 is approximately 3.2% per year. However, inflation varies significantly by decade — from deflation in the 1930s to over 13% in 1979. The Federal Reserve targets 2% annual inflation as its long-term goal.

What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a measure of the average change over time in prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services. The most widely cited version, CPI-U (All Urban Consumers), covers about 87% of the US population. It is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and is the primary data source for this calculator.

How does inflation affect my savings?

If your savings earn less interest than the inflation rate, your money loses purchasing power over time. For example, $10,000 saved with no interest would only buy about $7,441 worth of goods after 10 years at 3% inflation. To preserve purchasing power, your investments need to outpace inflation.

What was the highest inflation rate in US history?

The highest annual inflation rate in the US was approximately 23.7% in 1920, following World War I. In more recent history, inflation peaked at 13.5% in 1980 during the oil crisis. The 2022 surge reached 8.0%, the highest since the early 1980s.

How to calculate future value with inflation?

Use the formula: Future Value = Present Value × (1 + inflation rate)^years. For example, if you expect 3% annual inflation over 20 years: $1,000 × (1.03)^20 = $1,806.11. This calculator does this math automatically in the Forward Projection mode.

Is my salary keeping up with inflation?

To check, compare your salary growth to the CPI change over the same period. If your salary increased 20% over 5 years but the CPI rose 25%, your real purchasing power actually decreased by 5%. Use this calculator to find the CPI change between any two years.

100% client-side – your data never leaves your device. All calculations use locally stored CPI data.