US Inflation Calculator
Calculate the purchasing power of the US Dollar over time based on CPI data.
Amount to Convert ($)
From Year
To Year
Calculate Buying Power
Understanding Inflation in the USA
This US inflation calculator uses data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
How This Calculation Works
To find the value of a dollar in a specific year, we use the following formula:
Adjusted Value = (Initial Amount * End Year CPI) / Start Year CPI
Historical Example
If you had $100 in 1980, how much would that be worth today? Due to cumulative inflation, those same goods and services would cost significantly more today. For instance, between 1980 and 2024, the total inflation rate has exceeded 280%, meaning you would need nearly $400 to match the purchasing power of $100 in 1980.
Purchasing Power: The amount of goods or services that one unit of currency can buy.Cumulative Inflation: The total percentage increase in prices over a specific period.CPI-U: The most common index used, representing the "Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers."
var cpiData = {
1913: 9.9, 1914: 10.1, 1915: 10.1, 1916: 10.9, 1917: 12.8, 1918: 15.1, 1919: 17.3, 1920: 20.0,
1921: 17.9, 1922: 16.8, 1923: 17.1, 1924: 17.1, 1925: 17.5, 1926: 17.7, 1927: 17.4, 1928: 17.1,
1929: 17.1, 1930: 16.7, 1931: 15.2, 1932: 13.7, 1933: 13.0, 1934: 13.4, 1935: 13.7, 1936: 13.9,
1937: 14.4, 1938: 14.1, 1939: 13.9, 1940: 14.0, 1941: 14.7, 1942: 16.3, 1943: 17.3, 1944: 17.6,
1945: 18.0, 1946: 19.5, 1947: 22.3, 1948: 24.1, 1949: 23.8, 1950: 24.1, 1951: 26.0, 1952: 26.5,
1953: 26.7, 1954: 26.9, 1955: 26.8, 1956: 27.2, 1957: 28.1, 1958: 28.9, 1959: 29.1, 1960: 29.6,
1961: 29.9, 1962: 30.2, 1963: 30.6, 1964: 31.0, 1965: 31.5, 1966: 32.4, 1967: 33.4, 1968: 34.8,
1969: 36.7, 1970: 38.8, 1971: 40.5, 1972: 41.8, 1973: 44.4, 1974: 49.3, 1975: 53.8, 1976: 56.9,
1977: 60.6, 1978: 65.2, 1979: 72.6, 1980: 82.4, 1981: 90.9, 1982: 96.5, 1983: 99.6, 1984: 103.9,
1985: 107.6, 1986: 109.6, 1987: 113.6, 1988: 118.3, 1989: 124.0, 1990: 130.7, 1991: 136.2, 1992: 140.3,
1993: 144.5, 1994: 148.2, 1995: 152.4, 1996: 156.9, 1997: 160.5, 1998: 163.0, 1999: 166.6, 2000: 172.2,
2001: 177.1, 2002: 179.9, 2003: 184.0, 2004: 188.9, 2005: 195.3, 2006: 201.6, 2007: 207.3, 2008: 215.3,
2009: 214.5, 2010: 218.1, 2011: 224.9, 2012: 229.6, 2013: 233.0, 2014: 236.7, 2015: 237.0, 2016: 240.0,
2017: 245.1, 2018: 251.1, 2019: 255.7, 2020: 258.8, 2021: 271.0, 2022: 292.7, 2023: 304.7, 2024: 314.1
};
function populateYears() {
var startSelect = document.getElementById('startYear');
var endSelect = document.getElementById('endYear');
var currentYear = 2024;
for (var year = currentYear; year >= 1913; year–) {
var optionStart = document.createElement('option');
optionStart.value = year;
optionStart.text = year;
startSelect.appendChild(optionStart);
var optionEnd = document.createElement('option');
optionEnd.value = year;
optionEnd.text = year;
endSelect.appendChild(optionEnd);
}
startSelect.value = "1980";
endSelect.value = "2024";
}
function calculateUSInflation() {
var amount = parseFloat(document.getElementById('initialAmount').value);
var startYear = parseInt(document.getElementById('startYear').value);
var endYear = parseInt(document.getElementById('endYear').value);
if (isNaN(amount) || amount <= 0) {
alert("Please enter a valid positive amount.");
return;
}
var startCPI = cpiData[startYear];
var endCPI = cpiData[endYear];
if (!startCPI || !endCPI) {
alert("Data not available for selected years.");
return;
}
var adjustedValue = (amount * endCPI) / startCPI;
var totalInflation = ((endCPI – startCPI) / startCPI) * 100;
var resultBox = document.getElementById('inflationResultBox');
var resultText = document.getElementById('resultText');
var resultValue = document.getElementById('resultValue');
var inflationRateText = document.getElementById('inflationRateText');
resultBox.style.display = 'block';
if (startYear === endYear) {
resultText.innerHTML = "In
" + endYear + " , your money is worth the same:";
resultValue.innerHTML = "$" + amount.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
inflationRateText.innerHTML = "Cumulative inflation: 0.00%";
} else if (startYear < endYear) {
resultText.innerHTML = "$" + amount.toLocaleString() + " in " + startYear + " has the same buying power as:";
resultValue.innerHTML = "$" + adjustedValue.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}) + " in " + endYear;
inflationRateText.innerHTML = "Cumulative inflation rate:
" + totalInflation.toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 2}) + "% ";
} else {
resultText.innerHTML = "$" + amount.toLocaleString() + " in " + startYear + " is equivalent to having this in " + endYear + ":";
resultValue.innerHTML = "$" + adjustedValue.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
inflationRateText.innerHTML = "Deflated value over " + (startYear – endYear) + " years (backward calculation).";
}
}
window.onload = populateYears;