US Inflation Calculator (1913–2024, CPI-U)
See what a dollar amount from one year is worth in another using bundled US CPI-U annual averages (1913–2024), with the total percentage change and annualized rate.
🔒 Runs entirely in your browser. Your input and output are never sent to a server or stored — fully private.
Based on US CPI-U annual averages (1913–2024). General reference only — not financial advice.
About this tool
This inflation calculator shows how the buying power of a US dollar amount changes over time, adjusting a value between any two years from 1913 to 2024. Enter an amount, a starting year and an ending year, and it uses the annual average Consumer Price Index to show the equivalent sum and the total inflation in between. It is a clear way to compare prices and wages across the decades. The calculation runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How does the calculator adjust for inflation?
It scales your amount by the ratio of the price index in the two years. The formula is: end-year amount equals the start amount times the end-year index divided by the start-year index. So if prices doubled between your two years, 100 becomes 200, meaning you would need 200 later to buy what 100 once bought. The percentage shown is that total change in prices.
Which index does it use, and what are its limits?
It uses the US Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, the CPI-U, based on annual averages published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a broad national average, so your personal inflation for rent, food or healthcare may differ noticeably. Other countries and other measures, such as core CPI or the PCE index, will give results different from the figures shown here.
Is this an exact figure or financial advice?
Neither. The whole calculation runs in your browser from a built-in table of CPI-U values, so the amount and years you enter are never sent to a server. The results are a general, educational estimate of changing prices, not financial advice, and they reflect only US CPI-U — other countries and inflation measures differ. Use the figure as a rough comparison rather than an exact valuation.