How this calculator works
Enter a dollar amount and two years, and this calculator scales the amount by the ratio of CPI-U annual averages between those years — the standard way economists translate purchasing power across time.
The formula
adjustedValue = amount × CPI(endYear) / CPI(startYear)
Worked example
$100 in 1990 is worth how much in 2025 dollars?
- CPI-U in 1990: 130.7
- CPI-U in 2025: 317.7
- $100 × (317.7 ÷ 130.7) = $243.08
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Which CPI is used?
CPI-U — the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. It's the most commonly cited inflation measure and the one behind most "how much is $X in Y worth today" comparisons.
Why does my personal inflation experience feel different from this number?
CPI-U tracks a broad average market basket of goods and services across all urban consumers. Your own spending mix — housing, healthcare, transportation, where you live — can inflate faster or slower than the national average, so your lived experience can diverge from the headline number.
Why does the data only go back to 1970?
This is a v1 scope limit — CPI-U data actually exists back to 1913, but this calculator's embedded table currently starts at 1970, which covers the vast majority of practical comparisons people search for.
What does "2026 not available yet" mean?
An annual average requires a full calendar year of monthly data. Since 2026 isn't over yet, there's no final annual average for it — the most recent complete year in this calculator is 2025.
Is this the same as the BLS's own inflation calculator?
It uses the same underlying CPI-U series, but the BLS's own tool compares specific months, while this calculator uses annual averages — the two will give very similar, but not always identical, results for the same years.