U.S. Inflation Calculator
See how the buying power of the dollar has changed over the last century. Calculate the real value of any amount from 1913 to today.
How To Use Use This Calculator
Follow these simple steps to calculate the change in purchasing power between any two years.1
- Amount: Type in the dollar value you want to calculate. This could be the price of a specific item (like a gallon of milk), a salary, or a general sum of money.
- Start Year: Choose the year that the original amount is from. For example, if you want to know what your grandfather’s salary from 1955 is worth today, select “1955.”
- End Year: Choose the target year you want to compare against. To see today’s value, select the current year.
- Equivalent Value: The calculator will instantly update to show you the inflation-adjusted value, giving you a clear picture of how buying power has shifted between those two dates.
Example Scenario
Imagine you found an old receipt from 1980 for a bicycle that cost $100. To see what that same bike would cost in 2025 dollars:
- Enter $100 in the Amount field.
- Select 1980 as the Start Year.
- Select 2025 as the End Year.
The calculator will show you the Equivalent Value, revealing exactly how much buying power that $100 represented back then compared to now. Based on this example, the Equivalent Value would be $394.
How This Inflation Calculator Works
The calculations are based on the historical Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). We use the annual average CPI data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to ensure accuracy across a wide range of dates (1913–Present).1
The Formula
To calculate the inflation-adjusted value, the following standard formula is used:End Value = Start Amount × (End Year CPI ÷ Start Year CPI)
This ratio allows us to precisely adjust the original dollar amount to reflect the price level of the selected end year.
FAQ
If a house was purchased for $150,000 in 1980, how much is that in today’s dollars?
According to general inflation, $150,000 in 1980 has the same buying power as roughly $591,080 today.
Important Note: Real estate values often rise faster than standard inflation due to location, supply, and demand. So, while this calculator shows what the dollars are worth, the actual market value of that home today might be much higher (or lower) depending on the local housing market.
If my grandfather earned $10,000 a year in 1955, was he considered rich?
It might seem low now, but adjusted for inflation, $10,000 in 1955 is equivalent to roughly $121,157 today. This helps explain why a single income back then could often support a larger family. The “sticker price” was lower, but the purchasing power of each dollar was much stronger.
If a movie ticket cost $2.50 in 1980, what should it cost today?
Based purely on inflation, that ticket should cost about $10 today. If you pay more than that at your local theater (for example, $15 or $20), it means the price of movie tickets has risen faster than the average rate of inflation across the economy.
If I put $1,000 under my mattress in 1990, what did I lose?
You still have $1,000, but you lost purchasing power. To buy the same amount of goods that $1,000 could purchase in 1990, you would need over $2,400 today.
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index.
1 This tool is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Calculated values are estimates based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2025 index is a projection and may differ from the final official annual average.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.