Inflation Calculator Online - US CPI

Money from a different year is not comparable to money today, and the gap is usually bigger than people expect. This inflation calculator converts any amount between any two years using the official US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, covering 1913 to the present. It works in both directions: what a 1995 salary would need to be today to feel the same, or what a current price would have been back then. Alongside the converted figure it shows the total change across the whole span and the average annual rate, which is the number that makes long periods comparable. The CPI figures are a fixed, checkable dataset rather than a live feed, and the whole calculation runs in your browser.

These numbers are the kind you check twice before sending a quote, a tax form or a loan application. The tool does the arithmetic; you still own the inputs.

Inflation Calculator is a good fit when checking whether a pay rise actually beat inflation or only matched it.

What you actually get

Inflation Calculator is built around a few practical wins, not a long feature list:

• Covers 1913 to the present, so historical comparisons are possible, not just recent ones.
• Works in both directions - forward to today or backward into the past.
• Shows the compound annual rate, not just the total change, so long and short spans can be compared fairly.
• Uses official BLS CPI-U figures, with the source and the date they were checked stated on the page.
• The dataset is fixed and inspectable rather than pulled from an unnamed live API.
• Free, no sign-up, and calculated entirely in your browser.

A straightforward way to do it

1. Enter an amount. Any sum of money - a salary, a price, a savings balance.
2. Pick the year it belongs to. The year that amount was actually earned, paid or quoted.
3. Pick the year to compare with. Usually the most recent year, but any year in the dataset works.
4. Swap the direction if you need to. The swap button flips the two years, turning "what is this worth today" into "what was this worth then".
5. Read the annual rate. The average per year figure is the fair way to compare spans of different lengths.

When this is the right tool

• Checking whether a pay rise actually beat inflation or only matched it.
• Comparing a historical salary, price or budget with money today.
• Putting an old film budget, house price or wage into terms readers understand.
• Setting a realistic long-term savings target that accounts for rising prices.
• Schoolwork and research that needs a defensible, cited inflation figure.

Details that save a retry

• Compare the annual rate, not the total change, when the two periods are different lengths.
• CPI is a national average basket. Your own inflation rate depends heavily on rent and fuel, which vary by region.
• For salary negotiations, the year-on-year figure is more persuasive than a long historical span.
• Remember that 2009 is the one recent year where US prices actually fell - a negative result there is correct.

Easy mistakes

• Averaging yearly inflation rates arithmetically. Inflation compounds, so 3% then 3% is more than 6%.
• Assuming CPI matches your personal costs. Housing and healthcare have risen much faster than the average.
• Comparing across countries with a US index - CPI-U only measures US urban prices.
• Treating an inflation-adjusted salary as a fair market rate. It tells you about buying power, not what a role pays now.

Where your files go

Inflation Calculator runs in your browser. The file or text you paste stays on your device. There is no account, and nothing is stored on a ToolBox server for this job.

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If this is one step in a longer job, these usually come after it:

• Compound Interest - Calculate compound interest with flexible compounding frequency
• Currency Converter - Convert between 170+ currencies with live exchange rates
• Salary Tax Calculator - Income tax and take-home pay by country and tax year

Questions people ask first

What data does this use?

The US Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, all items, annual average, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index base is 1982-84 = 100. The exact source and the date the figures were last verified are shown on the page.

How far back does it go?

To 1913, which is the first year of the official CPI series. Any two years in that range can be compared in either direction.

Why does my personal experience feel worse than this number?

CPI measures an average basket across the whole country. If your rent or health insurance rose faster than average - and for many people they have - your personal inflation rate is genuinely higher than the headline figure.

What is the difference between total change and average per year?

Total change is the whole move across the entire span. Average per year is the compound annual rate that would produce that move. Use the annual figure when comparing periods of different lengths, since a 50% rise over 5 years is very different from 50% over 30.

Can prices ever fall?

Yes, and the calculator will show a negative result when they did. In the US the clearest recent example is 2009, when the annual average CPI fell slightly against 2008.

Is this the same as a cost-of-living comparison between cities?

No. This compares money across time in the US as a whole. It does not tell you how far a salary stretches in one city versus another, which is a different measure entirely.

Is anything I enter sent to a server?

No. The CPI table ships with the page and the arithmetic happens in your browser, so the amounts you type never leave your device.

Open the Inflation Calculator when you are ready. It is free, and you do not need an account.