Inflation calculator, convert money between any two years

Calculate how inflation has changed the value of your money over time

Inflation means prices rise over time, which reduces the purchasing power of your money. With the inflation calculator you can see what an amount from an earlier year is worth in today's money, based on official consumer price index data.

This inflation calculator shows how changes in the price level affect your finances. Once you understand how prices have developed, it is easier to compare amounts over time and to plan your savings and money decisions knowing that money loses value.

Convert an amount between two years

The result shows the total price change between the years you pick and gives you a clear picture of how the value of money has changed. That makes it easier to compare amounts over time and see what they are worth in today's money. The calculator opens on US prices. To use another country's prices, switch country at the top of the calculator: you can choose the United States, Denmark, Sweden or Norway. Amounts are shown in the currency of the country you pick.

What is inflation?

Inflation is the general, ongoing rise in the prices of goods and services. As prices go up over time, money gradually loses its purchasing power. The same amount buys less today than it did before.

Inflation in the United States has varied a lot through history. In the 1970s, prices rose by close to 8% a year on average and more than doubled in a single decade. From 1990 to 2020, inflation averaged a little over 2% a year, close to the 2% target that the Federal Reserve formally adopted in 2012. In 2021 and 2022 prices rose quickly again, by about 5% and 8%, before the pace slowed back toward the target.

How inflation is calculated

The calculator works out inflation by comparing the consumer price index (CPI) for the start year with the index for the end year. The percentage change between the two index values is the total inflation over the period, and that ratio is what the calculator uses to convert an amount.

For example, if the price index is 100 in one year and 150 in a later year, $1,000 in the first year is worth $1,500 in the later year. That is a total price increase of 50%.

The average annual inflation that the calculator also shows is the average of the year-by-year price changes in the period you pick. It tells you how fast prices typically rose each year along the way.

Some examples of US price changes

• $1,000 in 1970 is worth more than $8,000 today. Prices have risen more than eightfold in about 55 years.
• $1,000 in 1990 is worth about $2,500 today. Even with fairly low inflation, the dollar has lost around 60% of its purchasing power in 36 years.
• $100 in 1913, the first year of the official US series, is worth more than $3,200 today.

The last example says a lot about how inflation works over the long run. Even a couple of percent a year leaves a big mark when the period is long enough.

Keep calculating

If you want to calculate forward instead, with an inflation rate you choose yourself, use the future purchasing power calculator. And if you want to know whether your savings are growing faster than prices, compare the return in the compound interest calculator with the average inflation here: the gap between the two decides whether your savings are actually becoming worth more.

Sources

The calculator uses official data from national statistics agencies:

• United States: Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Denmark: Consumer price index from Statistics Denmark.
• Sweden: Consumer price index (KPI) from Statistics Sweden (SCB).
• Norway: Consumer price index from Statistics Norway.

Data is updated automatically when the statistics agencies publish new figures. The date of the latest update is shown below the calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is inflation?

Inflation is the general, ongoing rise in the prices of goods and services. When prices go up over time, the purchasing power of money goes down. The same amount buys less today than it did in the past. Inflation is usually measured as the yearly percentage change in a consumer price index.

What does "in today's money" mean?

An amount in today's money is a historical amount converted to today's price level. If you had $100 in 1950, for example, that is worth a lot more today, because prices have risen sharply since then. The calculator converts between any two years, so you can compare amounts from different periods at the same price level.

How is inflation calculated?

Inflation is calculated from the consumer price index (CPI). In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the CPI every month. The index tracks the average change in the prices of a basket of goods and services that households typically buy. The calculator uses the ratio between the index in the start year and the end year to convert an amount between the two years.

What data is the calculator based on?

By default the calculator uses the US consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with data back to 1913. For Denmark, Sweden and Norway it uses the official consumer price index from Statistics Denmark, Statistics Sweden (SCB) and Statistics Norway. New figures are fetched automatically when the agencies publish them.

How up to date are the figures?

The calculator checks for new figures every day from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the other countries' statistics agencies. The consumer price index is published once a month, so new monthly figures show up in the calculator within a day of publication. The date of the latest update is shown below the calculator.

How far back in time can I go?

For the United States you can go back to 1913, more than a century of price history. For Sweden the series starts in 1830, for Denmark in 1900 and for Norway in 1920. You can, for example, see what a monthly salary in the 1920s is worth today, or what an inheritance from the 1970s would be worth in today's money.

Can I calculate forward in time?

Only as far as published statistics go. If you set an end year later than the start year, the calculator converts the amount between the two years, as long as there is data for both. If you want to work out future amounts with an inflation rate you choose yourself, there is a separate calculator for that.

Calculate future purchasing power