$100 in 2003 has the buying power of $183.12 in September 2026. Prices are 83.1% higher, an average of 2.64% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 2003's average index was 184.0 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $54.61 did in 2003.
Inflation in 2003 was 2.3% (the change in the year's average CPI from 2002; December to December, 1.9%), the 52nd lowest of the 112 years since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 163.0 | +1.6% | $206.71 |
| 1999 | 166.6 | +2.2% | $202.24 |
| 2000 | 172.2 | +3.4% | $195.67 |
| 2001 | 177.1 | +2.8% | $190.25 |
| 2002 | 179.9 | +1.6% | $187.29 |
| 2003 | 184.0 | +2.3% | $183.12 |
| 2004 | 188.9 | +2.7% | $178.37 |
| 2005 | 195.3 | +3.4% | $172.52 |
| 2006 | 201.6 | +3.2% | $167.13 |
| 2007 | 207.342 | +2.8% | $162.50 |
| 2008 | 215.303 | +3.8% | $156.50 |
2.64% a year, compounded from the middle of 2003 to September 2026: prices are 83.1% higher in all, so a dollar from 2003 is worth $1.83 today.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, which runs back to January 1913. A year's figure is the average of its monthly indexes, as BLS computes annual averages; today's figure is the latest month, September 2026, so the answer moves each month when BLS publishes a new CPI.
2002 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 2004
Source: BLS CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted (FRED CPIAUCNS); through 2006, BLS's official annual averages. The answer moves each month, when BLS publishes a new CPI.