$100 in 2001 is worth $107 in 2004,
because prices increased 6.7% over that period, an average of
2.17% a year.
$100 in 2001 has
the same buying power as
$107
in 2004
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
6.7%
Average inflation rate
2.17% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$107
Price difference ($100 base)
$6.66
CPI in 2001
177.1
CPI in 2004
188.9
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
Inflation in 2004
2.66%
$100 in 2001 → 2004
$107
$100 in 2004 → 2001
$93.75
What happened to prices between 2001 and 2004
Between 2001 and 2004, the Consumer Price Index went from 177.1 to 188.9.
Cumulatively, prices increased 6.7%, which works out to an average of
2.17% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2001 bought what
$0.94 buys in 2004: the 2001 dollar
lost 6.2% of its purchasing power over
these 3 years.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
Every 2001 amount converts to 2004 at the same ratio, 1.07: $1,000 becomes
$1,067, and $10,000 becomes $10,666.
Amount in 2001
Value in 2004
$1.00
$1.07
$5.00
$5.33
$10.00
$10.67
$20.00
$21.33
$50.00
$53.33
$100
$107
$500
$533
$1,000
$1,067
$5,000
$5,333
$10,000
$10,666
$100,000
$106,663
$1,000,000
$1,066,629
Inflation by spending category, 2001–2004
Between 2001 and 2004, energy rose the most, up 17.1%, while apparel fell 5.4%, against 6.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2001
spending costs in 2004, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2001 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.17%
$107
Energy
5.40%
$117
Medical care
4.36%
$114
Food
2.46%
$108
Housing
2.42%
$107
Education & communication
1.99%
$106
Transportation
1.87%
$106
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.85%
$106
Recreation
1.16%
$104
Apparel
-1.84%
$94.58
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2001
$100 from 2001 had already become $102 by
2002, on its way to $107 in 2004; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 2.7% in 2004, and the smallest rise was 1.6% in 2002.
In 2004, prices rose 2.7% and $100 from 2001 had the buying
power of $107; the year's average CPI of 188.9 is the level
behind every 2004 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in 2004, with a 29-cent jump in the price of gasoline, to $1.88 a
gallon, doing much of the work. Crude oil passed $50 a barrel in October on rising demand
from China and India. The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in four years on
June 30, to 1.25%, and it kept going: 17 consecutive quarter-point increases took the rate to
5.25% by June 2006. Housing was already running ahead of incomes. The median household earned
about $44,300, up 2.3% from 2003, while the median new home sold for $221,000, up about 13%. A
first-class stamp stayed at 37 cents and the federal minimum wage at $5.15, unchanged since
1997.
MLA: “Inflation from 2001 to 2004: $100 is worth $107 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2004/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2001 to 2004. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2004/