$100 in 2001 is worth $127 in 2011,
because prices increased 27.0% over that period, an average of
2.42% a year.
$100 in 2001 has
the same buying power as
$127
in 2011
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
27.0%
Average inflation rate
2.42% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$127
Price difference ($100 base)
$27.01
CPI in 2001
177.1
CPI in 2011
224.939
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
Inflation in 2011
3.16%
$100 in 2001 → 2011
$127
$100 in 2011 → 2001
$78.73
What happened to prices between 2001 and 2011
Between 2001 and 2011, the Consumer Price Index went from 177.1 to 224.939.
Cumulatively, prices increased 27.0%, which works out to an average of
2.42% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2001 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2011: the 2001 dollar
lost 21.3% of its purchasing power over
these 10 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 2011 at the same ratio, 1.27: $1,000 becomes
$1,270, and $10,000 becomes $12,701.
Amount in 2001
Value in 2011
$1.00
$1.27
$5.00
$6.35
$10.00
$12.70
$20.00
$25.40
$50.00
$63.51
$100
$127
$500
$635
$1,000
$1,270
$5,000
$6,351
$10,000
$12,701
$100,000
$127,012
$1,000,000
$1,270,124
Inflation by spending category, 2001–2011
Between 2001 and 2011, energy rose the most, up 88.6%, while apparel fell 4.1%, against 27.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2001
spending costs in 2011, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2001 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.42%
$127
Energy
6.55%
$189
Medical care
3.91%
$147
Transportation
3.25%
$138
Food
2.79%
$132
Education & communication
2.25%
$125
Housing
2.19%
$124
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.92%
$121
Recreation
0.78%
$108
Apparel
-0.42%
$95.92
Decade by decade: 2001 to 2011
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 3.16% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.34% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2001–2011 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2001, at end
2001–2010
2.34%
23.1%
$123
2010–2011
3.16%
3.2%
$127
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2001
$100 from 2001 had already become $114 by
2006, on its way to $127 in 2011; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.8% in 2008, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2011, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 2001 had the buying
power of $127; the year's average CPI of 224.939 is the level
behind every 2011 figure on this page.
2011 brought the fastest inflation of the post-recession recovery. Consumer
prices rose 3.2%, roughly double the 2010 pace, and the cause was mostly at the
pump and the grocery store. Unrest across the Middle East and North Africa,
including the war in Libya, pushed gasoline to an annual average of $3.52 a
gallon, the highest yearly figure recorded to that point. Food prices also
rose faster than the overall index.
Household budgets did not keep up. The median household income was $50,054,
barely above the year before, and the median new home sold for about $227,200.
The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and a first-class stamp at 44 cents.
Policy stayed loose. The Federal Reserve kept its policy rate near zero and
launched Operation Twist in September to lower long-term rates. Washington
spent the summer in a debt-ceiling fight that ended in S&P’s August downgrade
of the U.S. credit rating. The inflation spike proved temporary: the
2011 rate was the high point of the early 2010s, and prices grew more slowly
in every year that followed until 2017.
MLA: “Inflation from 2001 to 2011: $100 is worth $127 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2011/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2001 to 2011. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2011/