$100 in 2001 is worth $130 in 2012,
because prices increased 29.6% over that period, an average of
2.39% a year.
$100 in 2001 has
the same buying power as
$130
in 2012
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
29.6%
Average inflation rate
2.39% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$130
Price difference ($100 base)
$29.64
CPI in 2001
177.1
CPI in 2012
229.594
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
$100 in 2001 → 2012
$130
$100 in 2012 → 2001
$77.14
What happened to prices between 2001 and 2012
Between 2001 and 2012, the Consumer Price Index went from 177.1 to 229.594.
Cumulatively, prices increased 29.6%, which works out to an average of
2.39% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2001 bought what
$0.77 buys in 2012: the 2001 dollar
lost 22.9% of its purchasing power over
these 11 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 2012 at the same ratio, 1.30: $1,000 becomes
$1,296, and $10,000 becomes $12,964.
Amount in 2001
Value in 2012
$1.00
$1.30
$5.00
$6.48
$10.00
$12.96
$20.00
$25.93
$50.00
$64.82
$100
$130
$500
$648
$1,000
$1,296
$5,000
$6,482
$10,000
$12,964
$100,000
$129,641
$1,000,000
$1,296,409
Inflation by spending category, 2001–2012
Between 2001 and 2012, energy rose the most, up 90.3%, while apparel fell 0.8%, against 29.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2001
spending costs in 2012, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2001 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.39%
$130
Energy
6.02%
$190
Medical care
3.89%
$152
Transportation
3.16%
$141
Food
2.77%
$135
Education & communication
2.21%
$127
Housing
2.14%
$126
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.93%
$123
Recreation
0.82%
$109
Apparel
-0.07%
$99.19
Decade by decade: 2001 to 2012
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 2.61% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.34% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2001–2012 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2001, at end
2001–2010
2.34%
23.1%
$123
2010–2012
2.61%
5.3%
$130
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2001
$100 from 2001 had already become $114 by
2006, on its way to $130 in 2012; 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 2012, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2001 had the buying
power of $130; the year's average CPI of 229.594 is the level
behind every 2012 figure on this page.
2012 put a number on what the Federal Reserve was aiming for. In January the
Fed announced a 2% inflation target, and consumer prices rose 2.1% for the
year, almost exactly on it. Gasoline averaged $3.62 a gallon, another annual
high, but the pace of increase cooled from 2011’s 3.2% as food and core prices
grew more slowly.
The bigger story was housing and jobs. Home prices began to recover, and the
median new home sold for about $245,200, up from $227,200 the year before.
Median household income was $51,017. The federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents.
In September the Fed started a third round of asset purchases, this one with
no fixed end date, aimed at lowering unemployment. Overseas, the European
Central Bank’s July pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro calmed
bond markets. A summer drought across the Midwest drove corn and soybean
prices to records, a shock that reached grocery shelves only partly, because
most of what shoppers pay for food covers processing and transport rather than
raw crops.
MLA: “Inflation from 2001 to 2012: $100 is worth $130 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2012/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2001 to 2012. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2012/