$100 in 2001 is worth $138 in 2017,
because prices increased 38.4% over that period, an average of
2.05% a year.
$100 in 2001 has
the same buying power as
$138
in 2017
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
38.4%
Average inflation rate
2.05% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$138
Price difference ($100 base)
$38.41
CPI in 2001
177.1
CPI in 2017
245.12
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
Inflation in 2017
2.13%
$100 in 2001 → 2017
$138
$100 in 2017 → 2001
$72.25
What happened to prices between 2001 and 2017
Between 2001 and 2017, the Consumer Price Index went from 177.1 to 245.12.
Cumulatively, prices increased 38.4%, which works out to an average of
2.05% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2001 bought what
$0.72 buys in 2017: the 2001 dollar
lost 27.7% of its purchasing power over
these 16 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 2017 at the same ratio, 1.38: $1,000 becomes
$1,384, and $10,000 becomes $13,841.
Amount in 2001
Value in 2017
$1.00
$1.38
$5.00
$6.92
$10.00
$13.84
$20.00
$27.68
$50.00
$69.20
$100
$138
$500
$692
$1,000
$1,384
$5,000
$6,920
$10,000
$13,841
$100,000
$138,408
$1,000,000
$1,384,077
Inflation by spending category, 2001–2017
Between 2001 and 2017, medical care rose the most, up 74.2%, while apparel fell 1.3%, against 38.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2001
spending costs in 2017, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2001 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.05%
$138
Medical care
3.53%
$174
Energy
2.91%
$158
Food
2.33%
$144
Housing
2.23%
$142
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.92%
$136
Transportation
1.68%
$131
Education & communication
1.64%
$130
Recreation
0.77%
$113
Apparel
-0.08%
$98.67
Decade by decade: 2001 to 2017
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.34% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.69% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2001–2017 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2001, at end
2001–2010
2.34%
23.1%
$123
2010–2017
1.69%
12.4%
$138
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2001
$100 from 2001 had already become $121 by
2009, on its way to $138 in 2017; 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 2017, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2001 had the buying
power of $138; the year's average CPI of 245.12 is the level
behind every 2017 figure on this page.
2017 pushed consumer prices back above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The
CPI rose 2.1%, the first reading over 2% in five years, helped by a rebound
in energy after OPEC’s output cuts and by a storm-related spike at the pump:
Hurricane Harvey shut a large part of Gulf Coast refining in late August.
Gasoline averaged $2.42 a gallon, up from $2.14 in 2016.
Household incomes kept rising. The median household income reached $61,372,
and the median new home sold for about $322,100. The federal minimum wage
stayed at $7.25, its eighth year at that level, and a first-class stamp rose
to 49 cents.
The Fed raised rates three times, to 1.25–1.50%, and in October began
letting its bond holdings shrink. Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
in December, lowering the corporate rate to 21%. Even with unemployment near
4%, core inflation stayed under 2%, a puzzle that shaped Fed debates for the
next two years.
MLA: “Inflation from 2001 to 2017: $100 is worth $138 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2017/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2001 to 2017. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2017/