$100 in 2001 is worth $144 in 2019,
because prices increased 44.4% over that period, an average of
2.06% a year.
$100 in 2001 has
the same buying power as
$144
in 2019
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
44.4%
Average inflation rate
2.06% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$144
Price difference ($100 base)
$44.36
CPI in 2001
177.1
CPI in 2019
255.657
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
$100 in 2001 → 2019
$144
$100 in 2019 → 2001
$69.27
What happened to prices between 2001 and 2019
Between 2001 and 2019, the Consumer Price Index went from 177.1 to 255.657.
Cumulatively, prices increased 44.4%, which works out to an average of
2.06% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2001 bought what
$0.69 buys in 2019: the 2001 dollar
lost 30.7% of its purchasing power over
these 18 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 2019 at the same ratio, 1.44: $1,000 becomes
$1,444, and $10,000 becomes $14,436.
Amount in 2001
Value in 2019
$1.00
$1.44
$5.00
$7.22
$10.00
$14.44
$20.00
$28.87
$50.00
$72.18
$100
$144
$500
$722
$1,000
$1,444
$5,000
$7,218
$10,000
$14,436
$100,000
$144,357
$1,000,000
$1,443,574
Inflation by spending category, 2001–2019
Between 2001 and 2019, medical care rose the most, up 82.7%, while apparel fell 2.6%, against 44.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2001
spending costs in 2019, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2001 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.06%
$144
Medical care
3.40%
$183
Energy
2.87%
$167
Housing
2.31%
$151
Food
2.25%
$149
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.94%
$141
Transportation
1.73%
$136
Education & communication
1.51%
$131
Recreation
0.78%
$115
Apparel
-0.14%
$97.45
Decade by decade: 2001 to 2019
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.34% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2001–2019 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2001, at end
2001–2010
2.34%
23.1%
$123
2010–2019
1.78%
17.2%
$144
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2001
$100 from 2001 had already become $123 by
2010, on its way to $144 in 2019; 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 2019, prices rose 1.8% and $100 from 2001 had the buying
power of $144; the year's average CPI of 255.657 is the level
behind every 2019 figure on this page.
2019 was the last ordinary year before COVID-19. Consumer prices rose 1.8%,
slightly under the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with gasoline averaging
$2.60 a gallon. Median household income jumped to $68,703, the highest on
record up to that point, and the median new home sold for about $328,000. A
first-class stamp rose to 55 cents.
The Fed reversed course. After four increases in 2018, it cut rates three
times, to 1.50–1.75%, citing slower global growth, trade tensions, and low
inflation. In July the expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
U.S. records, and in August the yield curve briefly inverted, a signal
investors read as a recession warning.
For workers at the bottom of the pay scale, 2019 marked a milestone of a
different kind. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and reached its tenth
year without an increase, the longest gap since the wage was first set. Because
prices had climbed about 19% since it was last raised in 2009, its buying power
was lower than at any point in that span.
MLA: “Inflation from 2001 to 2019: $100 is worth $144 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2019/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2001 to 2019. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2001-to-2019/