$100 in 2002 is worth $102 in 2003,
because prices increased 2.3% over that period, an average of
2.28% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$102
in 2003
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
2.3%
Average inflation rate
2.28% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$102
Price difference ($100 base)
$2.28
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2003
184
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
$100 in 2002 → 2003
$102
$100 in 2003 → 2002
$97.77
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2003
Between 2002 and 2003, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 184.
Cumulatively, prices increased 2.3%, which works out to an average of
2.28% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.98 buys in 2003: the 2002 dollar
lost 2.2% of its purchasing power over
these 1 years.
The CPI rose 1.6% in 2002, the lowest annual rate of the decade so far, with gasoline down to an
average of $1.36 a gallon and slack in the labor market keeping wage pressure low. The median
household earned about $42,400, and a new home cost roughly $187,600, an increase of about 7%
from the year before as low mortgage rates began to lift housing. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate to 1.25% in November. Stocks were moving the other way: after the Enron and WorldCom
scandals, the S&P 500 hit its bear-market low on October 9, about 49% below its March 2000
peak, and Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in July to tighten corporate accounting rules.
On January 1, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 European countries. A
first-class stamp rose to 37 cents in June, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15.
Every 2002 amount converts to 2003 at the same ratio, 1.02: $1,000 becomes
$1,023, and $10,000 becomes $10,228.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2003
$1.00
$1.02
$5.00
$5.11
$10.00
$10.23
$20.00
$20.46
$50.00
$51.14
$100
$102
$500
$511
$1,000
$1,023
$5,000
$5,114
$10,000
$10,228
$100,000
$102,279
$1,000,000
$1,022,790
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2003
Between 2002 and 2003, energy rose the most, up 12.2%, while apparel fell 2.5%, against 2.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2003, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.28%
$102
Energy
12.16%
$112
Medical care
4.03%
$104
Transportation
3.07%
$103
Housing
2.50%
$102
Food
2.16%
$102
Education & communication
1.76%
$102
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.42%
$101
Recreation
1.22%
$101
Apparel
-2.50%
$97.50
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002grew to $102 by 2003; each row
shows the CPI, that year's inflation rate, and the running value.
In 2003, prices rose 2.3% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $102; the year's average CPI of 184 is the level
behind every 2003 figure on this page.
Inflation was 2.3% in 2003, up from 1.6% in 2002, as gasoline climbed from $1.36 to $1.59 a
gallon around the March invasion of Iraq. Even so, the Federal Reserve spent the year worried
about prices being too low: on June 25 it cut its policy rate to 1.0%, the lowest since 1958,
and said the risk of deflation, though small, deserved a response. The median household earned
about $43,300 and a new home cost roughly $195,000. Congress passed a second round of tax cuts
in May, and the economy grew faster in the second half of the year than at any point since
1999. Hiring lagged the recovery, and unemployment peaked at 6.3% in June. A first-class stamp
stayed at 37 cents and the federal minimum wage at $5.15.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2003: $100 is worth $102 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2003/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2003. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2003/