$100 in 2002 is worth $105 in 2004,
because prices increased 5.0% over that period, an average of
2.47% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$105
in 2004
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
5.0%
Average inflation rate
2.47% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$105
Price difference ($100 base)
$5.00
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2004
188.9
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2004
2.66%
$100 in 2002 → 2004
$105
$100 in 2004 → 2002
$95.24
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2004
Between 2002 and 2004, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 188.9.
Cumulatively, prices increased 5.0%, which works out to an average of
2.47% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.95 buys in 2004: the 2002 dollar
lost 4.8% of its purchasing power over
these 2 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 2004 at the same ratio, 1.05: $1,000 becomes
$1,050, and $10,000 becomes $10,500.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2004
$1.00
$1.05
$5.00
$5.25
$10.00
$10.50
$20.00
$21.00
$50.00
$52.50
$100
$105
$500
$525
$1,000
$1,050
$5,000
$5,250
$10,000
$10,500
$100,000
$105,003
$1,000,000
$1,050,028
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2004
Between 2002 and 2004, energy rose the most, up 24.4%, while apparel fell 2.9%, against 5.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2004, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.47%
$105
Energy
11.54%
$124
Medical care
4.20%
$109
Transportation
3.28%
$107
Food
2.80%
$106
Housing
2.52%
$105
Education & communication
1.70%
$103
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.59%
$103
Recreation
1.12%
$102
Apparel
-1.46%
$97.10
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $102 by
2003, on its way to $105 in 2004; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 2.7% in 2004, and the smallest rise was 2.3% in 2003.
In 2004, prices rose 2.7% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $105; the year's average CPI of 188.9 is the level
behind every 2004 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in 2004, with a 29-cent jump in the price of gasoline, to $1.88 a
gallon, doing much of the work. Crude oil passed $50 a barrel in October on rising demand
from China and India. The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in four years on
June 30, to 1.25%, and it kept going: 17 consecutive quarter-point increases took the rate to
5.25% by June 2006. Housing was already running ahead of incomes. The median household earned
about $44,300, up 2.3% from 2003, while the median new home sold for $221,000, up about 13%. A
first-class stamp stayed at 37 cents and the federal minimum wage at $5.15, unchanged since
1997.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2004: $100 is worth $105 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2004/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2004. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2004/