$100 in 2002 is worth $112 in 2006,
because prices increased 12.1% over that period, an average of
2.89% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$112
in 2006
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
12.1%
Average inflation rate
2.89% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$112
Price difference ($100 base)
$12.06
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2006
201.6
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2006
3.23%
$100 in 2002 → 2006
$112
$100 in 2006 → 2002
$89.24
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2006
Between 2002 and 2006, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 201.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 12.1%, which works out to an average of
2.89% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.89 buys in 2006: the 2002 dollar
lost 10.8% of its purchasing power over
these 4 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 2006 at the same ratio, 1.12: $1,000 becomes
$1,121, and $10,000 becomes $11,206.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2006
$1.00
$1.12
$5.00
$5.60
$10.00
$11.21
$20.00
$22.41
$50.00
$56.03
$100
$112
$500
$560
$1,000
$1,121
$5,000
$5,603
$10,000
$11,206
$100,000
$112,062
$1,000,000
$1,120,623
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2006
Between 2002 and 2006, energy rose the most, up 61.8%, while apparel fell 3.6%, against 12.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2006, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.89%
$112
Energy
12.78%
$162
Transportation
4.29%
$118
Medical care
4.16%
$118
Housing
3.03%
$113
Food
2.59%
$111
Education & communication
2.00%
$108
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.96%
$108
Recreation
1.09%
$104
Apparel
-0.92%
$96.37
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $105 by
2004, on its way to $112 in 2006; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2005, and the smallest rise was 2.3% in 2003.
In 2006, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $112; the year's average CPI of 201.6 is the level
behind every 2006 figure on this page.
Inflation was 3.2% in 2006 and gasoline averaged $2.59 a gallon, up 29 cents from 2005. The
median household earned about $48,200 and the median new home cost $246,500, a gain of about
2% after a 13% jump in 2004 and 9% in 2005. National home prices, by the S&P/Case-Shiller
index, peaked in mid-2006. Ben Bernanke replaced Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chair on
February 1, and on June 29 the Fed raised its policy rate to 5.25%, the last of 17 straight
quarter-point increases. It held there for over a year. A first-class stamp rose to 39 cents in
January, and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 for the ninth full year in a row.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2006: $100 is worth $112 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2006/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2006. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2006/