$100 in 2002 is worth $115 in 2007,
because prices increased 15.3% over that period, an average of
2.88% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$115
in 2007
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
15.3%
Average inflation rate
2.88% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$115
Price difference ($100 base)
$15.25
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2007
207.342
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2007
2.85%
$100 in 2002 → 2007
$115
$100 in 2007 → 2002
$86.76
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2007
Between 2002 and 2007, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 207.342.
Cumulatively, prices increased 15.3%, which works out to an average of
2.88% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.87 buys in 2007: the 2002 dollar
lost 13.2% of its purchasing power over
these 5 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 2007 at the same ratio, 1.15: $1,000 becomes
$1,153, and $10,000 becomes $11,525.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2007
$1.00
$1.15
$5.00
$5.76
$10.00
$11.53
$20.00
$23.05
$50.00
$57.63
$100
$115
$500
$576
$1,000
$1,153
$5,000
$5,763
$10,000
$11,525
$100,000
$115,254
$1,000,000
$1,152,540
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2007
Between 2002 and 2007, energy rose the most, up 70.7%, while apparel fell 4.0%, against 15.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2007, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.88%
$115
Energy
11.29%
$171
Medical care
4.21%
$123
Transportation
3.85%
$121
Housing
3.06%
$116
Food
2.86%
$115
Education & communication
2.08%
$111
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.04%
$111
Recreation
0.97%
$105
Apparel
-0.82%
$95.97
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $105 by
2004, on its way to $115 in 2007; 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 2007, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $115; the year's average CPI of 207.342 is the level
behind every 2007 figure on this page.
Inflation was 2.8% in 2007, with gasoline averaging $2.80 a gallon, but the year is better
known for what began underneath prices. In August, French bank BNP Paribas froze funds tied to
U.S. subprime mortgages, and credit between banks tightened. The Federal Reserve responded with
a half-point cut on September 18, its first in four years, and took the policy rate from 5.25% to
4.25% by December. The economy peaked that month, by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s
dating, and the Great Recession followed. The median household earned about $50,200, and the
median new home cost $247,900. Congress ended the decade-long freeze on the federal minimum wage
in May, with the first of three steps to $5.85 in July. A first-class stamp cost 41 cents.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2007: $100 is worth $115 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2007/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2007. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2007/