$100 in 2002 is worth $128 in 2012,
because prices increased 27.6% over that period, an average of
2.47% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$128
in 2012
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
27.6%
Average inflation rate
2.47% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$128
Price difference ($100 base)
$27.62
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2012
229.594
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
$100 in 2002 → 2012
$128
$100 in 2012 → 2002
$78.36
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2012
Between 2002 and 2012, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 229.594.
Cumulatively, prices increased 27.6%, which works out to an average of
2.47% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.78 buys in 2012: the 2002 dollar
lost 21.6% of its purchasing power over
these 10 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 2012 at the same ratio, 1.28: $1,000 becomes
$1,276, and $10,000 becomes $12,762.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2012
$1.00
$1.28
$5.00
$6.38
$10.00
$12.76
$20.00
$25.52
$50.00
$63.81
$100
$128
$500
$638
$1,000
$1,276
$5,000
$6,381
$10,000
$12,762
$100,000
$127,623
$1,000,000
$1,276,231
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2012
Between 2002 and 2012, energy rose the most, up 102.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 1.8%, against 27.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2012, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.47%
$128
Energy
7.29%
$202
Medical care
3.81%
$145
Transportation
3.58%
$142
Food
2.87%
$133
Education & communication
2.18%
$124
Housing
2.14%
$124
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.89%
$121
Recreation
0.77%
$108
Apparel
0.18%
$102
Decade by decade: 2002 to 2012
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 2.61% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.43% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2002–2012 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2002, at end
2002–2010
2.43%
21.2%
$121
2010–2012
2.61%
5.3%
$128
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $115 by
2007, on its way to $128 in 2012; 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 2012, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $128; the year's average CPI of 229.594 is the level
behind every 2012 figure on this page.
2012 put a number on what the Federal Reserve was aiming for. In January the
Fed announced a 2% inflation target, and consumer prices rose 2.1% for the
year, almost exactly on it. Gasoline averaged $3.62 a gallon, another annual
high, but the pace of increase cooled from 2011’s 3.2% as food and core prices
grew more slowly.
The bigger story was housing and jobs. Home prices began to recover, and the
median new home sold for about $245,200, up from $227,200 the year before.
Median household income was $51,017. The federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents.
In September the Fed started a third round of asset purchases, this one with
no fixed end date, aimed at lowering unemployment. Overseas, the European
Central Bank’s July pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro calmed
bond markets. A summer drought across the Midwest drove corn and soybean
prices to records, a shock that reached grocery shelves only partly, because
most of what shoppers pay for food covers processing and transport rather than
raw crops.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2012: $100 is worth $128 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2012/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2012. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2012/