$100 in 2002 is worth $140 in 2018,
because prices increased 39.6% over that period, an average of
2.11% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$140
in 2018
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
39.6%
Average inflation rate
2.11% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$140
Price difference ($100 base)
$39.58
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2018
251.107
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
$100 in 2002 → 2018
$140
$100 in 2018 → 2002
$71.64
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2018
Between 2002 and 2018, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 251.107.
Cumulatively, prices increased 39.6%, which works out to an average of
2.11% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.72 buys in 2018: the 2002 dollar
lost 28.4% of its purchasing power over
these 16 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 2018 at the same ratio, 1.40: $1,000 becomes
$1,396, and $10,000 becomes $13,958.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2018
$1.00
$1.40
$5.00
$6.98
$10.00
$13.96
$20.00
$27.92
$50.00
$69.79
$100
$140
$500
$698
$1,000
$1,396
$5,000
$6,979
$10,000
$13,958
$100,000
$139,581
$1,000,000
$1,395,814
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2018
Between 2002 and 2018, energy rose the most, up 80.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 1.3%, against 39.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2018, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.11%
$140
Energy
3.77%
$181
Medical care
3.36%
$170
Food
2.30%
$144
Housing
2.28%
$143
Transportation
2.02%
$138
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.90%
$135
Education & communication
1.49%
$127
Recreation
0.72%
$112
Apparel
0.08%
$101
Decade by decade: 2002 to 2018
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.43% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2002–2018 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2002, at end
2002–2010
2.43%
21.2%
$121
2010–2018
1.78%
15.2%
$140
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $121 by
2010, on its way to $140 in 2018; 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 2018, prices rose 2.4% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $140; the year's average CPI of 251.107 is the level
behind every 2018 figure on this page.
2018 was the peak of the late-2010s expansion. Consumer prices rose 2.4%,
the fastest since 2011, with gasoline averaging $2.72 a gallon after a summer
high. Unemployment fell to 3.7% in September, the lowest since 1969, and median
household income reached $63,179. The median new home sold for about $331,800,
and a first-class stamp cost 50 cents. The federal minimum wage was still $7.25.
Trade policy became a price factor for the first time in decades. New tariffs
on steel, aluminum, and a growing list of Chinese goods raised costs for
manufacturers and some consumer products, and retaliation cut into exports of
soybeans and other farm goods.
The Federal Reserve, led from February by Jerome Powell, raised rates four
times to 2.25–2.50%. A stock-market drop of nearly 20% in the fourth quarter
led the Fed to signal a pause in early 2019. Oil fell from over $75 a barrel in
October to below $50 by December, which pulled headline inflation lower going
into the next year.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2018: $100 is worth $140 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2018/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2018. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2018/