$100 in 2002 is worth $142 in 2019,
because prices increased 42.1% over that period, an average of
2.09% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$142
in 2019
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
42.1%
Average inflation rate
2.09% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$142
Price difference ($100 base)
$42.11
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2019
255.657
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
$100 in 2002 → 2019
$142
$100 in 2019 → 2002
$70.37
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2019
Between 2002 and 2019, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 255.657.
Cumulatively, prices increased 42.1%, which works out to an average of
2.09% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.70 buys in 2019: the 2002 dollar
lost 29.6% of its purchasing power over
these 17 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 2019 at the same ratio, 1.42: $1,000 becomes
$1,421, and $10,000 becomes $14,211.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2019
$1.00
$1.42
$5.00
$7.11
$10.00
$14.21
$20.00
$28.42
$50.00
$71.06
$100
$142
$500
$711
$1,000
$1,421
$5,000
$7,106
$10,000
$14,211
$100,000
$142,111
$1,000,000
$1,421,106
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2019
Between 2002 and 2019, energy rose the most, up 76.9%, while apparel rose the least, up 0.0%, against 42.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2019, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.09%
$142
Energy
3.41%
$177
Medical care
3.33%
$175
Housing
2.31%
$148
Food
2.28%
$147
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.92%
$138
Transportation
1.89%
$137
Education & communication
1.45%
$128
Recreation
0.75%
$114
Apparel
0.00%
$100
Decade by decade: 2002 to 2019
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 2002–2019 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2002, at end
2002–2010
2.43%
21.2%
$121
2010–2019
1.78%
17.2%
$142
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $121 by
2010, on its way to $142 in 2019; 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 2019, prices rose 1.8% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $142; the year's average CPI of 255.657 is the level
behind every 2019 figure on this page.
2019 was the last ordinary year before COVID-19. Consumer prices rose 1.8%,
slightly under the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with gasoline averaging
$2.60 a gallon. Median household income jumped to $68,703, the highest on
record up to that point, and the median new home sold for about $328,000. A
first-class stamp rose to 55 cents.
The Fed reversed course. After four increases in 2018, it cut rates three
times, to 1.50–1.75%, citing slower global growth, trade tensions, and low
inflation. In July the expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
U.S. records, and in August the yield curve briefly inverted, a signal
investors read as a recession warning.
For workers at the bottom of the pay scale, 2019 marked a milestone of a
different kind. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and reached its tenth
year without an increase, the longest gap since the wage was first set. Because
prices had climbed about 19% since it was last raised in 2009, its buying power
was lower than at any point in that span.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2019: $100 is worth $142 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2019/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2019. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2019/