$100 in 2002 is worth $169 in 2023,
because prices increased 69.4% over that period, an average of
2.54% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$169
in 2023
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
69.4%
Average inflation rate
2.54% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$169
Price difference ($100 base)
$69.37
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2023
304.702
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2023
4.12%
$100 in 2002 → 2023
$169
$100 in 2023 → 2002
$59.04
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2023
Between 2002 and 2023, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 304.702.
Cumulatively, prices increased 69.4%, which works out to an average of
2.54% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.59 buys in 2023: the 2002 dollar
lost 41.0% of its purchasing power over
these 21 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 2023 at the same ratio, 1.69: $1,000 becomes
$1,694, and $10,000 becomes $16,937.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2023
$1.00
$1.69
$5.00
$8.47
$10.00
$16.94
$20.00
$33.87
$50.00
$84.69
$100
$169
$500
$847
$1,000
$1,694
$5,000
$8,469
$10,000
$16,937
$100,000
$169,373
$1,000,000
$1,693,730
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2023
Between 2002 and 2023, energy rose the most, up 132.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.3%, against 69.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2023, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.54%
$169
Energy
4.11%
$233
Medical care
3.16%
$192
Food
2.93%
$183
Housing
2.77%
$178
Transportation
2.69%
$175
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.32%
$162
Education & communication
1.42%
$135
Recreation
1.19%
$128
Apparel
0.25%
$105
Decade by decade: 2002 to 2023
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 5.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2002–2023 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2002, at end
2002–2010
2.43%
21.2%
$121
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$144
2020–2023
5.59%
17.7%
$169
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $128 by
2012, on its way to $169 in 2023; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 8.0% in 2022, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2023, prices rose 4.1% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $169; the year's average CPI of 304.702 is the level
behind every 2023 figure on this page.
2023 was the year inflation came down without a recession. Consumer prices
rose 4.1% on average, roughly half of 2022’s 8.0%, and the December-to-December
rate fell to 3.4%. Gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon, well below the 2022
average, and supply-chain pressure on goods eased. Shelter, restaurant meals,
and other services stayed expensive, so the CPI kept rising at a rate well
above the pre-pandemic pace.
The Federal Reserve completed its rate-hiking campaign in July, taking the
policy rate to 5.25–5.50%, the highest level in 22 years. The effects showed
up in banking: Silicon Valley Bank failed in March after rate increases eroded
the value of its bond portfolio, the second-largest bank failure in U.S.
history at the time. Despite that, unemployment stayed under 4% all year.
Median household income was $80,610 according to the Census Bureau. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 66 cents
in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2023: $100 is worth $169 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2023/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2023. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2023/