$100 in 2002 is worth $179 in 2025,
because prices increased 79.0% over that period, an average of
2.56% a year.
$100 in 2002 has
the same buying power as
$179
in 2025
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
79.0%
Average inflation rate
2.56% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$179
Price difference ($100 base)
$78.96
CPI in 2002
179.9
CPI in 2025
321.943
Inflation in 2002
1.58%
Inflation in 2025
2.63%
$100 in 2002 → 2025
$179
$100 in 2025 → 2002
$55.88
What happened to prices between 2002 and 2025
Between 2002 and 2025, the Consumer Price Index went from 179.9 to 321.943.
Cumulatively, prices increased 79.0%, which works out to an average of
2.56% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2002 bought what
$0.56 buys in 2025: the 2002 dollar
lost 44.1% of its purchasing power over
these 23 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 2025 at the same ratio, 1.79: $1,000 becomes
$1,790, and $10,000 becomes $17,896.
Amount in 2002
Value in 2025
$1.00
$1.79
$5.00
$8.95
$10.00
$17.90
$20.00
$35.79
$50.00
$89.48
$100
$179
$500
$895
$1,000
$1,790
$5,000
$8,948
$10,000
$17,896
$100,000
$178,957
$1,000,000
$1,789,566
Inflation by spending category, 2002–2025
Between 2002 and 2025, energy rose the most, up 129.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.9%, against 79.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2002
spending costs in 2025, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2002 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.56%
$179
Energy
3.68%
$230
Medical care
3.13%
$203
Food
2.89%
$193
Housing
2.88%
$192
Transportation
2.54%
$178
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.39%
$172
Education & communication
1.35%
$136
Recreation
1.24%
$133
Apparel
0.25%
$106
Decade by decade: 2002 to 2025
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 4.46% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2002–2025 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
2020–2025
4.46%
24.4%
$179
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2002
$100 from 2002 had already become $129 by
2013, on its way to $179 in 2025; 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 2025, prices rose 2.6% and $100 from 2002 had the buying
power of $179; the year's average CPI of 321.943 is the level
behind every 2025 figure on this page.
2025 was a year of trade policy and data disruptions rather than an
inflation surge. Consumer prices rose 2.6% on average, a step down from
2024’s 2.9% and well below the 8.0% of 2022. Tariffs announced in April
pushed up prices for some imported goods, including furniture, apparel, and
auto parts, but the effect on the overall index was smaller than many
forecasters feared at the start of the year, in part because retailers
absorbed some of the cost and demand for services stayed steady.
The Federal Reserve held its policy rate steady through the first half of the
year, then began cutting again in September, lowering it in three quarter-point
steps to 3.50–3.75% by December.
The federal government shutdown that began October 1 lasted 43 days, and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish a CPI for October 2025 because the
survey data could not be collected. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 78 cents in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 2002 to 2025: $100 is worth $179 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2025/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2002 to 2025. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2002-to-2025/