$100 in 2003 is worth $119 in 2010,
because prices increased 18.5% over that period, an average of
2.46% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$119
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
18.5%
Average inflation rate
2.46% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$119
Price difference ($100 base)
$18.51
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 2003 → 2010
$119
$100 in 2010 → 2003
$84.38
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2010
Between 2003 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 18.5%, which works out to an average of
2.46% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.84 buys in 2010: the 2003 dollar
lost 15.6% of its purchasing power over
these 7 years.
Inflation was 2.3% in 2003, up from 1.6% in 2002, as gasoline climbed from $1.36 to $1.59 a
gallon around the March invasion of Iraq. Even so, the Federal Reserve spent the year worried
about prices being too low: on June 25 it cut its policy rate to 1.0%, the lowest since 1958,
and said the risk of deflation, though small, deserved a response. The median household earned
about $43,300 and a new home cost roughly $195,000. Congress passed a second round of tax cuts
in May, and the economy grew faster in the second half of the year than at any point since
1999. Hiring lagged the recovery, and unemployment peaked at 6.3% in June. A first-class stamp
stayed at 37 cents and the federal minimum wage at $5.15.
Every 2003 amount converts to 2010 at the same ratio, 1.19: $1,000 becomes
$1,185, and $10,000 becomes $11,851.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2010
$1.00
$1.19
$5.00
$5.93
$10.00
$11.85
$20.00
$23.70
$50.00
$59.25
$100
$119
$500
$593
$1,000
$1,185
$5,000
$5,925
$10,000
$11,851
$100,000
$118,509
$1,000,000
$1,185,087
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2010
Between 2003 and 2010, energy rose the most, up 54.9%, while apparel fell 1.2%, against 18.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.46%
$119
Energy
6.45%
$155
Medical care
3.90%
$131
Transportation
2.97%
$123
Food
2.88%
$122
Education & communication
2.43%
$118
Housing
2.27%
$117
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.96%
$115
Recreation
0.76%
$105
Apparel
-0.17%
$98.84
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $110 by
2006, on its way to $119 in 2010; 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 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $119; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2010: $100 is worth $119 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2010/