$100 in 2003 is worth $129 in 2014,
because prices increased 28.7% over that period, an average of
2.32% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$129
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
28.7%
Average inflation rate
2.32% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$129
Price difference ($100 base)
$28.66
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 2003 → 2014
$129
$100 in 2014 → 2003
$77.72
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2014
Between 2003 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 28.7%, which works out to an average of
2.32% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.78 buys in 2014: the 2003 dollar
lost 22.3% of its purchasing power over
these 11 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 2014 at the same ratio, 1.29: $1,000 becomes
$1,287, and $10,000 becomes $12,866.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2014
$1.00
$1.29
$5.00
$6.43
$10.00
$12.87
$20.00
$25.73
$50.00
$64.33
$100
$129
$500
$643
$1,000
$1,287
$5,000
$6,433
$10,000
$12,866
$100,000
$128,661
$1,000,000
$1,286,609
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2014
Between 2003 and 2014, energy rose the most, up 78.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.5%, against 28.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.32%
$129
Energy
5.41%
$178
Medical care
3.53%
$147
Transportation
2.90%
$137
Food
2.76%
$135
Housing
2.14%
$126
Education & communication
2.07%
$125
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.91%
$123
Recreation
0.66%
$107
Apparel
0.49%
$105
Decade by decade: 2003 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.46% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2003–2014 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2003, at end
2003–2010
2.46%
18.5%
$119
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$129
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $117 by
2008, on its way to $129 in 2014; 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 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $129; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2014: $100 is worth $129 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2014/