$100 in 2003 is worth $129 in 2015,
because prices increased 28.8% over that period, an average of
2.13% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$129
in 2015
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
28.8%
Average inflation rate
2.13% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$129
Price difference ($100 base)
$28.81
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2015
237.017
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2015
0.12%
$100 in 2003 → 2015
$129
$100 in 2015 → 2003
$77.63
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2015
Between 2003 and 2015, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 237.017.
Cumulatively, prices increased 28.8%, which works out to an average of
2.13% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.78 buys in 2015: the 2003 dollar
lost 22.4% of its purchasing power over
these 12 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 2015 at the same ratio, 1.29: $1,000 becomes
$1,288, and $10,000 becomes $12,881.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2015
$1.00
$1.29
$5.00
$6.44
$10.00
$12.88
$20.00
$25.76
$50.00
$64.41
$100
$129
$500
$644
$1,000
$1,288
$5,000
$6,441
$10,000
$12,881
$100,000
$128,814
$1,000,000
$1,288,136
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2015
Between 2003 and 2015, medical care rose the most, up 50.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 4.1%, against 28.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2015, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.13%
$129
Medical care
3.46%
$150
Energy
3.36%
$149
Food
2.68%
$137
Housing
2.13%
$129
Transportation
1.97%
$126
Education & communication
1.94%
$126
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.90%
$125
Recreation
0.63%
$108
Apparel
0.34%
$104
Decade by decade: 2003 to 2015
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.46% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.68% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2003–2015 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2003, at end
2003–2010
2.46%
18.5%
$119
2010–2015
1.68%
8.7%
$129
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $117 by
2009, on its way to $129 in 2015; 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 2015, prices rose 0.1% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $129; the year's average CPI of 237.017 is the level
behind every 2015 figure on this page.
2015 was almost a year with no inflation at all. Consumer prices rose 0.1%,
the smallest increase since the 2009 decline, because energy prices kept
falling. Gasoline averaged $2.45 a gallon, down from $3.37 in 2014, and a
strong dollar made imported goods cheaper. The picture was different outside
food and energy: core prices rose about 1.8% as rents and medical costs
climbed.
Incomes finally showed real progress. Median household income reached $56,516,
a large jump from $53,657, and the median new home sold for about $296,400. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp stayed at 49
cents.
The Federal Reserve chose December to end its zero-rate policy, raising the
target range to 0.25–0.50% for the first time since 2006. It moved even
though headline inflation was far under 2%, arguing that the drag from
energy was temporary. Earlier, a currency shift in China in August had shaken
global markets and pushed oil below $40 a barrel. Prices in 2015 ended
the year barely above their 2014 level.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2015: $100 is worth $129 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2015/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2015. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2015/