$100 in 2003 is worth $133 in 2017,
because prices increased 33.2% over that period, an average of
2.07% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$133
in 2017
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
33.2%
Average inflation rate
2.07% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$133
Price difference ($100 base)
$33.22
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2017
245.12
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2017
2.13%
$100 in 2003 → 2017
$133
$100 in 2017 → 2003
$75.07
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2017
Between 2003 and 2017, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 245.12.
Cumulatively, prices increased 33.2%, which works out to an average of
2.07% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.75 buys in 2017: the 2003 dollar
lost 24.9% of its purchasing power over
these 14 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 2017 at the same ratio, 1.33: $1,000 becomes
$1,332, and $10,000 becomes $13,322.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2017
$1.00
$1.33
$5.00
$6.66
$10.00
$13.32
$20.00
$26.64
$50.00
$66.61
$100
$133
$500
$666
$1,000
$1,332
$5,000
$6,661
$10,000
$13,322
$100,000
$133,217
$1,000,000
$1,332,174
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2017
Between 2003 and 2017, medical care rose the most, up 60.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 3.9%, against 33.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2017, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.07%
$133
Medical care
3.41%
$160
Energy
2.93%
$150
Food
2.38%
$139
Housing
2.22%
$136
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.92%
$131
Transportation
1.77%
$128
Education & communication
1.57%
$124
Recreation
0.70%
$110
Apparel
0.27%
$104
Decade by decade: 2003 to 2017
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.46% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.69% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2003–2017 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2003, at end
2003–2010
2.46%
18.5%
$119
2010–2017
1.69%
12.4%
$133
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $119 by
2010, on its way to $133 in 2017; 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 2017, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $133; the year's average CPI of 245.12 is the level
behind every 2017 figure on this page.
2017 pushed consumer prices back above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The
CPI rose 2.1%, the first reading over 2% in five years, helped by a rebound
in energy after OPEC’s output cuts and by a storm-related spike at the pump:
Hurricane Harvey shut a large part of Gulf Coast refining in late August.
Gasoline averaged $2.42 a gallon, up from $2.14 in 2016.
Household incomes kept rising. The median household income reached $61,372,
and the median new home sold for about $322,100. The federal minimum wage
stayed at $7.25, its eighth year at that level, and a first-class stamp rose
to 49 cents.
The Fed raised rates three times, to 1.25–1.50%, and in October began
letting its bond holdings shrink. Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
in December, lowering the corporate rate to 21%. Even with unemployment near
4%, core inflation stayed under 2%, a puzzle that shaped Fed debates for the
next two years.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2017: $100 is worth $133 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2017/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2017. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2017/