$100 in 2003 is worth $159 in 2022,
because prices increased 59.1% over that period, an average of
2.47% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$159
in 2022
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
59.1%
Average inflation rate
2.47% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$159
Price difference ($100 base)
$59.05
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2022
292.655
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2022
8.00%
$100 in 2003 → 2022
$159
$100 in 2022 → 2003
$62.87
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2022
Between 2003 and 2022, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 292.655.
Cumulatively, prices increased 59.1%, which works out to an average of
2.47% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.63 buys in 2022: the 2003 dollar
lost 37.1% of its purchasing power over
these 19 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 2022 at the same ratio, 1.59: $1,000 becomes
$1,591, and $10,000 becomes $15,905.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2022
$1.00
$1.59
$5.00
$7.95
$10.00
$15.91
$20.00
$31.81
$50.00
$79.53
$100
$159
$500
$795
$1,000
$1,591
$5,000
$7,953
$10,000
$15,905
$100,000
$159,052
$1,000,000
$1,590,516
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2022
Between 2003 and 2022, energy rose the most, up 118.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.1%, against 59.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2022, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.47%
$159
Energy
4.20%
$219
Medical care
3.26%
$184
Food
2.82%
$170
Transportation
2.80%
$169
Housing
2.60%
$163
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.24%
$152
Education & communication
1.43%
$131
Recreation
1.04%
$122
Apparel
0.26%
$105
Decade by decade: 2003 to 2022
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 6.34% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2003–2022 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2003, at end
2003–2010
2.46%
18.5%
$119
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$141
2020–2022
6.34%
13.1%
$159
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $125 by
2012, on its way to $159 in 2022; 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 2022, prices rose 8.0% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $159; the year's average CPI of 292.655 is the level
behind every 2022 figure on this page.
2022 was the year inflation returned. Consumer prices rose 8.0% on average,
the worst since 1981, driven by pandemic-era supply chains, stimulus-fueled
demand, and an energy shock from the war in Ukraine. Gas briefly topped $5 a
gallon nationally for the first time ever, and “inflation” became the
top-ranked economic concern in nearly every poll of American households.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2022: $100 is worth $159 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2022/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2022. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2022/