$100 in 2003 is worth $170 in 2024,
because prices increased 70.5% over that period, an average of
2.57% a year.
$100 in 2003 has
the same buying power as
$170
in 2024
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
70.5%
Average inflation rate
2.57% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$170
Price difference ($100 base)
$70.48
CPI in 2003
184
CPI in 2024
313.689
Inflation in 2003
2.28%
Inflation in 2024
2.95%
$100 in 2003 → 2024
$170
$100 in 2024 → 2003
$58.66
What happened to prices between 2003 and 2024
Between 2003 and 2024, the Consumer Price Index went from 184 to 313.689.
Cumulatively, prices increased 70.5%, which works out to an average of
2.57% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2003 bought what
$0.59 buys in 2024: the 2003 dollar
lost 41.3% of its purchasing power over
these 21 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 2024 at the same ratio, 1.70: $1,000 becomes
$1,705, and $10,000 becomes $17,048.
Amount in 2003
Value in 2024
$1.00
$1.70
$5.00
$8.52
$10.00
$17.05
$20.00
$34.10
$50.00
$85.24
$100
$170
$500
$852
$1,000
$1,705
$5,000
$8,524
$10,000
$17,048
$100,000
$170,483
$1,000,000
$1,704,832
Inflation by spending category, 2003–2024
Between 2003 and 2024, energy rose the most, up 104.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 8.8%, against 70.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2003
spending costs in 2024, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2003 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.57%
$170
Energy
3.47%
$205
Medical care
3.10%
$190
Food
2.93%
$183
Housing
2.86%
$181
Transportation
2.61%
$172
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.42%
$165
Education & communication
1.37%
$133
Recreation
1.20%
$129
Apparel
0.40%
$109
Decade by decade: 2003 to 2024
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 4.93% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2003–2024 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
2020–2024
4.93%
21.2%
$170
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2003
$100 from 2003 had already become $127 by
2013, on its way to $170 in 2024; 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 2024, prices rose 2.9% and $100 from 2003 had the buying
power of $170; the year's average CPI of 313.689 is the level
behind every 2024 figure on this page.
2024 brought inflation close to normal without fully reaching it. Consumer
prices rose 2.9% on average, the smallest yearly increase since 2020, and the
December-to-December rate was also 2.9%. Gasoline averaged $3.30 a gallon,
below 2023’s $3.52. Shelter stayed the biggest driver of the index, so the
pace of price growth in categories that households can’t easily avoid, such as
rent and insurance, lagged the drop in goods and energy costs.
The Federal Reserve declared progress in September, cutting its policy rate
by half a point, the first reduction since the pandemic emergency, and then
by a quarter point in November and again in December. Mortgage rates near 7%
kept the housing market frozen for many would-be buyers.
Median household income was $83,730, the federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 73 cents in July. After the November election,
attention turned to how announced tariffs and tax policy might affect prices
in 2025.
MLA: “Inflation from 2003 to 2024: $100 is worth $170 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2024/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2003 to 2024. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2003-to-2024/