$100 in 2019 is worth $119 in 2023,
because prices increased 19.2% over that period, an average of
4.49% a year.
$100 in 2019 has
the same buying power as
$119
in 2023
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
19.2%
Average inflation rate
4.49% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$119
Price difference ($100 base)
$19.18
CPI in 2019
255.657
CPI in 2023
304.702
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
Inflation in 2023
4.12%
$100 in 2019 → 2023
$119
$100 in 2023 → 2019
$83.90
What happened to prices between 2019 and 2023
Between 2019 and 2023, the Consumer Price Index went from 255.657 to 304.702.
Cumulatively, prices increased 19.2%, which works out to an average of
4.49% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2019 bought what
$0.84 buys in 2023: the 2019 dollar
lost 16.1% of its purchasing power over
these 4 years.
2019 was the last ordinary year before COVID-19. Consumer prices rose 1.8%,
slightly under the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with gasoline averaging
$2.60 a gallon. Median household income jumped to $68,703, the highest on
record up to that point, and the median new home sold for about $328,000. A
first-class stamp rose to 55 cents.
The Fed reversed course. After four increases in 2018, it cut rates three
times, to 1.50–1.75%, citing slower global growth, trade tensions, and low
inflation. In July the expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
U.S. records, and in August the yield curve briefly inverted, a signal
investors read as a recession warning.
For workers at the bottom of the pay scale, 2019 marked a milestone of a
different kind. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and reached its tenth
year without an increase, the longest gap since the wage was first set. Because
prices had climbed about 19% since it was last raised in 2009, its buying power
was lower than at any point in that span.
Every 2019 amount converts to 2023 at the same ratio, 1.19: $1,000 becomes
$1,192, and $10,000 becomes $11,918.
Amount in 2019
Value in 2023
$1.00
$1.19
$5.00
$5.96
$10.00
$11.92
$20.00
$23.84
$50.00
$59.59
$100
$119
$500
$596
$1,000
$1,192
$5,000
$5,959
$10,000
$11,918
$100,000
$119,184
$1,000,000
$1,191,839
Inflation by spending category, 2019–2023
Between 2019 and 2023, energy rose the most, up 31.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.3%, against 19.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2019
spending costs in 2023, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2019 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.49%
$119
Energy
7.10%
$132
Transportation
6.18%
$127
Food
5.74%
$125
Housing
4.75%
$120
Core (all items less food & energy)
4.04%
$117
Recreation
3.07%
$113
Medical care
2.45%
$110
Education & communication
1.32%
$105
Apparel
1.29%
$105
Decade by decade: 2019 to 2023
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 5.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2019–2023 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2019, at end
2019–2020
1.23%
1.2%
$101
2020–2023
5.59%
17.7%
$119
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2019
$100 from 2019 had already become $106 by
2021, on its way to $119 in 2023; 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 the smallest rise was 1.2% in 2020.
In 2023, prices rose 4.1% and $100 from 2019 had the buying
power of $119; the year's average CPI of 304.702 is the level
behind every 2023 figure on this page.
2023 was the year inflation came down without a recession. Consumer prices
rose 4.1% on average, roughly half of 2022’s 8.0%, and the December-to-December
rate fell to 3.4%. Gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon, well below the 2022
average, and supply-chain pressure on goods eased. Shelter, restaurant meals,
and other services stayed expensive, so the CPI kept rising at a rate well
above the pre-pandemic pace.
The Federal Reserve completed its rate-hiking campaign in July, taking the
policy rate to 5.25–5.50%, the highest level in 22 years. The effects showed
up in banking: Silicon Valley Bank failed in March after rate increases eroded
the value of its bond portfolio, the second-largest bank failure in U.S.
history at the time. Despite that, unemployment stayed under 4% all year.
Median household income was $80,610 according to the Census Bureau. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 66 cents
in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 2019 to 2023: $100 is worth $119 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2019-to-2023/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2019 to 2023. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2019-to-2023/