$100 in 2021 is worth $123 in 2026,
because prices increased 22.6% over that period, an average of
4.16% a year.
$100 in 2021 has
the same buying power as
$123
in 2026
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
22.6%
Average inflation rate
4.16% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$123
Price difference ($100 base)
$22.61
CPI in 2021
270.97
CPI in 2026
332.243
Inflation in 2021
4.70%
Inflation in 2026
3.20%
$100 in 2021 → 2026
$123
$100 in 2026 → 2021
$81.56
Uses a partial-year average for the current year; updates with each CPI release.
What happened to prices between 2021 and 2026
Between 2021 and 2026, the Consumer Price Index went from 270.97 to 332.243.
Cumulatively, prices increased 22.6%, which works out to an average of
4.16% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2021 bought what
$0.82 buys in 2026: the 2021 dollar
lost 18.4% of its purchasing power over
these 5 years.
2021 was the year inflation stopped being background noise. Consumer prices
rose 4.7% on average for the year, and the pace kept building as the months
went on: by December, the 12-month rate had reached 7.0%, the highest since
1982. The proximate cause was a supply chain that could not keep up with a
fast-reopening economy. A global semiconductor shortage choked new car
production and pushed used vehicle prices up by more than a third, the
single largest line item in the year’s inflation math. Lumber, appliances,
and shipping capacity told versions of the same story: demand snapped back
faster than factories, ports, and truckers could handle it. Washington added
fuel in March with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, on top of the
relief already in the pipeline since 2020. For most of the year, the Federal
Reserve called the price surge “transitory,” a temporary reopening effect
expected to fade on its own, and held its policy rate near zero. By
November, with inflation still climbing, the Fed reversed course and began
winding down its bond purchases, the first step toward the rate hikes that
would follow in 2022. Gas averaged $3.01 a gallon for the year, up from
about $2.17 in 2020, while the federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
unchanged since 2009. In hindsight, 2021 reads as the hinge year: the point
where “transitory” inflation became the multi-year fight the Fed spent the
next two years trying to win.
Every 2021 amount converts to 2026 at the same ratio, 1.23: $1,000 becomes
$1,226, and $10,000 becomes $12,261.
Amount in 2021
Value in 2026
$1.00
$1.23
$5.00
$6.13
$10.00
$12.26
$20.00
$24.52
$50.00
$61.31
$100
$123
$500
$613
$1,000
$1,226
$5,000
$6,131
$10,000
$12,261
$100,000
$122,612
$1,000,000
$1,226,125
Inflation by spending category, 2021–2026
Between 2021 and 2026, energy rose the most, up 33.4%, while education & communication rose the least, up 3.6%, against 22.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2021
spending costs in 2026, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2021 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.16%
$123
Energy
5.93%
$133
Housing
4.95%
$127
Food
4.65%
$126
Transportation
4.43%
$124
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.92%
$121
Recreation
2.92%
$115
Medical care
2.44%
$113
Apparel
2.43%
$113
Education & communication
0.71%
$104
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2021
$100 from 2021 had already become $112 by
2023, on its way to $123 in 2026; 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 2.6% in 2025.
In 2026, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 2021 had the buying
power of $123; the year's average CPI of 332.243 is the level
behind every 2026 figure on this page.
Cite this page
MLA: “Inflation from 2021 to 2026: $100 is worth $123 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2021-to-2026/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2021 to 2026. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2021-to-2026/