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Inflation Calculator

This amount of money: $
in this year:
has or had what buying power
in this year:

Buying Power: $ 26.13 Inflation Rate: 161.29%

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Inflation Formula:

Example, a $10.00 purchase made in 1980 would have an equivalent purchase cost of $26.13 for the same purchase in 2008.

Calculations are based on comparison of the consumer price index (cpi) for each year. The average cpi in 1980 was 82.4 and the average in 2008 was 215.3. The calculation is a simple ratio. $10.00 in 1980 is to X in 2008 as 82.4 is to 215.3 or 10/X = 82.4/215.3. X = 10 * (215.3/82.4) = 26.13.

The US government has been calculating the cpi since 1913. You can find the the most recently updated table here.

Keep in mind that this is a cumulative total for urban areas and the government applies much more detail to the analysis of different aspects and sectors that affect the cpi.