What can Tom's Inflation Calculator do, and what can't it do?
Tom's Inflation Calculator converts U.S. dollars between two different years, adjusting the dollars for inflation (or deflation). Over time, wages and prices tend to rise, making direct comparisons between two years difficult. Past prices seem cheaper, but past wages were lower, too. Today's inflated dollars just don't buy as much stuff as past dollars did. Tom's Inflation Calculator adjusts for these differences, allowing you to make roughly equivalent comparisons of wages and prices between two years.
It's not an investment calculator. You can't use it to calculate how an investment will grow over time. However, you can use it as a companion with an investment calculator. First, use the investment calculator to estimate how large your savings will grow in the future. Then use the Inflation Calculator to estimate the actual purchasing power of that sum, as expressed in today's dollars. (See: How can I use the calculator to forecast future inflation?)
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Why won't the calculator run on my computer?
The JavaScript version is compatible with almost all web browsers without installing any plug-ins or changing any security settings. Exception: some browsers disable scripts for strict security reasons. Enabling JavaScript will allow my Inflation Calculator to run without compromising security. Some browsers let you specify which websites can run scripts and which cannot.
The original version of Tom's Inflation Calculator was a special type of computer program known as a Java applet. It required downloading and installing a special Java plug-in and customizing the browser's security settings. For various reasons, I decided to discontinue this version after 2016.
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How can I use the calculator to convert prices or wages from past years into equivalent dollar amounts today?
Type the price or wage from a past year into the Dollar Amount field. Type the year for that price or wage into the Starting Year field. Type the current year into the Target Year field. (Note: some data sets don't allow you to target the current year because the inflation data isn't available yet; the default data set uses a forecast for the current year.) Now click the Calculate button. The answer appears in the Converted Amount field.
Example #1: Are your wages keeping up with general price inflation?
Suppose you were making $30,000 a year in 2010. Have your wages kept pace with price inflation since then?
- To find out, start with the default data set (Consumer Price Index, CPI-U):
- Enter 30,000 in the Dollar Amount field.
- Enter 2010 in the Starting Year field.
- Enter 2024 in the Target Year field.
- Click the Calculate button.
The answer — in this case, $43,166.05 — appears in the Converted Amount field. If your current salary is less, you haven't kept up with general price inflation. Time for a raise!
Example #2: Are your wages keeping up with general wage inflation?
Suppose you were making $30,000 a year in 2010. Have your wages kept pace with wage inflation since then?
- To find out, select the alternative data set, Social Security Wage Index, 1951–2023.
- Enter 30,000 in the Dollar Amount field.
- Enter 2010 in the Starting Year field.
- Enter 2023 in the Target Year field. (Enter 2023, because the Social Security Administration won't release the 2024 data until after the federal fiscal year ends in September 2025.)
- Click the Calculate button.
The answer — in this case, $47,958.50 — appears below the Calculate button. If your current salary is less, you haven't kept up with general wage inflation. Time for a raise!
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How can I use the calculator to convert today's wages and prices into equivalent dollar amounts for past years?
Type the wage or price from this year into the Dollar Amount field. Type this year into the Starting Year field. (Note: some data sets don't allow you to start with the current year because the inflation data isn't available yet; the default data set uses a forecast for the current year.) Type the past year to which you want to convert this wage or price into the Target Year field. Click the Calculate button. The answer appears in the Converted Amount field.
For example, suppose you just paid $5.00 for a gallon of regular gasoline. In the summer of 2008, gasoline reached $4.11 a gallon. But was gasoline really cheaper then, after allowing for inflation?
- To find out, use the default data set: U.S. Price Inflation (CPI-U, Annual Average). The currently selected data set is always indicated below the row of Inflation Calculator buttons. You can change it by clicking the Options button.
- Enter 5.00 in the Dollar Amount field.
- Enter 2024 in the Starting Year field.
- Enter 2008 in the Target Year field.
- Click on the Calculate button.
The answer — in this case, $3.43 — appears below the Calculate button. So, after adjusting for inflation, today's $5.00 gasoline is actually much cheaper ($3.43 in 2008 dollars) than it was in 2008 ($4.11 in 2008 dollars).
Another way of comparing these prices is to convert the 2008 price to 2024 dollars. Enter 4.11 in the Dollar Amount field, 2008 in the Starting Year field, and 2024 in the Target Year field. The answer is $5.98, so gasoline in the summer of 2008 was much more expensive than a $5.00 gallon is now.
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How can I use the calculator to forecast future inflation?
Choose the default data set: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). It's the only one with forecasts of inflation rates into the future. It's also the default data when the Inflation Calculator first runs. (The selection buttons indicate the active data set.)
You can use this data to estimate the effects of inflation as far forward as the year 2100. Of course, these forecasts are speculative. For the current year through 2034, the forecasts are from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan source. After that, the calculator automatically computes the mean average inflation rate since the U.S. government began gathering these statistics in 1913. In 2024, that average annual rate is 3.27%.
If you have used someone else's investment calculator to estimate how your savings will grow, you can enter those amounts into my Inflation Calculator to estimate the inflation-adjusted value of those future dollars. (My thanks to Penelope Reznor and Kodi Wolf for suggesting this feature.)
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