All-items CPI is a national average basket
Your rent, medical care, or college costs can move faster or slower than all-items CPI-U. The index is still the standard way to compare a 1990 dollar with a 2026 dollar in general terms.
Your numbers
Buying power over time
See what an amount in one U.S. month would buy in another, using CPI-U.BLS CPI-U
U.S. city average, all itemsNot seasonally adjusted · July 2026
$
Same buying power in July 2026
$197.82$100.00 in January 2000Price change+97.8%All-items CPI-U
Multiplier1.9782×End index ÷ start index
Latest CPI monthJuly 2026BLS all-items index
How we got this
- CPI-U in January 2000U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted168.8
- CPI-U in July 2026Same series, later or earlier month333.918
- Buying-power equivalent$100.00 × 333.918 ÷ 168.8$197.82
What we assumed
- This uses the BLS CPI-U all-items index, not a personal shopping basket or a regional CPI.
- It measures average urban consumer prices. It is not a forecast and it is not a wage, tax, or Social Security adjustment.
- A later month can be a preliminary BLS estimate and can be revised.
Technical details
Method cpi-u-inflation-v1.0.0Data bls-cpi-u-nsa-2026-07-v1
Guide
CPI-U buying power since 1913
The calculator restates an amount from one U.S. month in another month’s prices using the BLS CPI-U all-items index stored on this site. It is an official-index estimate of purchasing power, not a personal inflation rate.
Questions about this calculator
What is $100 in 1990 worth today?
Pick January 1990 (or the month you care about) and a recent month in the snapshot. The page uses CPI-U, not a forecast of next year.
Is this the inflation rate used for Social Security COLAs?
Social Security uses CPI-W, a related but different series. This page is CPI-U all items.
Terms used here
- CPI-U
- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by BLS.
- Buying power
- How much of the CPI basket an amount would buy in another month.
Practical tips
- Use the same month type (both January, or both annual averages if you are comparing published annual figures).
- For wages, pair this with hourly-to-salary if you are converting a historical hourly rate.
Limits and caveats
- National average prices, not your city. Not a COLA determination.
Results are for information. They are not legal, tax, medical, or financial advice. How the math is maintained · Report a wrong figure.
Engine notes
Rounding, versioning, and omissions that sit beside the guide rather than repeating it.
- Same index, two months. The calculator looks up CPI-U all items for the starting month and the ending month. Months BLS did not publish, such as October 2025, are left off the list.
- Scale the dollars. Amount × ending index ÷ starting index is the equivalent buying power. Either month can be first.
- What it is not. It is not a wage COLA, a tax bracket, or a Social Security adjustment. Those use different rules.