# Inflation Calculator

> Calculate how inflation erodes purchasing power over time. Custom rate or historical U.S. CPI averages from 1990 onward.

URL: https://uttir.com/inflation-calculator
Categories: calculators
Privacy: Calculations are local. No data leaves your device.

## About

How much will $100 today cost in 20 years? What did $100 in 2000 buy in 2024? This calculator answers both. Enter an amount, a number of years, and an annual inflation rate, and the tool shows the future cost and the equivalent purchasing power in today's dollars.

For quick historical comparisons, pick a year from the U.S. CPI table (1990 onward). The long-run U.S. inflation rate is around 3.2% per year — a useful default for general planning.

## How to use

1. **Enter the amount** — In today's dollars.
2. **Enter the number of years** — How far into the future (or past) to project.
3. **Pick a rate** — Custom annual rate, or use a historical U.S. CPI year.

## Examples

### $100 in 1990 → 2024 (34 years at ~2.5%)

Historical CPI mode.

Output:

```
~$233 today
```

### $50,000 salary in 20 years at 3% inflation

Future cost mode.

Output:

```
~$90,306 in 2046 dollars
```

## FAQ

### What is a "good" inflation rate to use?

For long-term U.S. planning, 3-3.5% is a reasonable assumption. The historical average is around 3.2%. The Fed targets 2% but actual inflation often runs higher over long periods. For 2021-2023, the U.S. rate spiked to 7-9% before easing back.

### Why does the future cost differ from the purchasing power?

They are two sides of the same coin. The future cost is "how many dollars do I need in 20 years to buy what $100 buys today?" The purchasing power is "how much is $100 in 20 years worth in today's dollars?" Mathematically identical, just different framing.

### Does this account for compounding?

Yes. Inflation compounds annually. At 3% per year, prices double in about 24 years (the rule of 72). At 7%, prices double in about 10 years.

## Related tools

- [Retirement Calculator](https://uttir.com/retirement-calculator) — Project your retirement savings with monthly contributions, annual raises, and inflation. Year-by-year balance and real (today's-dollar) value.
- [Percentage Calculator](https://uttir.com/percentage-calculator) — Three percentage tools in one: percent of a value, ratio as a percent, and percent change.
- [Salary Calculator](https://uttir.com/salary-calculator) — Convert between hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual salary. Adjust hours/week and weeks/year.
- [Compound Interest Calculator](https://uttir.com/compound-interest-calculator) — Project savings growth with compound interest and monthly contributions, year by year.

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For the full HTML page with the live tool, visit https://uttir.com/inflation-calculator.
This file is the markdown rendering at https://uttir.com/inflation-calculator.md. See https://uttir.com/llms.txt for a site-wide summary.