CPI-U, BLS official
We use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), annual average, 1982–84 = 100. It's the most commonly cited inflation series for cost-of-living comparisons.
InvestingCalculator
Inflation Calculator
See what an amount of money in one year is worth in another, using BLS Consumer Price Index data going back to 1913.
What it means
About this calculator.
What CPI does and doesn't capture
CPI tracks a basket of goods most urban consumers buy. It handles housing, food, energy, and services well — and it's known to understate or overstate inflation depending on substitution behavior. For long-horizon comparisons it's the standard, but it isn't perfect.
FAQ
Questions people usually have.
Why does the calculator stop at 1913?
That's when BLS's CPI-U series begins. For older comparisons, economists splice in pre-1913 indices (Warren & Pearson, Bureau of Labor's wholesale price index), but they're rougher.
What about wage inflation or housing inflation specifically?
CPI-U is a composite. Wages have grown faster than CPI long-term; housing has too. This calculator answers the general purchasing-power question, not category-specific ones.
Keep exploring
Related calculators.
More tools in investing that people usually check next.
Browse the full category
Jump back to the investing section to compare nearby tools and follow related search paths.
Investment Calculator
Estimate future portfolio value from an initial amount, monthly contributions, and compound growth.
Compound Interest Calculator
See how a starting balance plus regular contributions grow over time at a given rate of return.
ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment (ROI) and annualized ROI for any investment with a start value, end value, and holding period.
Net Worth Calculator
Track everything you own and everything you owe — see your real financial position in one number.