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 · August 2026
$
Same buying power in August 2026
$198.45$100.00 in January 2000Price change+98.4%All-items CPI-U
Multiplier1.9845×End index ÷ start index
Latest CPI monthAugust 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 August 2026Same series, later or earlier month334.98
- Buying-power equivalent$100.00 × 334.98 ÷ 168.8$198.45
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-2026-08-v1
Discrepancy in the numbers? You can click Report incorrect result below or email hello@costanswer.com with the Method and Data lines.
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.