LocalInflation

Local inflation calculator

Choose any available base year and comparison year. The calculator derives year options from the selected location's CPI series.

What this calculator does

Enter a dollar amount and two years to estimate how much money you would need in the comparison year to match the purchasing power of the base year. LocalInflation also helps compare price growth with wages where data is available.

Inflation calculator

Enter your information

Any available year to any available year

CPI data for United States is available from 1997 to 2026. Reverse comparisons are supported.

$100.00 in 2010 equals

$140.44 in 2026

That means prices rose about 40.4% over this period.

Inflation

40.4%

Based on CPI values 208.7 and 293.2.

Average wages rose faster than CPI

Wage vs inflation

Wage gap 19.3%

BLS/OEWS average wages rose 57.1% while prices rose 37.8% over the same wage-data period. This is an average wage measure, not proof that every worker's pay beat inflation. Wage comparison uses 2010-2025, the nearest available BLS/OEWS wage years.

Future estimate

$109.14

$100.00 today may need this amount by 2030 under the baseline scenario.

Cost growth rank

#18 of 51

Ranked against the LocalInflation location list for the selected years.

Wage gap rank

#24 of 51

Ranks BLS/OEWS average wage growth versus CPI inflation using the nearest available wage years for each location.

Inflation over time

Consumer Price Index (CPI) history

CPI is the Consumer Price Index, a public measure of how prices change over time for a basket of goods and services.

Wage chart

Average wages vs wages if kept at inflation

Data source note: CPI values use Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI series where available. Wage values use BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics annual mean wage estimates for all occupations and all industries. Both wage lines start from the same base-year wage so the chart shows whether average wages moved above, below, or near the inflation-kept baseline. Selected CPI years were 2010-2026; the wage chart uses nearest available OEWS wage years.

Year-over-year rates

Nominal wage growth and inflation rate

Wage comparison period: 2010-2025. BLS/OEWS average wages rose 57.1% while prices rose 37.8%. This chart shows year-over-year rates so users can see when wages and inflation move differently instead of only seeing the cumulative gap. OEWS average wage changes can reflect occupational mix and metro-definition changes, so they should be read as local average wage trends rather than individual raises.

What this means

Your selected amount needs to be about $140.44 in 2026 to buy what $100.00 bought in 2010.

If your income grew less than 40.4% over that time, your real purchasing power declined.

Quick examples

$1.00 then

= $1.40

in 2026

$100.00 then

= $140.44

in 2026

$1,000 then

= $1,404

in 2026

$50,000 then

= $70,222

in 2026

$100,000 then

= $140,445

in 2026

Future Cost Index

Scenario estimate through 2030

4 years forward

Low

$107.80

1.9% annual scenario

Baseline

$109.14

2.2% annual scenario

High

$112.69

3.0% annual scenario

Future Cost Index is a scenario estimate based on historical public data. It is not financial, investment, employment, or legal advice.

FAQ

What is an inflation calculator?

An inflation calculator estimates how the buying power of money changes between two years using CPI data.

How do you calculate inflation?

LocalInflation compares CPI in the comparison year with CPI in the base year and applies that ratio to the entered dollar amount.

Can I choose any base year?

Yes. The calculator lets users choose any year available in the selected location's CPI series.

What is CPI?

CPI means Consumer Price Index, a public measure of price changes for a basket of goods and services.

Why do local inflation rates differ?

Local inflation can differ because housing, transportation, energy, and other costs vary by metro and region.

How much salary do I need to keep up with inflation?

Salary generally needs to rise by at least the inflation rate over the same period to preserve purchasing power.

Related tools

Methodology note

LocalInflation estimates purchasing power by comparing CPI index values across the years you choose and applying that ratio to your dollar amount.