Inflation Record
$100 in 1982 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$344.29
+244.3% cumulative inflation · 1982–2026
Your $100 in 1982 would have the purchasing power of $344.29 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1982 had the same average buying power as $344.29 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 244.3% across this 44-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 71.0%.
- This measures the broad basket of consumer goods and services (CPI-U). Individual expenses — housing, medical care, tuition — moved at different rates.
What this means in other amounts
| In 1982 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $3.44 |
| $5 | $17.21 |
| $10 | $34.43 |
| $20 | $68.86 |
| $50 | $172.15 |
| $100 | $344.29 |
| $500 | $1,721.46 |
| $1,000 | $3,442.93 |
| $10,000 | $34,429.28 |
| $100,000 | $344,292.80 |
Key facts about 1982
- Consumer prices rose 6.1% in 1982 — the 20th-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1982, Medical care rose the most: 474.6% cumulatively to 2025.
- A gallon of regular gasoline averaged $1.30 in 1982 — about $4.46 in 2026 dollars.
- A dozen large eggs averaged $0.87 in 1982 — about $2.98 in 2026 dollars.
$100 in 1982, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | $145.41 | +45.4% |
| 2002 | $186.40 | +86.4% |
| 2012 | $237.92 | +137.9% |
| 2022 | $303.27 | +203.3% |
| 2026 | $344.29 | +244.3% |
Monthly CPI in 1982
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 94.300 | 8.4% |
| February | 94.600 | 7.6% |
| March | 94.500 | 6.8% |
| April | 94.900 | 6.5% |
| May | 95.800 | 6.7% |
| June | 97.000 | 7.1% |
| July | 97.500 | 6.4% |
| August | 97.700 | 5.9% |
| September | 97.900 | 5.0% |
| October | 98.200 | 5.1% |
| November | 98.000 | 4.6% |
| December | 97.600 | 3.8% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1982: 96.500.
Verify this calculation
Series: CUUR0000SA0 (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, All Items, U.S. City Average; Not seasonally adjusted (NSA); base 1982-84=100).
Index (1982 annual average): 96.500 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 3.4429
Formula: amount × (indexend / indexstart). Formula v1.0 — annual-average CPI, NSA (per-country basis on each methodology page). Source: BLS data finder.