$1 in 2005 had the same buying power as $1.73 in September 2026. Prices are 73% higher than in 2005, an average of 2.6% a year, based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A dollar in September 2026 buys what 58 cents bought in 2005.
Convert any amount from 2005 in the Inflation Calculator
2005 dollars in today's money
| In 2005 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $1.73 |
| $5.00 | $8.63 |
| $10.00 | $17.25 |
| $20.00 | $34.51 |
| $50.00 | $86.27 |
| $100.00 | $173 |
| $500.00 | $863 |
| $1,000 | $1,725 |
| $10,000 | $17,253 |
What $100 from 2005 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 2005
Prices rose 3.4% in 2005, comparing its average CPI-U with 2004's. That ranks 40th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 2.3% |
| 2004 | 2.7% |
| 2005 | 3.4% |
| 2006 | 3.2% |
| 2007 | 2.9% |
Wages in 2005 and today
- The federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour in 2005. $5.15 then is worth $8.89 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $16.11 an hour in 2005, or $27.80 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 17.1% more than in 2005.
Prices in 2005 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, 1 of these 7 items cost less today than they did in 2005, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 2005 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $1.22 | $2.10 | $2.27 | 4.5 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $1.04 | $1.79 | $1.83 | 3.9 → 3.4 |
| Whole milk (per gallon) | $3.19 | $5.50 | $4.11 | 12 → 7.6 |
| Ground beef (per pound) | $2.30 | $3.96 | $6.79 | 8.5 → 13 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $3.26 | $5.63 | $9.33 | 12 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $2.30 | $3.96 | $4.48 | 8.5 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.100 | $0.173 | $0.196 | 0.4 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 2005 was worth over the years
| Year | $100 from 2005 is worth |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $121 |
| 2025 | $165 |
| September 2026 | $173 |
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 2005, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 195.292) = $172.53
2005's index is the average of its monthly CPI-U values; today's is the latest month, September 2026. Other calculators can differ slightly if they use a different month or index. More in our methodology.
Data: CPI-U through September 2026. Next BLS release: November 10, 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED; prices and wages from BLS average price data and Current Employment Statistics; minimum wage from the U.S. Department of Labor.