$1 in 2021 had the same buying power as $1.24 in September 2026. Prices are 24% higher than in 2021, an average of 4.3% 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 80 cents bought in 2021.
Convert any amount from 2021 in the Inflation Calculator
2021 dollars in today's money
| In 2021 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $1.24 |
| $5.00 | $6.22 |
| $10.00 | $12.43 |
| $20.00 | $24.87 |
| $50.00 | $62.17 |
| $100.00 | $124 |
| $500.00 | $622 |
| $1,000 | $1,243 |
| $10,000 | $12,435 |
What $100 from 2021 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 2021
Prices rose 4.7% in 2021, comparing its average CPI-U with 2020's. That ranks 28th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
Wages in 2021 and today
- The federal minimum wage was $7.25 an hour in 2021. $7.25 then is worth $9.02 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $25.89 an hour in 2021, or $32.19 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 1.1% more than in 2021.
Prices in 2021 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, 2 of these 7 items cost less today than they did in 2021, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 2021 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $1.67 | $2.08 | $2.27 | 3.9 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $1.52 | $1.90 | $1.83 | 3.5 → 3.4 |
| Whole milk (per gallon) | $3.54 | $4.41 | $4.11 | 8.2 → 7.6 |
| Ground beef (per pound) | $4.33 | $5.38 | $6.79 | 10 → 13 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $4.71 | $5.85 | $9.33 | 11 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $3.05 | $3.79 | $4.48 | 7.1 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.141 | $0.175 | $0.196 | 0.3 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 2021 was worth over the years
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 2021, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 270.97) = $124.35
2021'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.