$100 in 2005 has a different purchasing power than $100 today. Over the 21 years since 2005, U.S. consumer prices have risen substantially, so it takes more dollars now to buy the same goods. RaiseGauge computes the exact figure from the BLS CPI-U index.
This is the same inflation adjustment used to compare wages, prices, and budgets across decades: the honest way to ask what something “cost back then” is to convert it into today's dollars, because otherwise you are comparing dollars of different sizes. The page shows the equivalent value today, the total inflation since 2005, and a year-by-year chart of how the figure grew.
Compare nearby years: $100 in 2002 · $100 in 2003 · $100 in 2004 · $100 in 2006 · $100 in 2007 · $100 in 2008.
To check a salary instead of a single amount, use the raise calculator.
Updated July 2026