$100 in 2009 has a different purchasing power than $100 today. Over the 17 years since 2009, 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 2009, and a year-by-year chart of how the figure grew.
Compare nearby years: $100 in 2006 · $100 in 2007 · $100 in 2008 · $100 in 2010 · $100 in 2011 · $100 in 2012.
To check a salary instead of a single amount, use the raise calculator.
Updated July 2026