$100 in 2021 has a different purchasing power than $100 today. Over the 5 years since 2021, 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 2021, and a year-by-year chart of how the figure grew.
Compare nearby years: $100 in 2018 · $100 in 2019 · $100 in 2020 · $100 in 2022 · $100 in 2023 · $100 in 2024.
To check a salary instead of a single amount, use the raise calculator.
Updated July 2026