Value of a dollar in 2000: what it is worth today
A dollar of 2000 at the CPI-U annual average, carried to September 2026, with the spending groups that moved most since.
In September 2026 dollars
$195.67
$100.00 at 2000 prices (annual average), U.S. city average.
| Prices since | +96 % |
| Average per year | +2.59 % |
| What $100.00 today buys at 2000 prices | $51.11 |
| Index 2000 | 172.2 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · CPI-U U.S. city average, 2000 annual average
A dollar of 2000 is worth $1.96 in September 2026 on the CPI-U for the U.S. city average: the index averaged 172.2 in 2000 and stands at 336.94 now, so prices have risen 95.7 %, or 2.59 % a year. Today's dollar buys what $0.51 bought in 2000. Inflation in 2000 itself was 3.4 % on annual averages. The average hides wide gaps between spending groups: since 2000, energy prices rose 174 % and medical care 128 %, while apparel rose only 8 %. Over the decade from 2000 to 2010 the price level rose 26.6 %, with an annual decline in 2009. Both size classes existed in 2000: a 2000 dollar is worth $1.98 on the large-metro index and $1.91 on the smaller-city index.
Not every price rose alike
2000 is a good starting point for comparing spending groups, because the national group series in this site's data begin in 1997. Here is how $100 spent at 2000 prices in each group compares with today:
| Group | Change since 2000 | $100 of 2000 today |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | +174 % | $274 |
| Medical care | +128 % | $228 |
| Shelter | +123 % | $223 |
| Food and beverages | +106 % | $206 |
| Transportation | +93 % | $193 |
| Recreation | +41 % | $141 |
| Apparel | +8 % | $108 |
The all items rise of 96 % sits between those extremes. Groups that weigh a lot in the basket, such as shelter, pull the total toward them; small ones like apparel barely move it. To apply one group to your own amount, use the inflation by category tool.
A 2000 amount on one spending group
Same purchase in September 2026
$274.14
| Cumulative price change | +174.1 % |
| Average per year | +3.92 % |
| All items, same dates | +95.7 % |
| Index, 2000 average | 124.6 |
Energy, the group that swings
Energy prices did not climb in a straight line: on annual averages they moved -18.4 % in 2009, -16.7 % in 2015 and +25.2 % in 2022, and over the latest 12 months alone they moved +20.4 %. Shelter rose 123 % over the same span, and with 35.6 % of the national basket in December 2025 it carries far more of the total. A salary of $40,000 in 2000 needs $78,267 today to buy the same overall basket; it would need more if most of the money went to energy and medical care, less if it went to clothing.
The decade from 2000 to 2010
Annual inflation stayed moderate through most of the 2000s, between 1.6 % and 3.8 % from 2000 to 2008. Then came 2009, when the annual average moved -0.4 %, the first annual decline since 1955. From the 2000 average to the 2010 average, prices rose 26.6 %, or 2.39 % a year.
2000 by area
All four regions and both size classes have a 2000 annual average; Size B/C, begun in December 1996, was in its fourth year. 19 metros have one too in the data this site uses. Their 2000 rates ran from 1.7 % in Urban Alaska to 5.8 % in San Diego, around a national 3.4 %. For a metro with no 2000 average, the calculator warns you and uses another date; the region is then the safer index.
$100 of 2000 in later years
| Year | What $100 of 2000 buys |
|---|---|
| 2010 | $126.63 |
| 2020 | $150.30 |
| September 2026 | $195.67 |
Inflation in 2000, area by area
| Area | 2000 annual average change |
|---|---|
| U.S. average | +3.4 % |
| Northeast | +3.4 % |
| Midwest | +3.4 % |
| South | +3.2 % |
| West | +3.5 % |
| Large metros (Size A) | +3.5 % |
| Smaller cities (Size B/C) | +3.3 % |
| Boston | +4.3 % |
| New York | +3.1 % |
| Philadelphia | +2.7 % |
| Chicago | +3.2 % |
| Detroit | +3.6 % |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | +4.2 % |
| St. Louis | +3.5 % |
| Miami | +3.3 % |
| Atlanta | +3.5 % |
| Tampa | +3.6 % |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | +4.2 % |
| Houston | +3.7 % |
| Denver | +4.0 % |
| Los Angeles | +3.3 % |
| San Francisco | +4.5 % |
| Seattle | +3.7 % |
| San Diego | +5.8 % |
| Urban Hawaii | +1.7 % |
| Urban Alaska | +1.7 % |