Value of a dollar in 2020: what it is worth today
A dollar of 2020 at the CPI-U annual average, carried to September 2026 through the surge that followed.
In September 2026 dollars
$130.19
$100.00 at 2020 prices (annual average), U.S. city average.
| Prices since | +30 % |
| Average per year | +4.34 % |
| What $100.00 today buys at 2020 prices | $76.81 |
| Index 2020 | 258.811 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · CPI-U U.S. city average, 2020 annual average
A dollar of 2020 is worth $1.30 in September 2026 on the CPI-U for the U.S. city average: the 2020 annual average was 258.811 and the latest index is 336.94, a rise of 30.2 %, or 4.34 % a year. Today's dollar buys what $0.77 bought in 2020. The year itself had low inflation: 1.2 % on annual averages, with the 12-month rate falling from 2.5 % in January to 0.1 % in May 2020. Then prices surged. The 12-month rate reached 9.1 % in June 2022, and annual inflation was 4.7 % in 2021 and 8.0 % in 2022, so a 2020 dollar already needed $1.13 by 2022. Every one of the 23 metro indexes has a 2020 annual average, so a 2020 amount can be carried on any of them.
2020: the dip
In 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national 12-month rate fell from 2.5 % in January to 0.1 % in May 2020 and ended the year at 1.4 %. Energy fell much more than the total: its 12-month change hit -18.9 % in May 2020, and the energy annual average was -8.5 % for the year.
2021 and 2022: the surge
The low base of 2020 did not last long. From December 2020 to December 2021 the CPI-U rose 7.0 %, the fastest December to December rise since 1981. The 12-month rate peaked at 9.1 % in June 2022, when energy was up 41.6 % over 12 months, its own peak as well. Inflation then eased to 4.1 % in 2023 and 2.9 % in 2024 on annual averages, but prices did not come back down: a slower rise still adds to a higher level.
A 2020 amount to any later month
Value in September 2026
$1,301.88
| Cumulative price change | +30.2 % |
| Average per year | +4.34 % |
| Index, 2020 average | 258.811 |
| Index, September 2026 | 336.94 |
What the surge did to benefits
Social Security follows the CPI-W of July to September. The COLA computed for December 2020 was 1.3 %; the surge then pushed it to 5.9 % for December 2021 and 8.7 % for December 2022. The COLA for benefits paid from January 2027, announced on October 14, 2026, is 3.6 %. The Social Security COLA page has every year.
A 2020 rent and grocery bill today
A rent of $1,500 a month in 2020, moved with the national shelter index, would be $1,989 today, +32.6 %. A $100 grocery bill of 2020 costs $129 on the food at home index. Your own rent and receipts may differ: these are averages for urban consumers.
2020 by metro
In 2020 itself, the metro rates ran from -1.1 % in Urban Alaska to 2.5 % in Tampa. Since the 2020 average, Miami has risen most (+36.0 %) and Houston least (+23.2 %), each to its latest month.
One date in the span needs care. October 2025 has no index anywhere, after the lapse in appropriations, so a calculation from 2020 to October 2025 uses September 2025 and says so. The October 2025 page explains why.
$100 of 2020 in later years
| Year | What $100 of 2020 buys |
|---|---|
| September 2026 | $130.19 |
Inflation in 2020, area by area
| Area | 2020 annual average change |
|---|---|
| U.S. average | +1.2 % |
| Northeast | +1.3 % |
| Midwest | +1.0 % |
| South | +1.0 % |
| West | +1.7 % |
| Large metros (Size A) | +1.3 % |
| Smaller cities (Size B/C) | +1.2 % |
| Boston | +1.1 % |
| New York | +1.7 % |
| Philadelphia | +0.9 % |
| Chicago | +1.1 % |
| Detroit | +1.0 % |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | +1.2 % |
| St. Louis | +0.7 % |
| Washington, DC | +0.9 % |
| Miami | +0.9 % |
| Atlanta | +1.2 % |
| Tampa | +2.5 % |
| Baltimore | +1.0 % |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | +0.6 % |
| Houston | +0.2 % |
| Phoenix | +2.0 % |
| Denver | +2.0 % |
| Los Angeles | +1.6 % |
| San Francisco | +1.7 % |
| Riverside | +1.9 % |
| Seattle | +1.7 % |
| San Diego | +1.5 % |
| Urban Hawaii | +1.6 % |
| Urban Alaska | -1.1 % |