Inflation Calculator
See how inflation changes the purchasing power of money over time.
Quick answer
Inflation erodes purchasing power: something costing X today will cost about X × (1 + inflation rate)^years later. Equivalently, a future dollar buys less, so long-term plans should compare amounts in today's (real) dollars.
What $1,000 buys today will cost
$1,806
in 20 years at 3.0% inflation
Future value of today's cash
$554
Cumulative price rise
81%
The quiet tax
At 3% inflation, prices double roughly every 24 years (the rule of 72: 72 ÷ rate ≈ doubling time). Money held as cash loses that much purchasing power — which is why long-term savings generally need to be invested, not parked.
Which rate to use
U.S. CPI inflation has averaged about 3% over the last century, though individual decades ranged from near 0% to over 13%. Your personal rate depends on what you buy — housing, tuition, and healthcare have outpaced headline CPI for decades.
Sources & methodology
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