What is $1 from 2002 worth today?
$1 in 2002 is worth $1.87 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 87% since 2002, an average of 2.63% a year over 24 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 0.9 times, and a dollar today buys 53.4% of what it bought in 2002.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 2002 is worth $37.46, $100 is worth $187.29 and $1,000 is worth $1,873 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 2002
The CPI-U averaged 179.9 in 2002, up 1.6% from 177.1 in 2001. From December 2001 to December 2002, prices rose 2.4%. Ranked by annual inflation, 2002 is number 78 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 2000s, annual inflation averaged 2.6% a year. The highest rate was 3.8% in 2008 and the lowest -0.4% in 2009.
2002 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 2002 money
If something cost $5 in 2002, the same buying power today is $9.36. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $53.39 bought in 2002, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $32,035 salary in 2002.
If your pay in 2002 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $1,873 a month in September 2026 to afford the same basket of goods and services. Remember that this is an average across consumer spending: some prices, such as housing, health care and tuition, have risen faster than the CPI, while others have risen more slowly.
How this 2002 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 2002 annual average (179.9): 336.94 ÷ 179.9 = 1.8729. Multiply any 2002 amount by 1.8729 to convert it to September 2026 dollars. The data is the CPI for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted (BLS series CUUR0000SA0), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Use the calculator above to pick a specific month in 2002 or a different end date. See also $1 in 2001 and $1 in 2003. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.