What is $1 from 2005 worth today?
$1 in 2005 is worth $1.73 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 73% since 2005, an average of 2.60% a year over 21 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 0.8 times, and a dollar today buys 58.0% of what it bought in 2005.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 2005 is worth $34.50, $100 is worth $172.52 and $1,000 is worth $1,725 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 2005
The CPI-U averaged 195.3 in 2005, up 3.4% from 188.9 in 2004. From December 2004 to December 2005, prices rose 3.4%. Ranked by annual inflation, 2005 is number 39 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.
2005 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 2005 money
If something cost $5 in 2005, the same buying power today is $8.63. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $57.96 bought in 2005, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $34,778 salary in 2005.
If your pay in 2005 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $1,725 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 2005 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 2005 annual average (195.3): 336.94 ÷ 195.3 = 1.7252. Multiply any 2005 amount by 1.7252 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 2005 or a different end date. See also $1 in 2004 and $1 in 2006. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.