What is $1 from 2006 worth today?
$1 in 2006 is worth $1.67 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 67% since 2006, an average of 2.57% a year over 20 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 0.7 times, and a dollar today buys 59.8% of what it bought in 2006.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 2006 is worth $33.43, $100 is worth $167.13 and $1,000 is worth $1,671 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 2006
The CPI-U averaged 201.6 in 2006, up 3.2% from 195.3 in 2005. From December 2005 to December 2006, prices rose 2.5%. Ranked by annual inflation, 2006 is number 42 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.
2006 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 2006 money
If something cost $5 in 2006, the same buying power today is $8.36. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $59.83 bought in 2006, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $35,900 salary in 2006.
If your pay in 2006 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $1,671 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 2006 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 2006 annual average (201.6): 336.94 ÷ 201.6 = 1.6713. Multiply any 2006 amount by 1.6713 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 2006 or a different end date. See also $1 in 2005 and $1 in 2007. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.