Does this tell me what my salary should be today?

It tells you what would buy the same basket of goods. A salary that merely kept pace with this figure has not risen in real terms; one that fell short has lost purchasing power.

How is this different from the inflation-adjusted return calculator?

That page takes an inflation rate you supply and applies it to an investment return. This one uses the actual published US price index for every year since 1913 to restate an amount from one year in another's dollars.

Inflation Calculator (US, 1913 to Today)

What a dollar amount from any year is worth in another.

Inputs

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Formula

Equivalent amount = amount × CPI in the target year ÷ CPI in the starting year

A_{\text{to}} = A_{\text{from}} \times \frac{\text{CPI}_{\text{to}}}{\text{CPI}_{\text{from}}}

The Consumer Price Index tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by urban households. The ratio of two years' index values is how much the basket's price changed between them, and multiplying an amount by that ratio restates it in the other year's dollars.

Worked example

The index averaged 172.2 in 2000 and 321.9 in 2025. $100 × 321.9 ÷ 172.2 = $186.93: prices rose 86.9% over the 25 years, an average of about 2.53% a year.

Where this can give the wrong answer

Annual averages are used, so the result compares a typical month of one year with a typical month of another. It will not match a calculator that uses specific months.
The most recent year is not finished, so its figure is an estimate published by the Minneapolis Fed and will be revised. The page flags it whenever that year is used.
The index describes an average urban household. Rent, tuition and medical care have risen faster than the basket; electronics have fallen. Your own inflation may differ.
Prices fell in some periods. From 1929 to 1933 the index dropped 25%, so $100 of 1929 money is $75.00 in 1933 dollars.
The series starts in 1913. Earlier years need historical estimates this page does not use.

FAQ

: It tells you what would buy the same basket of goods. A salary that merely kept pace with this figure has not risen in real terms; one that fell short has lost purchasing power.

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