Between 1980 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 291.7%. That means $10 then had roughly the same buying power as $39.17 now — an average of 3.08% inflation per year over 45 years.
What $10 in 1980 was worth at each following decade, adjusted for consumer price inflation.
Inflation adjustment uses the ratio of the Consumer Price Index between the two years — the same method the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics documents for comparing dollar amounts over time.
The index used is CPI-U (all urban consumers, US city average, all items), base period 1982-1984 = 100. Inflation in 1980 itself ran at 13.5%. The 2025 figure is the latest annual average available and may be revised by BLS.
Note: other inflation calculators may show slightly different results because some use a specific month rather than the annual average, or a different end year. This page uses annual averages throughout, and states both index values above so the arithmetic can be checked.
$10 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $39.17 in 2025. That is an increase of $29.17 over 45 years, or a total price rise of 291.7%.
Prices rose at an average of 3.08% per year between 1980 and 2025. Compounded over 45 years, that turns $10 into $39.17.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1980: 322.8 divided by 82.4 equals 3.9175. Multiplying $10 by 3.9175 gives $39.17. The index is the CPI-U published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, base period 1982-1984 = 100.
Running the comparison in reverse, $10.00 in 2025 has roughly the same buying power as $2.55 in 1980.
Use the full inflation tool to compare any amount between any two years, or project what today's money will be worth in the future.
