Cool math tip — Uplink Archive

A guide to adjusting historical dollar amounts for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with a simple multiplication method to convert older figures into current dollars while accounting for regional variations.

Cool math tip: Each year a dollar loses value. Here's how to adjust for inflation. Just look at the percent change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from one year to the next. Adjust the earlier year's sum "up" to reflect them in current dollars. It's a simple multiplication: percent change (expressed in decimal form, not percent) times the older dollar amount. Add that to the older figure. Keep in mind that CPI varies regionally, so use the CPI for your area.

The CPI for most areas is available on the Internet at gopher://hopi.bls.gov:70/00hopiftp.dev/special.requests/cpi