What the earlier pay had to become each year to keep pace with the CPI-U, from the earlier year to the later one (at most 30 rows; longer spans are sampled evenly).
Year
CPI-U
Pay that keeps pace
Prices since the start
2019
255.657
$52,000.00
0.00%
2020
258.811
$52,641.52
1.23%
2021
270.970
$55,114.63
5.99%
2022
292.655
$59,525.30
14.47%
2023
304.702
$61,975.63
19.18%
2024
313.689
$63,803.56
22.70%
2025
321.943
$65,482.41
25.93%
Enter what you earned in one year and what you earn in another; the US CPI-U does the rest. Any pay unit works — hourly, monthly or yearly — as long as both figures use the same one. Switch “Solve for” to work with percentages instead of years.
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What it calculates: Real change in pay, Change on the payslip, Prices rose (CPI-U), Pay that would have kept pace.
$52,000 in 2019 rising to $62,000 in 2025 is a 19.2% raise — and a 5.3% pay cut in real terms
A real wage is pay measured in what it buys. Between the 2019 and 2025 annual averages the US Consumer Price Index for urban consumers rose from 255.657 to 321.943, or 25.93%. A salary that went from $52,000 to $62,000 grew 19.23% on the payslip, so in real terms it fell: 1.19231 ÷ 1.25928 − 1 = −5.32%.
Real change = (Pay B ÷ Pay A) ÷ (CPI B ÷ CPI A) − 1
The pay that would have kept pace is the 2019 salary carried into 2025 prices: $52,000 × 1.25928 = $65,482.41, which is $3,482.41 more than $62,000. Seen from the other side, $62,000 in 2025 buys what $49,234.60 bought in 2019.
2019 → 2025
Pay ratio = 62,000 ÷ 52,000 = 1.19231
Price ratio = 321.943 ÷ 255.657 = 1.25928
Real = 1.19231 ÷ 1.25928 − 1
Real = −5.32%
Real wage = nominal wage ÷ CPI × 100: $30 an hour in 2025 is $9.32 in 1982–84 dollars
The textbook formula divides pay by the price index and multiplies by 100, which states the wage in the index’s base-period dollars. The CPI-U’s base is 1982–84 = 100, so $30 an hour at the 2025 index of 321.943 is 30 ÷ 321.943 × 100 = $9.32 in 1982–84 dollars. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes its monthly real earnings series on exactly this base.
Real wage = Nominal wage ÷ CPI × 100
Base-period dollars are odd to read on their own; their use is comparison. Any two wages turned into 1982–84 dollars can be compared directly, which is what the calculator does behind the scenes before it reports the change in today’s terms.
$30 an hour, 2025
Real = 30 ÷ 321.943 × 100
Real = $9.32 (1982–84 dollars)
A 4% raise with 3% inflation is a real raise of 0.97%, not 1%; in 2022 a 5% raise was a 2.78% cut
When the question is in rates rather than years, the exact real raise is (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. With a 4% raise and 3% inflation that is 1.04 ÷ 1.03 − 1 = 0.97%; the quick subtraction says 1%, overstating by about three basis points — small here, larger when both numbers are large.
Real raise = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1
Prices rose 8.00% between the 2021 and 2022 annual averages. A 5% raise that year was 1.05 ÷ 1.08 − 1 = a 2.78% real cut: the payslip went up and the shopping basket went further up.
2022
Raise 5%, CPI-U +8.00%
Real = 1.05 ÷ 1.08 − 1
Real = −2.78%
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since July 2009; in 2025 prices that 2009 wage is worth $10.88
The US federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 an hour on 24 July 2009, as the Department of Labor records, and has not changed since. Carried into 2025 prices on the CPI-U annual averages, the 2009 wage is worth 7.25 × 321.943 ÷ 214.537 = $10.88 an hour; into August 2026 prices, $11.32.
Run it the other way and the loss is plain: $7.25 in 2025 buys what $4.83 bought in 2009, a real cut of 33.4% with no change on the payslip. Many states and cities set higher minimums, which is why the federal figure is a floor rather than a typical wage.
$7.25, 2009 → 2025
7.25 × 321.943 ÷ 214.537 = $10.88
7.25 × 214.537 ÷ 321.943 = $4.83
Real change = −33.4%
Years are CPI-U annual averages; the current year uses the latest published month
The calculator uses the US Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, series CUUR0000SA0), the index most inflation figures quote. A year stands for that year’s average index, which is fairer to pay changes spread across the year than a single month. For 2025 the average is taken over eleven months, because October 2025 was never published after the federal government shutdown.
The current year is not over, so it uses the latest month the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published, and the year menu says which month that is. Choosing it compares an earlier year’s average with prices today.
The Inflation Calculator converts any sum between years; this page compares two paychecks
Both pages stand on the same CPI-U series. The Inflation Calculator answers “what is $100 from 1990 worth today?” for any amount. This page answers the pay question directly: how the later paycheck compares with the earlier one in real terms, what pay would have kept pace, and how far short the raise fell.
For interest rates rather than wages, the same idea is the Fisher equation, and the Real Interest Rate Calculator applies it; if your own spending runs ahead of or behind the average basket, the Personal Inflation Calculator builds an index from your budget.
An average basket, before tax: two reasons your own real pay can move differently
The CPI-U tracks the average urban household. A renter in a fast-rising market, or a family paying for childcare, can face inflation well above it; a homeowner with a fixed-rate mortgage, below it. The real change here is the average household’s answer.
The comparison is also before tax. A raise that crosses into a higher bracket, or a change in benefits, moves take-home pay differently from the gross figure; use the same basis — gross or net — for both years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a real wage?
Pay measured in what it can buy: the nominal wage adjusted for changes in prices. Real wage = nominal wage ÷ CPI × 100, in the price index’s base-period dollars.
How do I know if my raise beat inflation?
Divide your new pay by your old pay, divide that by how much prices rose (the ratio of the two years’ CPI), and subtract one. A positive result means your raise beat inflation.
What is the difference between nominal and real wages?
The nominal wage is the number on the payslip. The real wage adjusts it for prices, so it shows purchasing power. A nominal raise can be a real cut when prices rise faster.
How much should my pay be to keep up with inflation?
Multiply your earlier pay by the later year’s CPI and divide by the earlier year’s. From 2019 to 2025 that factor is 1.25928, so $52,000 needed to become $65,482.41.
Why use the CPI-U?
It is the US price index most inflation figures quote, covering all urban consumers — the large majority of the population. Other indexes exist (CPI-W, PCE) and give slightly different answers.
Can I compare hourly and yearly pay?
Only by converting one first. The calculator compares like with like, so enter both figures as hourly, monthly or yearly pay.
Sources & References
Figures on this page are checked against primary, authoritative sources. Links open in a new tab.
Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and standard formulas. Rates, fees, taxes, and lender terms vary and change over time, so confirm important numbers with your lender or a qualified professional. This is educational information, not financial advice.
Published the real wage calculator: two paychecks from different years compared on the BLS CPI-U, the pay that would have kept pace, the real raise from any raise and inflation rate, and the real-wage formula in 1982-84 dollars.
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