What £100 in 2000 is worth today, and what inflation does to your savings
UK prices have almost doubled since 2000. What £100 or $100 from any year costs now, how far savings rates have fallen behind inflation, and a calculator for UK and US prices.
HanaHow6 minute readUK prices have almost doubled since 2000. By the Office for National Statistics’ consumer prices index (CPI), what cost £100 on average in 2000 cost £197.52 in August 2026. In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-U puts $100 of 2000 prices at $194.53.
Cash that earns nothing falls behind by the same amount. £100 kept in a drawer since 2000 buys what £50.63 bought then, and $100 buys what $51.41 did.
How inflation is measured
Every month the ONS collects prices for a basket of about 760 goods and services, from bread and bus fares to rent and haircuts, and works out what the whole basket costs. The change over 12 months is the inflation rate you hear on the news. The BLS does the same for the US with CPI-U, its index for urban consumers.
The Bank of England aims to keep CPI inflation at 2% a year. The Federal Reserve’s target is also 2%, but it measures that with a different index, personal consumption expenditures (PCE).
What £100 from 2000 costs now
These compare the average for 2000 with August 2026, the latest month published when this was written.
- UK: the CPI index averaged 72.7 in 2000 and was 143.6 in August 2026, so £100 of 2000 prices costs £197.52.
- US: CPI-U averaged 172.2 in 2000 and was 334.98 in August 2026, so $100 of 2000 prices costs $194.53.
Over about 26 years that’s 2.64% a year in the UK and 2.58% in the US. It compounds like interest: each year’s rise is on top of the last one.
Inflation since 2000
Until 2021, UK inflation mostly stayed between 0 and 5%. Then prices surged, led by energy and food. UK CPI inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, and US CPI-U inflation at 9.1% in June 2022.
In August 2026 it was 3.1% in the UK and 3.4% in the US. Lower inflation means prices are rising more slowly than in 2022. Prices only fall when inflation goes below zero.
Average inflation for each year:
| Year | UK, CPI | US, CPI-U |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.8% | 3.4% |
| 2001 | 1.2% | 2.8% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | 2.3% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | 2.7% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | 3.2% |
| 2007 | 2.3% | 2.8% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | 3.8% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 3.3% | 1.6% |
| 2011 | 4.5% | 3.2% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | 2.1% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | 1.5% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | 1.6% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| 2017 | 2.7% | 2.1% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | 4.7% |
| 2022 | 9.1% | 8.0% |
| 2023 | 7.3% | 4.1% |
| 2024 | 2.5% | 2.9% |
| 2025 | 3.4% | 2.6% |
What inflation has done to savings
Savings only hold their value if the interest keeps up with prices.
In October 2022, while prices were rising 11.1% a year, the average easy access rate on offer in the UK was 0.92%. That’s the Bank of England’s figure for rates advertised to new customers.
Say you’d put £10,000 in an easy access account in January 2011 and earned the average rate on offer every month, with interest added monthly and before tax. By August 2026 you’d have £11,660.57. Prices rose 57.3% over the same time, so it buys what £7,413.72 bought in January 2011.
In August 2026 the average easy access rate on offer was 2.07%, still below UK inflation of 3.1%. In the US, the FDIC’s national average rate for savings accounts was 0.37% in September 2026, though many accounts pay much more.
What can help
- Check your rate against inflation. Your statement or banking app shows what your account pays. The ONS publishes UK inflation every month, and the next figure is due on 21 October 2026. The BLS publishes US figures monthly too.
- Fixed-rate bonds. The average one-year fixed bond on offer in the UK paid 4.04% in August 2026. Your money’s usually locked in until the year is up.
- I bonds, in the US. Series I savings bonds from TreasuryDirect pay a rate linked to inflation. Bonds issued from May to October 2026 pay 4.26%, including a fixed rate of 0.90%. You can buy up to $10,000 of electronic I bonds a year. You can’t cash them in for the first 12 months, and if you cash them in within five years you lose the last three months of interest. They’re only for US citizens and residents.
- Tax on interest. In the UK, interest above your personal savings allowance is taxed. The allowance is £1,000 a year for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate and nothing for additional rate. Interest in a cash ISA isn’t taxed. In the US, interest counts as income. I bond interest is taxed federally but not by states.
Shares and inflation
Over long periods, shares have usually beaten inflation, but they can fall by half. $100,000 put into the S&P 500 at its peak on 9 October 2007, with dividends reinvested, was worth about $44,750 at the bottom in March 2009, down 55%. Left alone, it was worth about $709,600 on 25 September 2026, or about $442,600 in 2007 dollars once US inflation is taken out.
That’s why many people keep money they might need soon in cash.
Inflation calculator
Pick UK or US prices, a year and an amount. The calculator shows what that amount costs in August 2026 prices and what the same cash buys now if it earned nothing. Add a savings rate to see whether it would have kept up.
- What cost £100 on average in 2000 costs this in August 2026.
- £197.52
- Prices rose 97.5%, about 2.6% a year.
- £100 kept as cash since 2000 buys what this bought then.
- £50.63
- in 2000 prices
- Savings
- Add the interest rate your savings earned to see whether they kept up.
UK figures use the ONS Consumer Prices Index (CPI), yearly averages from 1988. US figures use the BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), yearly averages from 1913. “Now” is August 2026, the latest month published. These are averages across a whole basket of goods and services, so your own costs may have risen faster or slower.
The savings line compounds the rate you type once a year, before tax, as if it never changed. Real savings rates move with interest rates.
For UK years before 1988, the ONS’s older retail prices index (RPI) goes back further, but it’s worked out differently from CPI and usually runs higher.
Sources
- ONS: Consumer price inflation, UK: August 2026, CPI index, all items (D7BT), CPI annual rate (D7G7), the 2026 basket of goods and services and the October 2022 release.
- BLS: Consumer Price Index news release, August 2026, CPI-U all items (CUUR0000SA0) and the June 2022 release.
- Bank of England: quoted household interest rates (instant access IUMB6VJ, one-year fixed bond IUMWTFA) and the inflation target. Federal Reserve: why 2% on PCE.
- FDIC national rates; TreasuryDirect I bond rates; GOV.UK personal savings allowance; IRS Topic 403, interest received.
- S&P 500 total return index, closing prices, before fund charges and tax, adjusted with US CPI-U.
Figures are to August 2026. This is general information, not about your situation.
Read the video transcript
Since 2000, prices have almost doubled. So what's that been doing to the money sitting in your savings? The Office for National Statistics checks the prices of a basket of 760 things every month: bread, bus fares, rent, haircuts. By that measure, what cost £100 on average in 2000 costs about £198 now. In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does the same, and $100 then is about $195. That works out at about 2.6% a year, compounding the same way interest does, only against you. Keep £100 in a drawer from 2000, and today it buys about half what it did then. The Bank of England and the Federal Reserve both aim for 2% a year, and until 2021, inflation mostly stayed between 0 and 5%. Then prices surged, led by energy and food. UK inflation hit 11.1% in October 2022, and in the US it peaked at 9.1% in June that year. In August it was 3.1% in the UK and 3.4% in the US. That means prices are rising more slowly than in 2022. They aren't going back down. Savings only hold their value if the interest keeps up. In October 2022, while prices rose 11.1%, the average easy access rate on offer in the UK was 0.92%. Put £10,000 in an easy access account in January 2011, earn the average rate on offer every month, and today you'd have about £11,660. Prices are up 57% since then, so that buys what about £7,400 did in 2011. In August, the average easy access rate on offer was 2.07%, still below UK inflation. The US national average for savings accounts is 0.37%, though many accounts pay much more. A good first step is checking what your account pays against the latest inflation figure, which comes out every month. The average 1-year fixed bond on offer in the UK pays 4.04%, though your money's usually locked in for the year. In the US, Treasury I bonds pay a rate linked to inflation on up to $10,000 a year, but you can't cash them in for a year. Tax can take a slice of the interest too: in the UK above your personal savings allowance, unless it's in a cash ISA, and in the US as income. Over long periods, shares have usually beaten inflation, but they can fall by half, as in the 2008 financial crisis, which is why many people keep money they might need soon in cash. The written guide has a calculator: pick a year and an amount, and see what it's worth in today's prices, in pounds or dollars. That's HanaHow. This is general, not about your situation. See you next time.
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