... spent on a purchase Food, Clothing, TV, Car, Movie Ticket, Vacation, Gasoline ... is $178.59 or $321.87 today. More ...

... received as a compensation Salary, Hourly Wage, Commision, Bonus ... is $353.40 today. More ...

... of wealth held Bank Accounts, Stock Portfolio, Personal Wealth, Houses, Yachts ... is $538.30 today. More ...

... spent on a construction project A skyscraper, a bridge, a submarine, a church, a highway, canal, moon launch ... or as the cost of a historic event A flood, a riot, war, earthquake ... is $538.30 today. More ...

The amount presented here as "spent on a purchase", $178.59, is the same answer you will get from the dozens of other inflation calculators you can find on the internet. The problem with that one answer is that it is not appropriate for many questions about measuring values in the past.

The next three choices give answers computed using the latest values of alternative time series that we feel are better suited to answer the different types of questions.