Historical Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
All dollar amounts in the MEPS are nominal dollars--that is, they are expressed in historical monetary terms and are not comparable between surveyed years due to inflation (or deflation). For example, $1 in 2009 is worth less than $1 in 1996. The MEPS variable CPI2009 provides an easy way to adjust dollar amounts to constant dollars. This variable, constant within years, inflates or deflates dollar amounts to the amount they would have represented in 2009 (which corresponds to the 2009 MEPS data)--as shown in Table 1.
| MEPS Data Year | Income Year | X | CPI2009 | = | 2009 dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1996 dollars | X | 1.367 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 1997 | 1997 dollars | X | 1.336 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 1998 | 1998 dollars | X | 1.315 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 1999 | 1999 dollars | X | 1.287 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2000 | 2000 dollars | X | 1.245 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2001 | 2001 dollars | X | 1.211 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2002 | 2002 dollars | X | 1.192 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2003 | 2003 dollars | X | 1.165 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2004 | 2004 dollars | X | 1.135 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2005 | 2005 dollars | X | 1.098 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2006 | 2006 dollars | X | 1.063 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2007 | 2007 dollars | X | 1.034 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2008 | 2008 dollars | X | 0.996 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2009 | 2009 dollars | X | 1 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2010 | 2010 dollars | X | 0.983 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2011 | 2011 dollars | X | 0.953 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2012 | 2012 dollars | X | 0.934 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2013 | 2013 dollars | X | 0.920 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2014 | 2014 dollars | X | 0.906 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2015 | 2015 dollars | X | 0.905 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2016 | 2016 dollars | X | 0.893 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2017 | 2017 dollars | X | 0.875 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2018 | 2018 dollars | X | 0.854 | = | 2009 dollars |
| 2019 | 2019 dollars | X | 0.838 | = | 2009 dollars |
The 2009 base year (representing the 2009 MEPS data year) was chosen simply for convenience. Adjusting to some other year would yield identical correlations, regression coefficients, inequality measures, and the like. After using CPI2009 to convert nominal dollars to 2009 dollars, users who desire another base year for simple descriptive statistics can easily adjust 2009 dollars to 1939 dollars, 1949 dollars, or any other year by making use of the alternate factors provided in Table 2.
| 2009 dollars | X | Alternate Factor | = | Income Year | Data Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.731 | = | 1996 dollars | 1996 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.748 | = | 1997 dollars | 1997 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.760 | = | 1998 dollars | 1998 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.777 | = | 1999 dollars | 1999 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.803 | = | 2000 dollars | 2000 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.825 | = | 2001 dollars | 2001 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.838 | = | 2002 dollars | 2002 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.858 | = | 2003 dollars | 2003 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.881 | = | 2004 dollars | 2004 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.910 | = | 2005 dollars | 2005 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.940 | = | 2006 dollars | 2006 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 0.967 | = | 2007 dollars | 2007 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.004 | = | 2008 dollars | 2008 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1 | = | 2009 dollars | 2009 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.017 | = | 2010 dollars | 2010 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.049 | = | 2011 dollars | 2011 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.070 | = | 2012 dollars | 2012 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.086 | = | 2013 dollars | 2013 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.103 | = | 2014 dollars | 2014 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.104 | = | 2015 dollars | 2015 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.119 | = | 2016 dollars | 2016 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.142 | = | 2017 dollars | 2017 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.170 | = | 2018 dollars | 2018 |
| 2009 dollars | X | 1.193 | = | 2019 dollars | 2019 |
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