The world in 2008
What was a dollar worth in 2008?
If you were born in 2008, here's what your money could do — and how much it has changed since.
−32%
That's how much value the dollar has lost since 2008.
$1 back then is worth about $1.47 today.
$1 back then is worth about $1.47 today.
🍔 Same money, 2008 vs. today
The same money buys you one plate today — a burger, a coffee and a gallon of gas. Here's how many it bought in 2008.
vs
2008
1.7×
plates
$21 bought 1.7 full plates in 2008
Today
1×
plate
$21 buys just 1 plate now
💰 The full breakdown
What $1,000 bought in 2008 — vs. today.
Gallons of gas
2008
306 gal
today
312 gal
Fast-food burger meals (est.)46% more back then
2008
244 meals
today
167 meals
Hours of min-wage work11% more back then
2008
153 hrs
today
138 hrs
Postage stamps74% more back then
2008
2,381 stamps
today
1,370 stamps
Gallons of milk60% more back then
2008
394 gal
today
247 gal
Pounds of coffee72% more back then
2008
265 lb
today
154 lb
🏠 And a home…
🏠A median home
×1.8 since 2008
Prices: U.S. BLS (CPI, milk, coffee) · EIA (gas) · DOL (minimum wage) · USPS (stamps) · Census (home). Burger meal estimated from inflation. Yearly averages.
Want your exact day?
See the history, the famous birthdays and the economy of the exact day you were born.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure here is a yearly average from public U.S. government data, free for anyone to use.
The dollar & inflation · BLS
The change in a dollar's value is the ratio of the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) then and now, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gas, homes & wages
Average retail gasoline price (U.S. EIA), median home sales price (U.S. Census Bureau) and the federal minimum wage (U.S. Dept. of Labor). All public domain.
For general informational and entertainment purposes only — not financial advice. Figures are yearly averages and rounded; actual prices varied by month and region.