Medicinal drugs price history from 2018 through 2020

Medicinal Drugs Inflation Calculator

Prices for Medicinal Drugs, 2018-2020 ($20)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for medicinal drugs were 0.84% higher in 2020 versus 2018 (a $0.17 difference in value).

Between 2018 and 2020: Medicinal drugs experienced an average inflation rate of 0.42% per year. In other words, medicinal drugs costing $20 in the year 2018 would cost $20.17 in 2020 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 1.37% during this same period, inflation for medicinal drugs was lower.

Price Inflation for Medicinal drugs since 2018

Consumer Price Index, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Years with the largest changes in pricing: 2020 (0.95%), and 2019 (-0.11%).

Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Medicinal drugs:

Year	2018	2019	2020
CPI	124.905	124.772	125.956

View price changes for other categories
San Diego, California · Wine at home · Wireless telephone services · Detroit, Michigan · More

Buying power of $20 since 2018

Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Medicinal drugs, over time, for $20 beginning in 2018. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Year	USD Value	Inflation Rate
2018	$20.00	-
2019	$19.98	-0.11%
2020	$20.17	0.95%*

* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.

How to calculate the inflation rate for medicinal drugs, 2018-2020

Start with the inflation rate formula:

CPI in 2020 / CPI in 2018 * 2018 USD value = 2020 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values from above. The CPI for Medicinal drugs was 124.905 in the year 2018 and 125.956 in 2020:

125.956 / 124.905 * $20 = $20.17

Therefore, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $20 in 2018 has the same "purchasing power" as $20.17 in 2020 (in the CPI category of Medicinal drugs).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the Consumer Price Index for Medicinal drugs in 2018. In addition to medicinal drugs, the index produces monthly data on changes in prices paid by urban consumers for a variety of goods and services.