What America was like in 2002
You were born in…
2002
This is where your story begins.
You’ve been here for
24
years
That’s about 8,800 days of history.
A first-class stamp in 2002 cost
37¢
Today the same stamp costs 82¢.
A dollar from 2002 would be worth
$1.87
today
Measured by the government’s Consumer Price Index.
The federal minimum wage in 2002 was
$5.15
an hour
Today it’s $7.25.
The president in 2002
George W. Bush
Since then you’ve lived under 4 presidents.
The 2000 census counted
281 million
Americans
By 2020 there were 331 million of us.
You’ve been around for
24
Super Bowls
From Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 to Super Bowl LX in 2026.
You’re older than…
- Facebook launched2004. You were 2.
- The iPhone went on sale2007. You were 5.
- The iPad went on sale2010. You were 8.
So yes,
you’ve seen the worldchange a lot.
And you remember it.
Your 2002 story
That was 2002.
Share it with someone who remembers it too.
A little 2002 in your inbox
Our free daily email: one story, one quiz and something you'll remember. Unsubscribe anytime.
Make one for someone you love
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100
- U.S. Postal Service, Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863
- U.S. Department of Labor, history of federal minimum wage rates
- U.S. Census Bureau, decennial census resident population
- Presidents and milestones: widely documented public records.