2003
12 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003, starting with Lose Yourself by Eminem. No single song ran away with the year: In Da Club (50 Cent) and Baby Boy (Beyonce Featuring Sean Paul) shared the longest stay at the top, 9 weeks each within 2003.
Prices rose 2.3% over 2002, a calm year by historical standards. One dollar in 2003 buys about what $1.75 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $1.59, up 17% from 2002. In 2025 dollars that is $2.78, against an actual 2025 average of $3.26.
Mailing a letter took a 37¢ stamp (it is 73¢ in 2025), and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour.
Every #1 hit of 2003
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lose Yourself | Eminem | Jan 4 | 4 |
| Bump, Bump, Bump | B2K & P. Diddy | Feb 1 | 1 |
| All I Have | Jennifer Lopez Featuring LL Cool J | Feb 8 | 4 |
| In Da Club | 50 Cent | Mar 8 | 9 |
| Get Busy | Sean Paul | May 10 | 3 |
| 21 Questions | 50 Cent Featuring Nate Dogg | May 31 | 4 |
| This Is The Night | Clay Aiken | Jun 28 | 2 |
| Crazy In Love | Beyonce Featuring Jay Z | Jul 12 | 8 |
| Shake Ya Tailfeather | Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee | Sep 6 | 4 |
| Baby Boy | Beyonce Featuring Sean Paul | Oct 4 | 9 |
| Stand Up | Ludacris Featuring Shawnna | Dec 6 | 1 |
| Hey Ya! | OutKast | Dec 13 | 3 |
Weeks are counted within 2003; a song that carried over from 2002 or into 2004 shows only its 2003 weeks.
What things cost in 2003
| Item | 2003 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $1.59 | $2.78 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $1.24 | $2.18 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $1.00 | $1.75 | $1.87 |
| Gallon of whole milk | $2.76 | $4.83 | $4.07 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $1.95 | $3.41 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $1.03 | $1.81 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $3.20 | $5.60 | $7.02 |
| Ground coffee (per lb) | $2.92 | $5.10 | $8.18 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.51 | $0.89 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.43 | $0.75 | $1.02 |
| Potatoes (per lb) | $0.46 | $0.80 | $0.96 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.31 | $0.55 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.09 | $0.16 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $5.15 | $9.01 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $192,125 | $336,236 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 37¢ | 65¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 2003 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 2003 →
The internet in 2003
- April 28, 2003The iTunes Store — Apple opens the iTunes Music Store with 99-cent songs. source
- August 2003Myspace — Myspace launches. Top 8 friends become a source of real-life drama. source
See the web as it looked in 2003:
Yahoo! ↗Netscape ↗AOL ↗CNN ↗Amazon ↗Apple ↗Microsoft ↗The White House ↗GeoCities ↗Space Jam ↗eBay ↗Google ↗Napster ↗Wikipedia ↗
Links open the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at its capture nearest July 1, 2003.
