$100 in 1974 is worth $285 in 1992,
because prices increased 184.6% over that period, an average of
5.98% a year.
$100 in 1974 has
the same buying power as
$285
in 1992
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
184.6%
Average inflation rate
5.98% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$285
Price difference ($100 base)
$185
CPI in 1974
49.3
CPI in 1992
140.3
Inflation in 1974
11.04%
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
$100 in 1974 → 1992
$285
$100 in 1992 → 1974
$35.14
What happened to prices between 1974 and 1992
Between 1974 and 1992, the Consumer Price Index went from 49.3 to 140.3.
Cumulatively, prices increased 184.6%, which works out to an average of
5.98% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1974 bought what
$0.35 buys in 1992: the 1974 dollar
lost 64.9% of its purchasing power over
these 18 years.
1974 was the year the postwar economy broke its old rules. Consumer prices
rose 11.0%, the fastest annual increase since 1947, as the Arab oil embargo
that ran from October 1973 to March 1974 roughly quadrupled the price of
crude oil worldwide. Gasoline, which had averaged 38.5 cents a gallon in
1973, jumped to 53.2 cents, and shortages forced many states into odd-even
rationing at the pump. Nixon’s wage and price controls, in place in some form
since 1971, expired at the end of April, removing the last brake on prices
just as the oil shock hit. Nixon himself resigned in August over Watergate,
and Gerald Ford’s response to inflation, a voluntary “Whip Inflation Now”
campaign built around lapel buttons, became a symbol of how little
conventional politics could do against the problem. Prices kept climbing even
as the economy weakened: a recession that started in November 1973 dragged
on, the Dow fell to a bear-market bottom of 577.60 in December, and
unemployment was already rising toward the 9% it would reach in 1975. The
combination of rising prices and a shrinking economy gave the decade its
name: stagflation.
Every 1974 amount converts to 1992 at the same ratio, 2.85: $1,000 becomes
$2,846, and $10,000 becomes $28,458.
Amount in 1974
Value in 1992
$1.00
$2.85
$5.00
$14.23
$10.00
$28.46
$20.00
$56.92
$50.00
$142
$100
$285
$500
$1,423
$1,000
$2,846
$5,000
$14,229
$10,000
$28,458
$100,000
$284,584
$1,000,000
$2,845,842
Inflation by spending category, 1974–1992
Between 1974 and 1992, medical care rose the most, up 348.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 90.1%, against 184.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1974
spending costs in 1992, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1974 →
All items (CPI-U)
5.98%
$285
Medical care
8.69%
$448
Housing
6.30%
$300
Core (all items less food & energy)
6.26%
$298
Transportation
5.81%
$276
Energy
5.68%
$270
Food
5.23%
$250
Apparel
3.63%
$190
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1974: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1974 to 1992
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 8.94% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (3.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1974–1992 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1974, at end
1974–1980
8.94%
67.1%
$167
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$265
1990–1992
3.61%
7.3%
$285
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1974
$100 from 1974 had already become $202 by
1983, on its way to $285 in 1992; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 13.5% in 1980, and the smallest rise was 1.9% in 1986.
In 1992, prices rose 3.0% and $100 from 1974 had the buying
power of $285; the year's average CPI of 140.3 is the level
behind every 1992 figure on this page.
1992 was the year the recovery finally showed up in the numbers, if not yet in hiring. The
median household earned about $30,600, gas averaged $1.13 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly
$121,500. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the year, its calmest reading since the mid-1980s, as energy
prices stayed well below their 1990 peak and a slack labor market kept a lid on wages and prices
alike. The Federal Reserve kept cutting its policy rate through the year, reaching about 3% by
September, the lowest in decades, trying to jump-start hiring more than a year after the 1990-91
recession officially ended. The sluggish job market became the defining issue of the November
election, and Bill Clinton unseated incumbent George H.W. Bush, whose approval ratings had
fallen sharply from their post-Gulf War highs. In August, Hurricane Andrew tore through South
Florida, the costliest U.S. hurricane on record at the time, causing tens of billions of dollars
in damage and reshaping how insurers priced catastrophe risk for years afterward. Falling rates,
a costly hurricane, and an election fought over jobs defined a recovery that showed up in the
data well before it showed up in most paychecks.
MLA: “Inflation from 1974 to 1992: $100 is worth $285 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-1992/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1974 to 1992. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-1992/