$100 in 1974 is worth $349 in 2000,
because prices increased 249.3% over that period, an average of
4.93% a year.
$100 in 1974 has
the same buying power as
$349
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
249.3%
Average inflation rate
4.93% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$349
Price difference ($100 base)
$249
CPI in 1974
49.3
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1974
11.04%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1974 → 2000
$349
$100 in 2000 → 1974
$28.63
What happened to prices between 1974 and 2000
Between 1974 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 49.3 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 249.3%, which works out to an average of
4.93% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1974 bought what
$0.29 buys in 2000: the 1974 dollar
lost 71.4% of its purchasing power over
these 26 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 2000 at the same ratio, 3.49: $1,000 becomes
$3,493, and $10,000 becomes $34,929.
Amount in 1974
Value in 2000
$1.00
$3.49
$5.00
$17.46
$10.00
$34.93
$20.00
$69.86
$50.00
$175
$100
$349
$500
$1,746
$1,000
$3,493
$5,000
$17,465
$10,000
$34,929
$100,000
$349,290
$1,000,000
$3,492,901
Inflation by spending category, 1974–2000
Between 1974 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 515.1%, while apparel rose the least, up 86.7%, against 249.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1974
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1974 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.93%
$349
Medical care
7.24%
$615
Housing
5.16%
$370
Core (all items less food & energy)
5.13%
$367
Transportation
4.76%
$335
Energy
4.66%
$327
Food
4.38%
$305
Apparel
2.43%
$187
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1974: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1974 to 2000
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 8.94% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1974–2000 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
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$349
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1974
$100 from 1974 had already become $230 by
1987, on its way to $349 in 2000; 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 1.6% in 1998.
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1974 had the buying
power of $349; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1974 to 2000: $100 is worth $349 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1974 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-2000/