$100 in 1974 is worth $359 in 2001,
because prices increased 259.2% over that period, an average of
4.85% a year.
$100 in 1974 has
the same buying power as
$359
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
259.2%
Average inflation rate
4.85% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$359
Price difference ($100 base)
$259
CPI in 1974
49.3
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1974
11.04%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1974 → 2001
$359
$100 in 2001 → 1974
$27.84
What happened to prices between 1974 and 2001
Between 1974 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 49.3 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 259.2%, which works out to an average of
4.85% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1974 bought what
$0.28 buys in 2001: the 1974 dollar
lost 72.2% of its purchasing power over
these 27 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 2001 at the same ratio, 3.59: $1,000 becomes
$3,592, and $10,000 becomes $35,923.
Amount in 1974
Value in 2001
$1.00
$3.59
$5.00
$17.96
$10.00
$35.92
$20.00
$71.85
$50.00
$180
$100
$359
$500
$1,796
$1,000
$3,592
$5,000
$17,961
$10,000
$35,923
$100,000
$359,229
$1,000,000
$3,592,292
Inflation by spending category, 1974–2001
Between 1974 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 543.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 83.4%, against 259.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1974
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1974 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.85%
$359
Medical care
7.14%
$643
Housing
5.12%
$385
Core (all items less food & energy)
5.04%
$377
Energy
4.63%
$339
Transportation
4.60%
$337
Food
4.33%
$314
Apparel
2.27%
$183
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1974: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1974 to 2001
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 1974–2001 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
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$359
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1974
$100 from 1974 had already become $230 by
1987, on its way to $359 in 2001; 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 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1974 had the buying
power of $359; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1974 to 2001: $100 is worth $359 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1974 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1974-to-2001/