$100 in 1976 is worth $311 in 2001,
because prices increased 211.2% over that period, an average of
4.65% a year.
$100 in 1976 has
the same buying power as
$311
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
211.2%
Average inflation rate
4.65% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$311
Price difference ($100 base)
$211
CPI in 1976
56.9
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1976
5.76%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1976 → 2001
$311
$100 in 2001 → 1976
$32.13
What happened to prices between 1976 and 2001
Between 1976 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 56.9 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 211.2%, which works out to an average of
4.65% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1976 bought what
$0.32 buys in 2001: the 1976 dollar
lost 67.9% of its purchasing power over
these 25 years.
Consumer prices rose 5.8% in 1976, the calmest pace since 1972,
as the economy pulled out of the 1973-75 recession and price growth settled
to roughly half its 1974 peak. The recovery gave Americans
room to celebrate: tall ships filled New York Harbor and fireworks lit cities
nationwide on July 4 for the country’s bicentennial, a rare moment of shared
celebration after Vietnam and Watergate. Politically, Jimmy Carter, a former
Georgia governor running as a Washington outsider, defeated incumbent Gerald
Ford that November, campaigning on restoring trust in government and bringing
down inflation and unemployment together. In a California garage, Steve
Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer that April to
sell the Apple I, a bare circuit board aimed at electronics hobbyists, a
business that looked far from consequential at the time. First-class
postage, which had risen to 13 cents that past December 31, held there
through the year, the longest stretch without a rate change since the Postal
Service’s creation. A median household earned $12,686 in 1976, a new home
sold for a median $44,200, and gas averaged 59 cents a gallon. Consumer
prices stood 474.7% above their 1913 level, a calm interlude
before inflation turned back up.
Every 1976 amount converts to 2001 at the same ratio, 3.11: $1,000 becomes
$3,112, and $10,000 becomes $31,125.
Amount in 1976
Value in 2001
$1.00
$3.11
$5.00
$15.56
$10.00
$31.12
$20.00
$62.25
$50.00
$156
$100
$311
$500
$1,556
$1,000
$3,112
$5,000
$15,562
$10,000
$31,125
$100,000
$311,248
$1,000,000
$3,112,478
Inflation by spending category, 1976–2001
Between 1976 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 424.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 69.3%, against 211.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1976
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1976 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.65%
$311
Medical care
6.85%
$525
Housing
4.86%
$328
Core (all items less food & energy)
4.82%
$324
Energy
4.30%
$287
Food
4.22%
$281
Transportation
4.21%
$280
Apparel
2.13%
$169
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1976: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1976 to 2001
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 9.70% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1976–2001 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1976, at end
1976–1980
9.70%
44.8%
$145
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$230
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$303
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$311
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1976
$100 from 1976 had already become $208 by
1988, on its way to $311 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 1976 had the buying
power of $311; 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 1976 to 2001: $100 is worth $311 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1976-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1976 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1976-to-2001/