$100 in 1977 is worth $384 in 2013,
because prices increased 284.4% over that period, an average of
3.81% a year.
$100 in 1977 has
the same buying power as
$384
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
284.4%
Average inflation rate
3.81% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$384
Price difference ($100 base)
$284
CPI in 1977
60.6
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1977
6.50%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1977 → 2013
$384
$100 in 2013 → 1977
$26.01
What happened to prices between 1977 and 2013
Between 1977 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 60.6 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 284.4%, which works out to an average of
3.81% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1977 bought what
$0.26 buys in 2013: the 1977 dollar
lost 74.0% of its purchasing power over
these 36 years.
Consumer prices rose 6.5% in 1977, ticking back up from 1976’s
5.8% as the economic recovery strengthened, wages climbed, and energy costs
pushed higher again. The year opened with a warning about that energy
dependence: record cold across the Midwest and Northeast in January and
February strained natural gas supplies so badly that schools and factories in
several states shut down for days to conserve fuel. Jimmy Carter, inaugurated
that January, made energy policy a centerpiece of his presidency, and
Congress created the cabinet-level Department of Energy that August to
consolidate programs built up piecemeal since the 1973 oil embargo. Culture
offered some relief from the anxiety: released that May, Star Wars became the
highest-grossing film in history to that point, drawing lines around theater
blocks for months. The year also closed an era in a different way. Elvis
Presley was found dead at his Graceland home on August 16 at age 42, drawing
tens of thousands of mourners to Memphis. A median household earned $13,572
in 1977, a new home sold for a median $48,800, and gas averaged 62 cents a
gallon. Consumer prices stood 512.1% above their 1913 level,
with the energy anxieties of the year setting up the harder shocks of 1978
and 1979.
Every 1977 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 3.84: $1,000 becomes
$3,844, and $10,000 becomes $38,442.
Amount in 1977
Value in 2013
$1.00
$3.84
$5.00
$19.22
$10.00
$38.44
$20.00
$76.88
$50.00
$192
$100
$384
$500
$1,922
$1,000
$3,844
$5,000
$19,221
$10,000
$38,442
$100,000
$384,417
$1,000,000
$3,844,175
Inflation by spending category, 1977–2013
Between 1977 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 645.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 62.1%, against 284.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1977
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1977 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.81%
$384
Medical care
5.74%
$746
Energy
4.54%
$495
Housing
3.90%
$396
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.80%
$383
Transportation
3.69%
$368
Food
3.64%
$362
Apparel
1.35%
$162
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1977: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1977 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 10.79% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1977–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1977, at end
1977–1980
10.79%
36.0%
$136
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$216
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$284
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$360
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$384
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1977
$100 from 1977 had already become $251 by
1995, on its way to $384 in 2013; 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 prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1977 had the buying
power of $384; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1977 to 2013: $100 is worth $384 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1977-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1977 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1977-to-2013/