What is $100 in 1978 worth in 1979?

$100 in 1978 has the purchasing power of about $111 in 1979, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1978 and 1979?

Prices rose 11.3% in total between 1978 and 1979, an average of 11.35% per year.

How much is $1 in 1978 worth today?

$1 in 1978 is equivalent to about $1.11 in 1979. Equivalently, a 1979 dollar buys what $0.90 bought in 1978.

U.S. inflation · 1978–1979

Value of $100 in 1978, adjusted to 1979

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1978 has the same buying power as

$111

in 1979

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	11.3%
Average inflation rate	11.35% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$111
Price difference ($100 base)	$11.35
CPI in 1978	65.2
CPI in 1979	72.6
Inflation in 1978	7.59%
Inflation in 1979	11.35%
$100 in 1978 → 1979	$111
$100 in 1979 → 1978	$89.81

What happened to prices between 1978 and 1979

Between 1978 and 1979, the Consumer Price Index went from 65.2 to 72.6. Cumulatively, prices increased 11.3%, which works out to an average of 11.35% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1978 bought what $0.90 buys in 1979.

Common amounts: 1978 dollars in 1979

Amount in 1978	Value in 1979
$1.00	$1.11
$5.00	$5.57
$10.00	$11.13
$20.00	$22.27
$50.00	$55.67
$100	$111
$500	$557
$1,000	$1,113
$5,000	$5,567
$10,000	$11,135
$100,000	$111,350
$1,000,000	$1,113,497

Inflation by spending category, 1978–1979

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1978 spending costs in 1979, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1978 →
All items (CPI-U)	11.35%	$111
Energy	25.14%	$125
Transportation	14.26%	$114
Housing	12.34%	$112
Food	10.97%	$111
Core (all items less food & energy)	9.77%	$110
Medical care	9.22%	$109
Apparel	4.30%	$104

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1978: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1978

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1978
1978	65.2	7.6%	$100
1979	72.6	11.3%	$111

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1978 to 1979: $100 is worth $111 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1978-to-1979/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1978 to 1979. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1978-to-1979/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.