U.S. inflation · 1978–1980
$100 in 1978 has the same buying power as
$126
in 1980
| Cumulative price change | 26.4% |
|---|---|
| Average inflation rate | 12.42% per year |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $126 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $26.38 |
| CPI in 1978 | 65.2 |
| CPI in 1980 | 82.4 |
| Inflation in 1978 | 7.59% |
| Inflation in 1980 | 13.50% |
| $100 in 1978 → 1980 | $126 |
| $100 in 1980 → 1978 | $79.13 |
Between 1978 and 1980, the Consumer Price Index went from 65.2 to 82.4. Cumulatively, prices increased 26.4%, which works out to an average of 12.42% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1978 bought what $0.79 buys in 1980.
| Amount in 1978 | Value in 1980 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $1.26 |
| $5.00 | $6.32 |
| $10.00 | $12.64 |
| $20.00 | $25.28 |
| $50.00 | $63.19 |
| $100 | $126 |
| $500 | $632 |
| $1,000 | $1,264 |
| $5,000 | $6,319 |
| $10,000 | $12,638 |
| $100,000 | $126,380 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,263,804 |
The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1978 spending costs in 1980, by category:
| Category | Avg. yearly inflation | $100 in 1978 → |
|---|---|---|
| All items (CPI-U) | 12.42% | $126 |
| Energy | 27.99% | $164 |
| Transportation | 16.05% | $135 |
| Housing | 14.00% | $130 |
| Core (all items less food & energy) | 11.07% | $123 |
| Medical care | 10.09% | $121 |
| Food | 9.80% | $121 |
| Apparel | 5.67% | $112 |
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1978: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
| Year | CPI | Inflation rate | $100 from 1978 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 65.2 | 7.6% | $100 |
| 1979 | 72.6 | 11.3% | $111 |
| 1980 | 82.4 | 13.5% | $126 |
1980 sat at the very peak of the Great Inflation. Prices rose 13.5% in that single year, mortgage rates were climbing toward 16%, and the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker was administering the painful interest-rate medicine that would finally break the inflationary spiral, at the cost of the deep 1981–82 recession. No single year looms larger in how Americans think about inflation.
MLA: “Inflation from 1978 to 1980: $100 is worth $126 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1978-to-1980/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1978 to 1980. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1978-to-1980/
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.