What is $100 in 1979 worth in 1983?

$100 in 1979 has the purchasing power of about $137 in 1983, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1979 and 1983?

Prices rose 37.2% in total between 1979 and 1983, an average of 8.23% per year.

How much is $1 in 1979 worth today?

$1 in 1979 is equivalent to about $1.37 in 1983. Equivalently, a 1983 dollar buys what $0.73 bought in 1979.

U.S. inflation · 1979–1983

Value of $100 in 1979, adjusted to 1983

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1979 has the same buying power as

$137

in 1983

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	37.2%
Average inflation rate	8.23% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$137
Price difference ($100 base)	$37.19
CPI in 1979	72.6
CPI in 1983	99.6
Inflation in 1979	11.35%
Inflation in 1983	3.21%
$100 in 1979 → 1983	$137
$100 in 1983 → 1979	$72.89

What happened to prices between 1979 and 1983

Between 1979 and 1983, the Consumer Price Index went from 72.6 to 99.6. Cumulatively, prices increased 37.2%, which works out to an average of 8.23% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1979 bought what $0.73 buys in 1983.

Common amounts: 1979 dollars in 1983

Amount in 1979	Value in 1983
$1.00	$1.37
$5.00	$6.86
$10.00	$13.72
$20.00	$27.44
$50.00	$68.60
$100	$137
$500	$686
$1,000	$1,372
$5,000	$6,860
$10,000	$13,719
$100,000	$137,190
$1,000,000	$1,371,901

Inflation by spending category, 1979–1983

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1979 spending costs in 1983, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1979 →
All items (CPI-U)	8.23%	$137
Energy	11.05%	$152
Medical care	10.49%	$149
Housing	9.15%	$142
Transportation	8.94%	$141
Core (all items less food & energy)	8.49%	$139
Food	5.61%	$124
Apparel	4.23%	$118

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1979: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1979

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1979
1979	72.6	11.3%	$100
1980	82.4	13.5%	$113
1981	90.9	10.3%	$125
1982	96.5	6.2%	$133
1983	99.6	3.2%	$137

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1979 to 1983: $100 is worth $137 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1979-to-1983/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1979 to 1983. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1979-to-1983/

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.