What is $100 in 1980 worth in 1997?

$100 in 1980 has the purchasing power of about $195 in 1997, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1980 and 1997?

Prices rose 94.8% in total between 1980 and 1997, an average of 4.00% per year.

How much is $1 in 1980 worth today?

$1 in 1980 is equivalent to about $1.95 in 1997. Equivalently, a 1997 dollar buys what $0.51 bought in 1980.

U.S. inflation · 1980–1997

Value of $100 in 1980, adjusted to 1997

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1980 has the same buying power as

$195

in 1997

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	94.8%
Average inflation rate	4.00% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$195
Price difference ($100 base)	$94.78
CPI in 1980	82.4
CPI in 1997	160.5
Inflation in 1980	13.50%
Inflation in 1997	2.29%
$100 in 1980 → 1997	$195
$100 in 1997 → 1980	$51.34

What happened to prices between 1980 and 1997

Between 1980 and 1997, the Consumer Price Index went from 82.4 to 160.5. Cumulatively, prices increased 94.8%, which works out to an average of 4.00% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1980 bought what $0.51 buys in 1997.

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.

More about inflation in 1980 →

Common amounts: 1980 dollars in 1997

Amount in 1980	Value in 1997
$1.00	$1.95
$5.00	$9.74
$10.00	$19.48
$20.00	$38.96
$50.00	$97.39
$100	$195
$500	$974
$1,000	$1,948
$5,000	$9,739
$10,000	$19,478
$100,000	$194,782
$1,000,000	$1,947,816

Inflation by spending category, 1980–1997

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1980 spending costs in 1997, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1980 →
All items (CPI-U)	4.00%	$195
Medical care	6.95%	$313
Core (all items less food & energy)	4.45%	$210
Housing	3.95%	$193
Food	3.56%	$181
Transportation	3.30%	$174
Apparel	2.26%	$146
Energy	1.54%	$130

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1980: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1980

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1980
1980	82.4	13.5%	$100
1981	90.9	10.3%	$110
1982	96.5	6.2%	$117
1983	99.6	3.2%	$121
1984	103.9	4.3%	$126
1985	107.6	3.6%	$131
1986	109.6	1.9%	$133
1987	113.6	3.6%	$138
1988	118.3	4.1%	$144
1989	124	4.8%	$150
1990	130.7	5.4%	$159
1991	136.2	4.2%	$165
1992	140.3	3.0%	$170
1993	144.5	3.0%	$175
1994	148.2	2.6%	$180
1995	152.4	2.8%	$185
1996	156.9	3.0%	$190
1997	160.5	2.3%	$195

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1980 to 1997: $100 is worth $195 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1980-to-1997/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1980 to 1997. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1980-to-1997/

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.