What is $100 in 1980 worth in 1998?

$100 in 1980 has the purchasing power of about $198 in 1998, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1980 and 1998?

Prices rose 97.8% in total between 1980 and 1998, an average of 3.86% per year.

How much is $1 in 1980 worth today?

$1 in 1980 is equivalent to about $1.98 in 1998. Equivalently, a 1998 dollar buys what $0.51 bought in 1980.

U.S. inflation · 1980–1998

Value of $100 in 1980, adjusted to 1998

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1980 has the same buying power as

$198

in 1998

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	97.8%
Average inflation rate	3.86% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$198
Price difference ($100 base)	$97.82
CPI in 1980	82.4
CPI in 1998	163
Inflation in 1980	13.50%
Inflation in 1998	1.56%
$100 in 1980 → 1998	$198
$100 in 1998 → 1980	$50.55

What happened to prices between 1980 and 1998

Between 1980 and 1998, the Consumer Price Index went from 82.4 to 163. Cumulatively, prices increased 97.8%, which works out to an average of 3.86% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1980 bought what $0.51 buys in 1998.

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 1998

Amount in 1980	Value in 1998
$1.00	$1.98
$5.00	$9.89
$10.00	$19.78
$20.00	$39.56
$50.00	$98.91
$100	$198
$500	$989
$1,000	$1,978
$5,000	$9,891
$10,000	$19,782
$100,000	$197,816
$1,000,000	$1,978,155

Inflation by spending category, 1980–1998

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1980 spending costs in 1998, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1980 →
All items (CPI-U)	3.86%	$198
Medical care	6.73%	$323
Core (all items less food & energy)	4.33%	$215
Housing	3.86%	$198
Food	3.48%	$185
Transportation	3.01%	$170
Apparel	2.14%	$146
Energy	1.00%	$120

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
1998	163	1.6%	$198

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1980 to 1998: $100 is worth $198 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1980-to-1998/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1980 to 1998. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1980-to-1998/

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.