$100 in 1981 is worth $256 in 2013,
because prices increased 156.3% over that period, an average of
2.98% a year.
$100 in 1981 has
the same buying power as
$256
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
156.3%
Average inflation rate
2.98% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$256
Price difference ($100 base)
$156
CPI in 1981
90.9
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1981
10.32%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1981 → 2013
$256
$100 in 2013 → 1981
$39.02
What happened to prices between 1981 and 2013
Between 1981 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 90.9 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 156.3%, which works out to an average of
2.98% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1981 bought what
$0.39 buys in 2013: the 1981 dollar
lost 61.0% of its purchasing power over
these 32 years.
1981 was the year the inflation fever finally broke, at an extraordinary price.
Consumer prices rose 10.3%, the second year of back-to-back double-digit
inflation and the last time the U.S. would see one. To end it, Paul Volcker’s
Federal Reserve drove its policy rate above 19% and let borrowing costs go
where they may: a 30-year mortgage cost more than 18% by autumn, car loans and
business credit froze, and homebuilders mailed the Fed two-by-fours in protest.
The squeeze tipped the economy into recession in July, the deep 1981–82
downturn that would push unemployment past 10%. But it worked. Inflation fell
by nearly half within a year and to under 4% by 1983, the disinflation that
defined the following two decades. Even the price of mailing a letter told the
year’s story: postage went up twice in eight months.
Every 1981 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 2.56: $1,000 becomes
$2,563, and $10,000 becomes $25,628.
Amount in 1981
Value in 2013
$1.00
$2.56
$5.00
$12.81
$10.00
$25.63
$20.00
$51.26
$50.00
$128
$100
$256
$500
$1,281
$1,000
$2,563
$5,000
$12,814
$10,000
$25,628
$100,000
$256,278
$1,000,000
$2,562,783
Inflation by spending category, 1981–2013
Between 1981 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 412.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 33.7%, against 156.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1981
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1981 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.98%
$256
Medical care
5.24%
$513
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.06%
$262
Food
2.95%
$253
Housing
2.92%
$251
Energy
2.91%
$250
Transportation
2.68%
$233
Apparel
0.91%
$134
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1981: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1981 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.12% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1981–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1981, at end
1981–1990
4.12%
43.8%
$144
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$189
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$240
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$256
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1981
$100 from 1981 had already become $177 by
1997, on its way to $256 in 2013; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 6.2% in 1982, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1981 had the buying
power of $256; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1981 to 2013: $100 is worth $256 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1981-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1981 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1981-to-2013/