$100 in 1983 is worth $234 in 2013,
because prices increased 133.9% over that period, an average of
2.87% a year.
$100 in 1983 has
the same buying power as
$234
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
133.9%
Average inflation rate
2.87% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$234
Price difference ($100 base)
$134
CPI in 1983
99.6
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1983
3.21%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1983 → 2013
$234
$100 in 2013 → 1983
$42.75
What happened to prices between 1983 and 2013
Between 1983 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 99.6 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 133.9%, which works out to an average of
2.87% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1983 bought what
$0.43 buys in 2013: the 1983 dollar
lost 57.2% of its purchasing power over
these 30 years.
1983 confirmed that the Volcker disinflation was not a one-year fluke.
Consumer prices rose 3.2% for the year, nearly identical to 1982’s pace and a
fraction of the double-digit rates of 1980 and 1981. With inflation tamed and
interest rates coming down, the economy roared back from the 1981-82
recession: real GDP grew 4.6%, the strongest calendar-year growth since the
1950s, and unemployment fell from its 10.8% peak to 8.3% by December. Housing
and auto sales, both starved of credit during the recession, led the
rebound. In April, Congress and President Reagan enacted the Social Security
Amendments of 1983, a bipartisan rescue of a system projected to run out of
money within months. The law gradually raised the full retirement age from
65 to 67, began taxing benefits for higher-income retirees, and delayed that
year’s cost-of-living adjustment by six months. For a program whose benefits
had been indexed to the CPI since 1975, the amendments were the first major
sign that inflation-proofing Social Security carried a cost Congress could
not simply legislate away. By year’s end, gas averaged $1.16 a gallon and
mailing a letter still cost 20 cents, prices that had barely moved since
1981, a sharp break from the constant increases of the previous decade.
Every 1983 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 2.34: $1,000 becomes
$2,339, and $10,000 becomes $23,389.
Amount in 1983
Value in 2013
$1.00
$2.34
$5.00
$11.69
$10.00
$23.39
$20.00
$46.78
$50.00
$117
$100
$234
$500
$1,169
$1,000
$2,339
$5,000
$11,695
$10,000
$23,389
$100,000
$233,893
$1,000,000
$2,338,926
Inflation by spending category, 1983–2013
Between 1983 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 322.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 27.2%, against 133.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1983
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1983 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.87%
$234
Medical care
4.92%
$423
Energy
3.03%
$245
Food
2.94%
$238
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.89%
$235
Housing
2.79%
$228
Transportation
2.65%
$219
Apparel
0.80%
$127
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1983: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1983 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 3.96% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1983–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1983, at end
1983–1990
3.96%
31.2%
$131
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$173
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$219
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$234
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1983
$100 from 1983 had already become $164 by
1998, on its way to $234 in 2013; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 5.4% in 1990, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1983 had the buying
power of $234; 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 1983 to 2013: $100 is worth $234 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1983-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1983 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1983-to-2013/