U.S. inflation · 1984–2000

Value of $100 in 1984, adjusted to 2000

$100 in 1984 is worth $166 in 2000, because prices increased 65.7% over that period, an average of 3.21% a year.

$100 in 1984 has the same buying power as

$166

in 2000

$100$133$16619841988199219962000$100 · 1984$166 · 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change65.7%
Average inflation rate3.21% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)$166
Price difference ($100 base)$65.74
CPI in 1984103.9
CPI in 2000172.2
Inflation in 19844.32%
Inflation in 20003.36%
$100 in 1984 → 2000$166
$100 in 2000 → 1984$60.34

What happened to prices between 1984 and 2000

Between 1984 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 103.9 to 172.2. Cumulatively, prices increased 65.7%, which works out to an average of 3.21% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1984 bought what $0.60 buys in 2000: the 1984 dollar lost 39.7% of its purchasing power over these 16 years.

1984 was the year the recovery became a boom. Real GDP grew 7.2%, the fastest calendar-year growth since 1951, as the tax cuts passed in 1981 combined with falling interest rates and rebuilding consumer confidence. Unemployment, which had topped 10.8% just two years earlier, fell below 7.5%. Inflation ticked up to 4.3% from 3.2% the year before, but nothing close to a return of the 1970s wage-price spiral: the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker kept policy tight enough to hold the line while growth ran hot. The strength of the expansion, branded “Morning in America” in President Reagan’s reelection campaign, carried him to a 49-state landslide over Walter Mondale that November, at the time the widest electoral-vote margin in U.S. history. For households, the numbers behind the slogan were concrete: median income rose to about $22,400, and a gallon of gas cost $1.13, roughly what it had cost three years earlier even as wages kept climbing. The contrast with 1980, when 13.5% inflation and interest rates near 20% had defined the economy, could not have been sharper.

More about inflation in 1984 →

Common amounts: 1984 dollars in 2000

Every 1984 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 1.66: $1,000 becomes $1,657, and $10,000 becomes $16,574.

Amount in 1984Value in 2000
$1.00$1.66
$5.00$8.29
$10.00$16.57
$20.00$33.15
$50.00$82.87
$100$166
$500$829
$1,000$1,657
$5,000$8,287
$10,000$16,574
$100,000$165,736
$1,000,000$1,657,363

Inflation by spending category, 1984–2000

Between 1984 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 144.2%, while energy rose the least, up 23.5%, against 65.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1984 spending costs in 2000, by category:

Category Avg. yearly inflation $100 in 1984 →
All items (CPI-U) 3.21% $166
Medical care 5.74% $244
Core (all items less food & energy) 3.50% $173
Housing 3.13% $164
Food 3.08% $163
Transportation 2.47% $148
Apparel 1.50% $127
Energy 1.33% $123

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1984: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Decade by decade: 1984 to 2000

Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 3.90% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1984–2000 change:

Years Avg. yearly inflation Price change $100 from 1984, at end
1984–1990 3.90% 25.8% $126
1990–2000 2.80% 31.8% $166

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1984

$100 from 1984 had already become $135 by 1992, on its way to $166 in 2000; 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 the smallest rise was 1.6% in 1998.

Year CPI Inflation rate $100 from 1984
1984 103.9 4.3% $100
1985 107.6 3.6% $104
1986 109.6 1.9% $105
1987 113.6 3.6% $109
1988 118.3 4.1% $114
1989 124 4.8% $119
1990 130.7 5.4% $126
1991 136.2 4.2% $131
1992 140.3 3.0% $135
1993 144.5 3.0% $139
1994 148.2 2.6% $143
1995 152.4 2.8% $147
1996 156.9 3.0% $151
1997 160.5 2.3% $154
1998 163 1.6% $157
1999 166.6 2.2% $160
2000 172.2 3.4% $166

The destination year: 2000

In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1984 had the buying power of $166; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level behind every 2000 figure on this page.

Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about $42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet, which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33 cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back down.

More about inflation in 2000 →

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1984 to 2000: $100 is worth $166 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1984-to-2000/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1984 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1984-to-2000/

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.