$100 in 1985 is worth $217 in 2013,
because prices increased 116.5% over that period, an average of
2.80% a year.
$100 in 1985 has
the same buying power as
$217
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
116.5%
Average inflation rate
2.80% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$217
Price difference ($100 base)
$117
CPI in 1985
107.6
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1985
3.56%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1985 → 2013
$217
$100 in 2013 → 1985
$46.19
What happened to prices between 1985 and 2013
Between 1985 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 107.6 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 116.5%, which works out to an average of
2.80% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1985 bought what
$0.46 buys in 2013: the 1985 dollar
lost 53.8% of its purchasing power over
these 28 years.
By 1985, low inflation had become the norm rather than the exception.
Consumer prices rose 3.6% for the year, the fourth straight year in the
3-6% range following the double-digit spikes of 1980 and 1981, proof that
the disinflation had held rather than merely paused, as it had after
previous recessions. Overseas, the dollar had become a problem of its own:
years of high U.S. interest rates had pulled in foreign capital and pushed
the dollar’s value up so far that American exporters were losing business
abroad, widening the trade deficit. In September, the finance ministers of
the U.S., Japan, West Germany, France, and the United Kingdom met at New
York’s Plaza Hotel and agreed to coordinate a managed decline of the
dollar; it fell roughly 25% against major currencies over the following two
years. At home, Congress responded to a federal deficit that had roughly
tripled since 1980 by passing the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act in December,
setting binding targets to shrink the deficit with automatic
across-the-board cuts if lawmakers missed them. Households felt the calmer
economy in small ways: first-class postage rose to 22 cents in February,
its first increase since November 1981, after nearly four years at 20
cents.
Every 1985 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 2.17: $1,000 becomes
$2,165, and $10,000 becomes $21,650.
Amount in 1985
Value in 2013
$1.00
$2.17
$5.00
$10.83
$10.00
$21.65
$20.00
$43.30
$50.00
$108
$100
$217
$500
$1,083
$1,000
$2,165
$5,000
$10,825
$10,000
$21,650
$100,000
$216,503
$1,000,000
$2,165,028
Inflation by spending category, 1985–2013
Between 1985 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 274.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 21.3%, against 116.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1985
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1985 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.80%
$217
Medical care
4.83%
$375
Energy
3.18%
$241
Food
2.93%
$224
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.76%
$214
Housing
2.70%
$211
Transportation
2.58%
$204
Apparel
0.69%
$121
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1985: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1985 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 3.97% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1985–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1985, at end
1985–1990
3.97%
21.5%
$121
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$160
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$203
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$217
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1985
$100 from 1985 had already become $155 by
1999, on its way to $217 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 1985 had the buying
power of $217; 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 1985 to 2013: $100 is worth $217 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1985-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1985 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1985-to-2013/