$100 in 1986 is worth $213 in 2013,
because prices increased 112.6% over that period, an average of
2.83% a year.
$100 in 1986 has
the same buying power as
$213
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
112.6%
Average inflation rate
2.83% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$213
Price difference ($100 base)
$113
CPI in 1986
109.6
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1986
1.86%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1986 → 2013
$213
$100 in 2013 → 1986
$47.05
What happened to prices between 1986 and 2013
Between 1986 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 109.6 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 112.6%, which works out to an average of
2.83% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1986 bought what
$0.47 buys in 2013: the 1986 dollar
lost 53.0% of its purchasing power over
these 27 years.
1986 delivered the decade’s biggest one-year drop in inflation, and it came
almost entirely from a single source: oil. Saudi Arabia abandoned its policy
of restraining output to prop up prices, and world crude collapsed from
about $27 a barrel to under $10 by midyear. Gasoline, which had averaged
$1.12 a gallon in 1985, fell to 86 cents. With energy costs plunging,
headline CPI inflation for the year came in at just 1.9%, the lowest annual
rate since 1965 and a striking bookend to 1980’s 13.5% peak. The relief was
uneven: prices for most goods and services outside energy kept rising at a
moderate pace, so households that didn’t drive much or heat with oil felt
less of the difference. In October, Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of
1986, a bipartisan overhaul that cut the top individual income tax rate from
50% to 28% while closing many deductions and shelters, the broadest rewrite
of the federal tax code since World War II. Between cheap gas and falling
interest rates, 1986 read like proof that the inflationary 1970s were a
closed chapter, six years after the U.S. economy had felt anything but
calm.
Every 1986 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 2.13: $1,000 becomes
$2,126, and $10,000 becomes $21,255.
Amount in 1986
Value in 2013
$1.00
$2.13
$5.00
$10.63
$10.00
$21.26
$20.00
$42.51
$50.00
$106
$100
$213
$500
$1,063
$1,000
$2,126
$5,000
$10,628
$10,000
$21,255
$100,000
$212,552
$1,000,000
$2,125,520
Inflation by spending category, 1986–2013
Between 1986 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 248.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 20.3%, against 112.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1986
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1986 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.83%
$213
Medical care
4.73%
$348
Energy
3.85%
$277
Food
2.92%
$217
Transportation
2.83%
$213
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.71%
$206
Housing
2.69%
$205
Apparel
0.69%
$120
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1986: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1986 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.50% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1986–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1986, at end
1986–1990
4.50%
19.3%
$119
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$157
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$199
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$213
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1986
$100 from 1986 had already become $152 by
1999, on its way to $213 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 1986 had the buying
power of $213; 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 1986 to 2013: $100 is worth $213 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1986-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1986 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1986-to-2013/