$100 in 1986 is worth $216 in 2014,
because prices increased 116.0% over that period, an average of
2.79% a year.
$100 in 1986 has
the same buying power as
$216
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
116.0%
Average inflation rate
2.79% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$216
Price difference ($100 base)
$116
CPI in 1986
109.6
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1986
1.86%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1986 → 2014
$216
$100 in 2014 → 1986
$46.30
What happened to prices between 1986 and 2014
Between 1986 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 109.6 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 116.0%, which works out to an average of
2.79% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1986 bought what
$0.46 buys in 2014: the 1986 dollar
lost 53.7% of its purchasing power over
these 28 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 2014 at the same ratio, 2.16: $1,000 becomes
$2,160, and $10,000 becomes $21,600.
Amount in 1986
Value in 2014
$1.00
$2.16
$5.00
$10.80
$10.00
$21.60
$20.00
$43.20
$50.00
$108
$100
$216
$500
$1,080
$1,000
$2,160
$5,000
$10,800
$10,000
$21,600
$100,000
$216,000
$1,000,000
$2,160,000
Inflation by spending category, 1986–2014
Between 1986 and 2014, medical care rose the most, up 256.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 20.4%, against 116.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1986
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1986 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.79%
$216
Medical care
4.65%
$357
Energy
3.69%
$276
Food
2.90%
$223
Transportation
2.70%
$211
Housing
2.69%
$210
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.68%
$210
Apparel
0.67%
$120
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1986: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1986 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.50% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1986–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$216
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1986
$100 from 1986 had already become $157 by
2000, on its way to $216 in 2014; 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 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1986 had the buying
power of $216; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1986 to 2014: $100 is worth $216 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1986-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1986 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1986-to-2014/