$100 in 1987 is worth $115 in 1990,
because prices increased 15.1% over that period, an average of
4.78% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$115
in 1990
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
15.1%
Average inflation rate
4.78% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$115
Price difference ($100 base)
$15.05
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 1990
130.7
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
$100 in 1987 → 1990
$115
$100 in 1990 → 1987
$86.92
What happened to prices between 1987 and 1990
Between 1987 and 1990, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 130.7.
Cumulatively, prices increased 15.1%, which works out to an average of
4.78% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.87 buys in 1990: the 1987 dollar
lost 13.1% of its purchasing power over
these 3 years.
1987 tested whether the disinflation of the 1980s could survive its first
real shock. Paul Volcker, who had run the Federal Reserve since 1979 and
driven inflation down from 13.5% to routine mid-single digits, handed the
chairmanship to Alan Greenspan in August. Inflation for the year came in at
3.6%, edging up as the expansion entered its fifth year and a weaker
dollar, following 1985’s Plaza Accord, pushed up the price of imported
goods. Then, on October 19, the stock market delivered Greenspan’s first
crisis: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6% in a single session,
still the largest one-day percentage drop in its history, as computer-driven
“portfolio insurance” trading amplified a global sell-off that had started
days earlier. The Fed responded within 24 hours, publicly pledging to
supply whatever liquidity the banking system needed, and the panic did not
spread to the broader economy. Growth continued and unemployment kept
falling through the rest of the year. It was an early demonstration of what
became known as the “Greenspan put,” a Fed willing to move fast and loosen
policy to contain financial shocks even while still watching inflation,
that shaped central banking for the next two decades.
Every 1987 amount converts to 1990 at the same ratio, 1.15: $1,000 becomes
$1,151, and $10,000 becomes $11,505.
Amount in 1987
Value in 1990
$1.00
$1.15
$5.00
$5.75
$10.00
$11.51
$20.00
$23.01
$50.00
$57.53
$100
$115
$500
$575
$1,000
$1,151
$5,000
$5,753
$10,000
$11,505
$100,000
$115,053
$1,000,000
$1,150,528
Inflation by spending category, 1987–1990
Between 1987 and 1990, medical care rose the most, up 25.1%, while apparel rose the least, up 12.2%, against 15.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 1990, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.78%
$115
Medical care
7.76%
$125
Food
5.27%
$117
Energy
4.84%
$115
Core (all items less food & energy)
4.66%
$115
Transportation
4.56%
$114
Housing
4.01%
$113
Apparel
3.91%
$112
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $104 by
1988, on its way to $115 in 1990; 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 4.1% in 1988.
In 1990, prices rose 5.4% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $115; the year's average CPI of 130.7 is the level
behind every 1990 figure on this page.
In 1990, the median U.S. household earned about $29,900, gas averaged $1.15 a
gallon, and mailing a letter cost a quarter. Inflation ran hot at 5.4% for the
year, its highest rate since 1982, pushed up by an oil shock after Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait, and the economy tipped into recession that summer. It was
the last gasp of elevated inflation before the long calm of the 1990s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 1990: $100 is worth $115 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-1990/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 1990. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-1990/