$100 in 1987 is worth $124 in 1992,
because prices increased 23.5% over that period, an average of
4.31% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$124
in 1992
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
23.5%
Average inflation rate
4.31% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$124
Price difference ($100 base)
$23.50
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 1992
140.3
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
$100 in 1987 → 1992
$124
$100 in 1992 → 1987
$80.97
What happened to prices between 1987 and 1992
Between 1987 and 1992, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 140.3.
Cumulatively, prices increased 23.5%, which works out to an average of
4.31% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.81 buys in 1992: the 1987 dollar
lost 19.0% of its purchasing power over
these 5 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 1992 at the same ratio, 1.24: $1,000 becomes
$1,235, and $10,000 becomes $12,350.
Amount in 1987
Value in 1992
$1.00
$1.24
$5.00
$6.18
$10.00
$12.35
$20.00
$24.70
$50.00
$61.75
$100
$124
$500
$618
$1,000
$1,235
$5,000
$6,175
$10,000
$12,350
$100,000
$123,504
$1,000,000
$1,235,035
Inflation by spending category, 1987–1992
Between 1987 and 1992, medical care rose the most, up 46.1%, while energy rose the least, up 16.3%, against 23.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 1992, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.31%
$124
Medical care
7.88%
$146
Core (all items less food & energy)
4.50%
$125
Food
3.97%
$121
Housing
3.78%
$120
Transportation
3.72%
$120
Apparel
3.59%
$119
Energy
3.06%
$116
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 1992
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.78% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (3.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1987–1992 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1987, at end
1987–1990
4.78%
15.1%
$115
1990–1992
3.61%
7.3%
$124
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $109 by
1989, on its way to $124 in 1992; 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 3.0% in 1992.
In 1992, prices rose 3.0% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $124; the year's average CPI of 140.3 is the level
behind every 1992 figure on this page.
1992 was the year the recovery finally showed up in the numbers, if not yet in hiring. The
median household earned about $30,600, gas averaged $1.13 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly
$121,500. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the year, its calmest reading since the mid-1980s, as energy
prices stayed well below their 1990 peak and a slack labor market kept a lid on wages and prices
alike. The Federal Reserve kept cutting its policy rate through the year, reaching about 3% by
September, the lowest in decades, trying to jump-start hiring more than a year after the 1990-91
recession officially ended. The sluggish job market became the defining issue of the November
election, and Bill Clinton unseated incumbent George H.W. Bush, whose approval ratings had
fallen sharply from their post-Gulf War highs. In August, Hurricane Andrew tore through South
Florida, the costliest U.S. hurricane on record at the time, causing tens of billions of dollars
in damage and reshaping how insurers priced catastrophe risk for years afterward. Falling rates,
a costly hurricane, and an election fought over jobs defined a recovery that showed up in the
data well before it showed up in most paychecks.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 1992: $100 is worth $124 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-1992/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 1992. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-1992/