$100 in 1987 is worth $152 in 2000,
because prices increased 51.6% over that period, an average of
3.25% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$152
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
51.6%
Average inflation rate
3.25% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$152
Price difference ($100 base)
$51.58
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1987 → 2000
$152
$100 in 2000 → 1987
$65.97
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2000
Between 1987 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 51.6%, which works out to an average of
3.25% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.66 buys in 2000: the 1987 dollar
lost 34.0% of its purchasing power over
these 13 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 2000 at the same ratio, 1.52: $1,000 becomes
$1,516, and $10,000 becomes $15,158.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2000
$1.00
$1.52
$5.00
$7.58
$10.00
$15.16
$20.00
$30.32
$50.00
$75.79
$100
$152
$500
$758
$1,000
$1,516
$5,000
$7,579
$10,000
$15,158
$100,000
$151,585
$1,000,000
$1,515,845
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2000
Between 1987 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 100.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 17.2%, against 51.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.25%
$152
Medical care
5.50%
$200
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.35%
$153
Housing
3.09%
$149
Food
3.05%
$148
Transportation
2.92%
$145
Energy
2.66%
$141
Apparel
1.23%
$117
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2000
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.78% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1987–2000 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1987, at end
1987–1990
4.78%
15.1%
$115
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$152
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $127 by
1993, on its way to $152 in 2000; 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 1.6% in 1998.
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $152; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2000: $100 is worth $152 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2000/