$100 in 1987 is worth $156 in 2001,
because prices increased 55.9% over that period, an average of
3.22% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$156
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
55.9%
Average inflation rate
3.22% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$156
Price difference ($100 base)
$55.90
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1987 → 2001
$156
$100 in 2001 → 1987
$64.14
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2001
Between 1987 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 55.9%, which works out to an average of
3.22% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.64 buys in 2001: the 1987 dollar
lost 35.9% of its purchasing power over
these 14 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 2001 at the same ratio, 1.56: $1,000 becomes
$1,559, and $10,000 becomes $15,590.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2001
$1.00
$1.56
$5.00
$7.79
$10.00
$15.59
$20.00
$31.18
$50.00
$77.95
$100
$156
$500
$779
$1,000
$1,559
$5,000
$7,795
$10,000
$15,590
$100,000
$155,898
$1,000,000
$1,558,979
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2001
Between 1987 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 109.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 15.1%, against 55.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.22%
$156
Medical care
5.43%
$210
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.30%
$157
Housing
3.15%
$154
Food
3.06%
$153
Transportation
2.76%
$146
Energy
2.74%
$146
Apparel
1.01%
$115
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2001
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 1987–2001 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
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$156
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $130 by
1994, on its way to $156 in 2001; 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 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $156; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2001: $100 is worth $156 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2001/