$100 in 1987 is worth $190 in 2008,
because prices increased 89.5% over that period, an average of
3.09% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$190
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
89.5%
Average inflation rate
3.09% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$190
Price difference ($100 base)
$89.53
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1987 → 2008
$190
$100 in 2008 → 1987
$52.76
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2008
Between 1987 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 89.5%, which works out to an average of
3.09% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.53 buys in 2008: the 1987 dollar
lost 47.2% of its purchasing power over
these 21 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.90: $1,000 becomes
$1,895, and $10,000 becomes $18,953.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.90
$5.00
$9.48
$10.00
$18.95
$20.00
$37.91
$50.00
$94.76
$100
$190
$500
$948
$1,000
$1,895
$5,000
$9,476
$10,000
$18,953
$100,000
$189,527
$1,000,000
$1,895,273
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2008
Between 1987 and 2008, medical care rose the most, up 179.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 7.5%, against 89.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.09%
$190
Medical care
5.02%
$280
Energy
4.79%
$267
Housing
3.09%
$189
Food
3.07%
$189
Transportation
2.99%
$186
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.90%
$182
Apparel
0.35%
$108
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2008
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 1987–2008 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
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$190
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $141 by
1997, on its way to $190 in 2008; 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 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $190; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2008: $100 is worth $190 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2008/