$100 in 1987 is worth $208 in 2014,
because prices increased 108.4% over that period, an average of
2.76% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$208
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
108.4%
Average inflation rate
2.76% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$208
Price difference ($100 base)
$108
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1987 → 2014
$208
$100 in 2014 → 1987
$47.99
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2014
Between 1987 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 108.4%, which works out to an average of
2.76% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.48 buys in 2014: the 1987 dollar
lost 52.0% of its purchasing power over
these 27 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 2014 at the same ratio, 2.08: $1,000 becomes
$2,084, and $10,000 becomes $20,839.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2014
$1.00
$2.08
$5.00
$10.42
$10.00
$20.84
$20.00
$41.68
$50.00
$104
$100
$208
$500
$1,042
$1,000
$2,084
$5,000
$10,420
$10,000
$20,839
$100,000
$208,394
$1,000,000
$2,083,944
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2014
Between 1987 and 2014, medical care rose the most, up 234.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 15.3%, against 108.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.76%
$208
Medical care
4.57%
$335
Energy
3.82%
$275
Food
2.86%
$214
Transportation
2.69%
$205
Housing
2.68%
$204
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.62%
$201
Apparel
0.53%
$115
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.78% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1987–2014 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$192
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$208
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $152 by
2000, on its way to $208 in 2014; 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 prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $208; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2014: $100 is worth $208 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2014/