$100 in 1987 is worth $211 in 2016,
because prices increased 111.3% over that period, an average of
2.61% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$211
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
111.3%
Average inflation rate
2.61% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$211
Price difference ($100 base)
$111
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1987 → 2016
$211
$100 in 2016 → 1987
$47.33
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2016
Between 1987 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 111.3%, which works out to an average of
2.61% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.47 buys in 2016: the 1987 dollar
lost 52.7% of its purchasing power over
these 29 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 2016 at the same ratio, 2.11: $1,000 becomes
$2,113, and $10,000 becomes $21,127.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2016
$1.00
$2.11
$5.00
$10.56
$10.00
$21.13
$20.00
$42.25
$50.00
$106
$100
$211
$500
$1,056
$1,000
$2,113
$5,000
$10,564
$10,000
$21,127
$100,000
$211,274
$1,000,000
$2,112,738
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2016
Between 1987 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 256.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 14.0%, against 111.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.61%
$211
Medical care
4.48%
$356
Food
2.73%
$218
Energy
2.66%
$214
Housing
2.65%
$214
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.58%
$209
Transportation
2.14%
$185
Apparel
0.45%
$114
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 4.78% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1987–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$211
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $156 by
2001, on its way to $211 in 2016; 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 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $211; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2016: $100 is worth $211 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2016/