$100 in 1987 is worth $268 in 2023,
because prices increased 168.2% over that period, an average of
2.78% a year.
$100 in 1987 has
the same buying power as
$268
in 2023
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
168.2%
Average inflation rate
2.78% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$268
Price difference ($100 base)
$168
CPI in 1987
113.6
CPI in 2023
304.702
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
Inflation in 2023
4.12%
$100 in 1987 → 2023
$268
$100 in 2023 → 1987
$37.28
What happened to prices between 1987 and 2023
Between 1987 and 2023, the Consumer Price Index went from 113.6 to 304.702.
Cumulatively, prices increased 168.2%, which works out to an average of
2.78% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1987 bought what
$0.37 buys in 2023: the 1987 dollar
lost 62.7% of its purchasing power over
these 36 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 2023 at the same ratio, 2.68: $1,000 becomes
$2,682, and $10,000 becomes $26,822.
Amount in 1987
Value in 2023
$1.00
$2.68
$5.00
$13.41
$10.00
$26.82
$20.00
$53.64
$50.00
$134
$100
$268
$500
$1,341
$1,000
$2,682
$5,000
$13,411
$10,000
$26,822
$100,000
$268,224
$1,000,000
$2,682,236
Inflation by spending category, 1987–2023
Between 1987 and 2023, medical care rose the most, up 322.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 18.1%, against 168.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1987
spending costs in 2023, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1987 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.78%
$268
Medical care
4.08%
$422
Energy
3.28%
$320
Food
2.95%
$285
Housing
2.91%
$280
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.70%
$261
Transportation
2.62%
$253
Apparel
0.46%
$118
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1987: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1987 to 2023
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 5.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1987–2023 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$228
2020–2023
5.59%
17.7%
$268
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1987
$100 from 1987 had already become $172 by
2005, on its way to $268 in 2023; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 8.0% in 2022, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2023
In 2023, prices rose 4.1% and $100 from 1987 had the buying
power of $268; the year's average CPI of 304.702 is the level
behind every 2023 figure on this page.
2023 was the year inflation came down without a recession. Consumer prices
rose 4.1% on average, roughly half of 2022’s 8.0%, and the December-to-December
rate fell to 3.4%. Gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon, well below the 2022
average, and supply-chain pressure on goods eased. Shelter, restaurant meals,
and other services stayed expensive, so the CPI kept rising at a rate well
above the pre-pandemic pace.
The Federal Reserve completed its rate-hiking campaign in July, taking the
policy rate to 5.25–5.50%, the highest level in 22 years. The effects showed
up in banking: Silicon Valley Bank failed in March after rate increases eroded
the value of its bond portfolio, the second-largest bank failure in U.S.
history at the time. Despite that, unemployment stayed under 4% all year.
Median household income was $80,610 according to the Census Bureau. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 66 cents
in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 1987 to 2023: $100 is worth $268 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2023/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1987 to 2023. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1987-to-2023/