$100 in 1988 is worth $146 in 2000,
because prices increased 45.6% over that period, an average of
3.18% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$146
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
45.6%
Average inflation rate
3.18% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$146
Price difference ($100 base)
$45.56
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1988 → 2000
$146
$100 in 2000 → 1988
$68.70
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2000
Between 1988 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 45.6%, which works out to an average of
3.18% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.69 buys in 2000: the 1988 dollar
lost 31.3% of its purchasing power over
these 12 years.
By 1988, the economic expansion that began in the ashes of the 1981-82
recession was in its sixth year, and the Federal Reserve was watching for
signs it had run too long. Inflation rose to 4.1%, up from 3.6% the year
before, while unemployment fell to its lowest level since 1974. Alan
Greenspan’s Fed responded by raising the federal funds rate through the
year, from about 6.5% to 8.5%, trying to cool demand before prices
accelerated the way they had in the 1970s. Households still felt the
difference between this expansion and the last one: gas held near 90 cents
a gallon, almost exactly its 1987 price, and median household income rose
to roughly $27,200. The one price that moved was postage, which rose from
22 to 25 cents in April, the fourth increase of the decade but a far
gentler pace than the string of increases in the late 1970s and early
1980s. In November, Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidency on
the strength of the expansion, promising in his nomination speech to hold
the line on taxes. Both the boom and that pledge would run into trouble
within two years, as the Fed’s rate increases helped tip the economy toward
the 1990-91 recession.
Every 1988 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 1.46: $1,000 becomes
$1,456, and $10,000 becomes $14,556.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2000
$1.00
$1.46
$5.00
$7.28
$10.00
$14.56
$20.00
$29.11
$50.00
$72.78
$100
$146
$500
$728
$1,000
$1,456
$5,000
$7,278
$10,000
$14,556
$100,000
$145,562
$1,000,000
$1,455,621
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2000
Between 1988 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 88.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 12.3%, against 45.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.18%
$146
Medical care
5.41%
$188
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.26%
$147
Housing
3.03%
$143
Food
2.96%
$142
Transportation
2.91%
$141
Energy
2.81%
$140
Apparel
0.97%
$112
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2000
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 5.11% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1988–2000 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1988, at end
1988–1990
5.11%
10.5%
$110
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$146
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $125 by
1994, on its way to $146 in 2000; 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 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $146; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2000: $100 is worth $146 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2000/