$100 in 1988 is worth $150 in 2001,
because prices increased 49.7% over that period, an average of
3.15% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$150
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
49.7%
Average inflation rate
3.15% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$150
Price difference ($100 base)
$49.70
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1988 → 2001
$150
$100 in 2001 → 1988
$66.80
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2001
Between 1988 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 49.7%, which works out to an average of
3.15% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.67 buys in 2001: the 1988 dollar
lost 33.2% of its purchasing power over
these 13 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 2001 at the same ratio, 1.50: $1,000 becomes
$1,497, and $10,000 becomes $14,970.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2001
$1.00
$1.50
$5.00
$7.49
$10.00
$14.97
$20.00
$29.94
$50.00
$74.85
$100
$150
$500
$749
$1,000
$1,497
$5,000
$7,485
$10,000
$14,970
$100,000
$149,704
$1,000,000
$1,497,041
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2001
Between 1988 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 96.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 10.3%, against 49.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.15%
$150
Medical care
5.35%
$197
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.21%
$151
Housing
3.11%
$149
Food
2.98%
$146
Energy
2.89%
$145
Transportation
2.73%
$142
Apparel
0.76%
$110
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2001
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 1988–2001 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
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$150
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $125 by
1994, on its way to $150 in 2001; 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 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $150; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2001: $100 is worth $150 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2001/