$100 in 1988 is worth $182 in 2008,
because prices increased 82.0% over that period, an average of
3.04% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$182
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
82.0%
Average inflation rate
3.04% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$182
Price difference ($100 base)
$82.00
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1988 → 2008
$182
$100 in 2008 → 1988
$54.95
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2008
Between 1988 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 82.0%, which works out to an average of
3.04% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.55 buys in 2008: the 1988 dollar
lost 45.1% of its purchasing power over
these 20 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.82: $1,000 becomes
$1,820, and $10,000 becomes $18,200.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.82
$5.00
$9.10
$10.00
$18.20
$20.00
$36.40
$50.00
$91.00
$100
$182
$500
$910
$1,000
$1,820
$5,000
$9,100
$10,000
$18,200
$100,000
$181,997
$1,000,000
$1,819,975
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2008
Between 1988 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 165.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 3.0%, against 82.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.04%
$182
Energy
4.99%
$265
Medical care
4.95%
$263
Housing
3.05%
$183
Food
3.02%
$181
Transportation
2.98%
$180
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.83%
$175
Apparel
0.15%
$103
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2008
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 1988–2008 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
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$182
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $138 by
1998, on its way to $182 in 2008; 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 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $182; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2008: $100 is worth $182 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2008/