$100 in 1988 is worth $197 in 2013,
because prices increased 96.9% over that period, an average of
2.75% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$197
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
96.9%
Average inflation rate
2.75% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$197
Price difference ($100 base)
$96.92
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1988 → 2013
$197
$100 in 2013 → 1988
$50.78
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2013
Between 1988 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 96.9%, which works out to an average of
2.75% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.51 buys in 2013: the 1988 dollar
lost 49.2% of its purchasing power over
these 25 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 2013 at the same ratio, 1.97: $1,000 becomes
$1,969, and $10,000 becomes $19,692.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.97
$5.00
$9.85
$10.00
$19.69
$20.00
$39.38
$50.00
$98.46
$100
$197
$500
$985
$1,000
$1,969
$5,000
$9,846
$10,000
$19,692
$100,000
$196,921
$1,000,000
$1,969,205
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2013
Between 1988 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 206.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 10.4%, against 96.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.75%
$197
Medical care
4.59%
$307
Energy
4.11%
$274
Food
2.82%
$201
Transportation
2.81%
$200
Housing
2.64%
$192
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.59%
$189
Apparel
0.40%
$110
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 5.11% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1988–2013 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$184
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$197
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $146 by
2000, on its way to $197 in 2013; 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 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $197; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2013: $100 is worth $197 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2013/