$100 in 1988 is worth $203 in 2016,
because prices increased 102.9% over that period, an average of
2.56% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$203
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
102.9%
Average inflation rate
2.56% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$203
Price difference ($100 base)
$103
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1988 → 2016
$203
$100 in 2016 → 1988
$49.29
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2016
Between 1988 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 102.9%, which works out to an average of
2.56% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.49 buys in 2016: the 1988 dollar
lost 50.7% of its purchasing power over
these 28 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 2016 at the same ratio, 2.03: $1,000 becomes
$2,029, and $10,000 becomes $20,288.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2016
$1.00
$2.03
$5.00
$10.14
$10.00
$20.29
$20.00
$40.58
$50.00
$101
$100
$203
$500
$1,014
$1,000
$2,029
$5,000
$10,144
$10,000
$20,288
$100,000
$202,880
$1,000,000
$2,028,800
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2016
Between 1988 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 234.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 9.2%, against 102.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.56%
$203
Medical care
4.41%
$335
Energy
2.72%
$212
Food
2.68%
$210
Housing
2.61%
$206
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.52%
$201
Transportation
2.11%
$179
Apparel
0.32%
$109
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 5.11% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1988–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$203
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $152 by
2002, on its way to $203 in 2016; 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 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $203; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2016: $100 is worth $203 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2016/