$100 in 1988 is worth $247 in 2022,
because prices increased 147.4% over that period, an average of
2.70% a year.
$100 in 1988 has
the same buying power as
$247
in 2022
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
147.4%
Average inflation rate
2.70% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$247
Price difference ($100 base)
$147
CPI in 1988
118.3
CPI in 2022
292.655
Inflation in 1988
4.14%
Inflation in 2022
8.00%
$100 in 1988 → 2022
$247
$100 in 2022 → 1988
$40.42
What happened to prices between 1988 and 2022
Between 1988 and 2022, the Consumer Price Index went from 118.3 to 292.655.
Cumulatively, prices increased 147.4%, which works out to an average of
2.70% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1988 bought what
$0.40 buys in 2022: the 1988 dollar
lost 59.6% of its purchasing power over
these 34 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 2022 at the same ratio, 2.47: $1,000 becomes
$2,474, and $10,000 becomes $24,738.
Amount in 1988
Value in 2022
$1.00
$2.47
$5.00
$12.37
$10.00
$24.74
$20.00
$49.48
$50.00
$124
$100
$247
$500
$1,237
$1,000
$2,474
$5,000
$12,369
$10,000
$24,738
$100,000
$247,384
$1,000,000
$2,473,838
Inflation by spending category, 1988–2022
Between 1988 and 2022, medical care rose the most, up 294.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 10.1%, against 147.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1988
spending costs in 2022, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1988 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.70%
$247
Medical care
4.12%
$394
Energy
3.61%
$334
Food
2.83%
$258
Housing
2.78%
$254
Transportation
2.67%
$245
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.59%
$238
Apparel
0.28%
$110
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1988: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1988 to 2022
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 6.34% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1988–2022 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$219
2020–2022
6.34%
13.1%
$247
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1988
$100 from 1988 had already become $160 by
2004, on its way to $247 in 2022; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 8.0% in 2022, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2022
In 2022, prices rose 8.0% and $100 from 1988 had the buying
power of $247; the year's average CPI of 292.655 is the level
behind every 2022 figure on this page.
2022 was the year inflation returned. Consumer prices rose 8.0% on average,
the worst since 1981, driven by pandemic-era supply chains, stimulus-fueled
demand, and an energy shock from the war in Ukraine. Gas briefly topped $5 a
gallon nationally for the first time ever, and “inflation” became the
top-ranked economic concern in nearly every poll of American households.
MLA: “Inflation from 1988 to 2022: $100 is worth $247 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2022/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1988 to 2022. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1988-to-2022/