$100 in 1990 is worth $123 in 1997,
because prices increased 22.8% over that period, an average of
2.98% a year.
$100 in 1990 has
the same buying power as
$123
in 1997
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
22.8%
Average inflation rate
2.98% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$123
Price difference ($100 base)
$22.80
CPI in 1990
130.7
CPI in 1997
160.5
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
$100 in 1990 → 1997
$123
$100 in 1997 → 1990
$81.43
What happened to prices between 1990 and 1997
Between 1990 and 1997, the Consumer Price Index went from 130.7 to 160.5.
Cumulatively, prices increased 22.8%, which works out to an average of
2.98% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1990 bought what
$0.81 buys in 1997: the 1990 dollar
lost 18.6% of its purchasing power over
these 7 years.
In 1990, the median U.S. household earned about $29,900, gas averaged $1.15 a
gallon, and mailing a letter cost a quarter. Inflation ran hot at 5.4% for the
year, its highest rate since 1982, pushed up by an oil shock after Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait, and the economy tipped into recession that summer. It was
the last gasp of elevated inflation before the long calm of the 1990s.
Every 1990 amount converts to 1997 at the same ratio, 1.23: $1,000 becomes
$1,228, and $10,000 becomes $12,280.
Amount in 1990
Value in 1997
$1.00
$1.23
$5.00
$6.14
$10.00
$12.28
$20.00
$24.56
$50.00
$61.40
$100
$123
$500
$614
$1,000
$1,228
$5,000
$6,140
$10,000
$12,280
$100,000
$122,800
$1,000,000
$1,228,003
Inflation by spending category, 1990–1997
Between 1990 and 1997, medical care rose the most, up 44.1%, while apparel rose the least, up 7.1%, against 22.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1990
spending costs in 1997, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1990 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.98%
$123
Medical care
5.36%
$144
Core (all items less food & energy)
3.25%
$125
Housing
2.88%
$122
Transportation
2.61%
$120
Food
2.49%
$119
Energy
1.27%
$109
Apparel
0.98%
$107
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1990: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1990
$100 from 1990 had already become $111 by
1993, on its way to $123 in 1997; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 4.2% in 1991, and the smallest rise was 2.3% in 1997.
In 1997, prices rose 2.3% and $100 from 1990 had the buying
power of $123; the year's average CPI of 160.5 is the level
behind every 1997 figure on this page.
The median household earned about $37,000 in 1997, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, and a new home
cost roughly $146,000. Inflation ran at 2.3% for the year, its lowest reading since the
mid-1980s, as a strong dollar and falling import prices helped keep costs in check at home even
as trouble built abroad. In July, Thailand devalued the baht, and the currency collapse that
followed spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies,
forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region, though the crisis had little
immediate effect on U.S. prices. At home, Washington had a calmer year: in August, President
Clinton and Congress agreed on the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act, which cut
capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set the federal budget on a path to its first
surplus in nearly three decades. In September, the federal minimum wage completed a two-step
rise to $5.15 an hour, where it would stay for a decade. Low inflation, a firming budget picture,
and a crisis unfolding an ocean away made 1997 a year the U.S. economy looked stronger than much
of the rest of the world’s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1990 to 1997: $100 is worth $123 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-1997/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1990 to 1997. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-1997/