What is $100 in 1990 worth in 1998?

$100 in 1990 has the purchasing power of about $125 in 1998, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1990 and 1998?

Prices rose 24.7% in total between 1990 and 1998, an average of 2.80% per year.

How much is $1 in 1990 worth today?

$1 in 1990 is equivalent to about $1.25 in 1998. Equivalently, a 1998 dollar buys what $0.80 bought in 1990.

U.S. inflation · 1990–1998

Value of $100 in 1990, adjusted to 1998

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1990 has the same buying power as

$125

in 1998

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	24.7%
Average inflation rate	2.80% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$125
Price difference ($100 base)	$24.71
CPI in 1990	130.7
CPI in 1998	163
Inflation in 1990	5.40%
Inflation in 1998	1.56%
$100 in 1990 → 1998	$125
$100 in 1998 → 1990	$80.18

What happened to prices between 1990 and 1998

Between 1990 and 1998, the Consumer Price Index went from 130.7 to 163. Cumulatively, prices increased 24.7%, which works out to an average of 2.80% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1990 bought what $0.80 buys in 1998.

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.

More about inflation in 1990 →

Common amounts: 1990 dollars in 1998

Amount in 1990	Value in 1998
$1.00	$1.25
$5.00	$6.24
$10.00	$12.47
$20.00	$24.94
$50.00	$62.36
$100	$125
$500	$624
$1,000	$1,247
$5,000	$6,236
$10,000	$12,471
$100,000	$124,713
$1,000,000	$1,247,131

Inflation by spending category, 1990–1998

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1990 spending costs in 1998, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1990 →
All items (CPI-U)	2.80%	$125
Medical care	5.09%	$149
Core (all items less food & energy)	3.13%	$128
Housing	2.81%	$125
Food	2.45%	$121
Transportation	2.04%	$118
Apparel	0.87%	$107
Energy	0.10%	$101

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

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1990
1990	130.7	5.4%	$100
1991	136.2	4.2%	$104
1992	140.3	3.0%	$107
1993	144.5	3.0%	$111
1994	148.2	2.6%	$113
1995	152.4	2.8%	$117
1996	156.9	3.0%	$120
1997	160.5	2.3%	$123
1998	163	1.6%	$125

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1990 to 1998: $100 is worth $125 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-1998/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1990 to 1998. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-1998/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.