$100 in 1990 is worth $165 in 2008,
because prices increased 64.7% over that period, an average of
2.81% a year.
$100 in 1990 has
the same buying power as
$165
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
64.7%
Average inflation rate
2.81% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$165
Price difference ($100 base)
$64.73
CPI in 1990
130.7
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1990 → 2008
$165
$100 in 2008 → 1990
$60.71
What happened to prices between 1990 and 2008
Between 1990 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 130.7 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 64.7%, which works out to an average of
2.81% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1990 bought what
$0.61 buys in 2008: the 1990 dollar
lost 39.3% of its purchasing power over
these 18 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.65: $1,000 becomes
$1,647, and $10,000 becomes $16,473.
Amount in 1990
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.65
$5.00
$8.24
$10.00
$16.47
$20.00
$32.95
$50.00
$82.37
$100
$165
$500
$824
$1,000
$1,647
$5,000
$8,237
$10,000
$16,473
$100,000
$164,731
$1,000,000
$1,647,307
Inflation by spending category, 1990–2008
Between 1990 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 131.8%, while apparel fell 4.2%, against 64.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1990
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1990 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.81%
$165
Energy
4.78%
$232
Medical care
4.57%
$224
Housing
2.93%
$168
Transportation
2.73%
$162
Food
2.71%
$162
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.61%
$159
Apparel
-0.24%
$95.82
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1990: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1990 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.80% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1990–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1990, at end
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$132
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$165
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1990
$100 from 1990 had already become $127 by
1999, on its way to $165 in 2008; 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 1.6% in 1998.
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1990 had the buying
power of $165; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1990 to 2008: $100 is worth $165 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1990 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2008/