$100 in 1990 is worth $192 in 2018,
because prices increased 92.1% over that period, an average of
2.36% a year.
$100 in 1990 has
the same buying power as
$192
in 2018
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
92.1%
Average inflation rate
2.36% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$192
Price difference ($100 base)
$92.12
CPI in 1990
130.7
CPI in 2018
251.107
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
$100 in 1990 → 2018
$192
$100 in 2018 → 1990
$52.05
What happened to prices between 1990 and 2018
Between 1990 and 2018, the Consumer Price Index went from 130.7 to 251.107.
Cumulatively, prices increased 92.1%, which works out to an average of
2.36% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1990 bought what
$0.52 buys in 2018: the 1990 dollar
lost 48.0% of its purchasing power over
these 28 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 2018 at the same ratio, 1.92: $1,000 becomes
$1,921, and $10,000 becomes $19,212.
Amount in 1990
Value in 2018
$1.00
$1.92
$5.00
$9.61
$10.00
$19.21
$20.00
$38.42
$50.00
$96.06
$100
$192
$500
$961
$1,000
$1,921
$5,000
$9,606
$10,000
$19,212
$100,000
$192,125
$1,000,000
$1,921,247
Inflation by spending category, 1990–2018
Between 1990 and 2018, medical care rose the most, up 197.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 1.3%, against 92.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1990
spending costs in 2018, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1990 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.36%
$192
Medical care
3.97%
$298
Energy
2.78%
$215
Housing
2.53%
$201
Food
2.35%
$192
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.32%
$190
Transportation
2.02%
$175
Apparel
0.04%
$101
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1990: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1990 to 2018
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.80% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1990–2018 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1990, at end
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$132
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$167
2010–2018
1.78%
15.2%
$192
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1990
$100 from 1990 had already become $145 by
2004, on its way to $192 in 2018; 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 prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2018, prices rose 2.4% and $100 from 1990 had the buying
power of $192; the year's average CPI of 251.107 is the level
behind every 2018 figure on this page.
2018 was the peak of the late-2010s expansion. Consumer prices rose 2.4%,
the fastest since 2011, with gasoline averaging $2.72 a gallon after a summer
high. Unemployment fell to 3.7% in September, the lowest since 1969, and median
household income reached $63,179. The median new home sold for about $331,800,
and a first-class stamp cost 50 cents. The federal minimum wage was still $7.25.
Trade policy became a price factor for the first time in decades. New tariffs
on steel, aluminum, and a growing list of Chinese goods raised costs for
manufacturers and some consumer products, and retaliation cut into exports of
soybeans and other farm goods.
The Federal Reserve, led from February by Jerome Powell, raised rates four
times to 2.25–2.50%. A stock-market drop of nearly 20% in the fourth quarter
led the Fed to signal a pause in early 2019. Oil fell from over $75 a barrel in
October to below $50 by December, which pulled headline inflation lower going
into the next year.
MLA: “Inflation from 1990 to 2018: $100 is worth $192 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2018/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1990 to 2018. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2018/