$100 in 1990 is worth $233 in 2023,
because prices increased 133.1% over that period, an average of
2.60% a year.
$100 in 1990 has
the same buying power as
$233
in 2023
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
133.1%
Average inflation rate
2.60% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$233
Price difference ($100 base)
$133
CPI in 1990
130.7
CPI in 2023
304.702
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
Inflation in 2023
4.12%
$100 in 1990 → 2023
$233
$100 in 2023 → 1990
$42.89
What happened to prices between 1990 and 2023
Between 1990 and 2023, the Consumer Price Index went from 130.7 to 304.702.
Cumulatively, prices increased 133.1%, which works out to an average of
2.60% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1990 bought what
$0.43 buys in 2023: the 1990 dollar
lost 57.1% of its purchasing power over
these 33 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 2023 at the same ratio, 2.33: $1,000 becomes
$2,331, and $10,000 becomes $23,313.
Amount in 1990
Value in 2023
$1.00
$2.33
$5.00
$11.66
$10.00
$23.31
$20.00
$46.63
$50.00
$117
$100
$233
$500
$1,166
$1,000
$2,331
$5,000
$11,657
$10,000
$23,313
$100,000
$233,131
$1,000,000
$2,331,308
Inflation by spending category, 1990–2023
Between 1990 and 2023, medical care rose the most, up 237.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 5.2%, against 133.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1990
spending costs in 2023, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1990 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.60%
$233
Medical care
3.75%
$337
Energy
3.14%
$277
Housing
2.81%
$249
Food
2.74%
$244
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.52%
$228
Transportation
2.44%
$222
Apparel
0.15%
$105
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1990: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1990 to 2023
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 5.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1990–2023 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$198
2020–2023
5.59%
17.7%
$233
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1990
$100 from 1990 had already become $154 by
2006, on its way to $233 in 2023; 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: 2023
In 2023, prices rose 4.1% and $100 from 1990 had the buying
power of $233; the year's average CPI of 304.702 is the level
behind every 2023 figure on this page.
2023 was the year inflation came down without a recession. Consumer prices
rose 4.1% on average, roughly half of 2022’s 8.0%, and the December-to-December
rate fell to 3.4%. Gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon, well below the 2022
average, and supply-chain pressure on goods eased. Shelter, restaurant meals,
and other services stayed expensive, so the CPI kept rising at a rate well
above the pre-pandemic pace.
The Federal Reserve completed its rate-hiking campaign in July, taking the
policy rate to 5.25–5.50%, the highest level in 22 years. The effects showed
up in banking: Silicon Valley Bank failed in March after rate increases eroded
the value of its bond portfolio, the second-largest bank failure in U.S.
history at the time. Despite that, unemployment stayed under 4% all year.
Median household income was $80,610 according to the Census Bureau. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 66 cents
in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 1990 to 2023: $100 is worth $233 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2023/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1990 to 2023. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1990-to-2023/