$100 in 1991 is worth $126 in 2000,
because prices increased 26.4% over that period, an average of
2.64% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$126
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
26.4%
Average inflation rate
2.64% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$126
Price difference ($100 base)
$26.43
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1991 → 2000
$126
$100 in 2000 → 1991
$79.09
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2000
Between 1991 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 26.4%, which works out to an average of
2.64% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2000: the 1991 dollar
lost 20.9% of its purchasing power over
these 9 years.
1991 opened in recession and closed in a slow, uneven recovery. The median household earned
about $30,100 for the year, gas averaged $1.14 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $120,000.
Inflation ran at 4.2% for the year, down from 1990’s oil-driven spike, as the Gulf War ended in
February and crude oil retreated from its autumn highs. The recession itself, dated by the
National Bureau of Economic Research from July 1990 to March 1991, was technically over by
spring, but hiring stayed weak well into 1992, the stretch economists came to call the jobless
recovery. The Federal Reserve kept cutting interest rates through the year to support growth,
reversing the tightening campaign it had run through the late 1980s. In April the federal
minimum wage rose to $4.25 an hour, the second step of an increase from the $3.35 rate that had
held since 1981. The Postal Service had already raised the cost of a first-class stamp to 29
cents that February. It was the first full year of the decade without an oil shock driving
prices, even if the job market took longer to follow.
Every 1991 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 1.26: $1,000 becomes
$1,264, and $10,000 becomes $12,643.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2000
$1.00
$1.26
$5.00
$6.32
$10.00
$12.64
$20.00
$25.29
$50.00
$63.22
$100
$126
$500
$632
$1,000
$1,264
$5,000
$6,322
$10,000
$12,643
$100,000
$126,432
$1,000,000
$1,264,317
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2000
Between 1991 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 47.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 0.7%, against 26.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.64%
$126
Medical care
4.40%
$147
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.74%
$128
Housing
2.69%
$127
Transportation
2.40%
$124
Food
2.34%
$123
Energy
2.19%
$122
Apparel
0.08%
$101
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $112 by
1995, on its way to $126 in 2000; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2000, and the smallest rise was 1.6% in 1998.
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $126; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1991 to 2000: $100 is worth $126 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2000/