$100 in 1991 is worth $130 in 2001,
because prices increased 30.0% over that period, an average of
2.66% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$130
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
30.0%
Average inflation rate
2.66% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$130
Price difference ($100 base)
$30.03
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1991 → 2001
$130
$100 in 2001 → 1991
$76.91
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2001
Between 1991 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 30.0%, which works out to an average of
2.66% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.77 buys in 2001: the 1991 dollar
lost 23.1% of its purchasing power over
these 10 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 2001 at the same ratio, 1.30: $1,000 becomes
$1,300, and $10,000 becomes $13,003.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2001
$1.00
$1.30
$5.00
$6.50
$10.00
$13.00
$20.00
$26.01
$50.00
$65.01
$100
$130
$500
$650
$1,000
$1,300
$5,000
$6,501
$10,000
$13,003
$100,000
$130,029
$1,000,000
$1,300,294
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2001
Between 1991 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 54.1%, while apparel fell 1.1%, against 30.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.66%
$130
Medical care
4.42%
$154
Housing
2.82%
$132
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.73%
$131
Food
2.42%
$127
Energy
2.35%
$126
Transportation
2.23%
$125
Apparel
-0.11%
$98.91
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1991 to 2001
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.85% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1991–2001 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1991, at end
1991–2000
2.64%
26.4%
$126
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$130
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $115 by
1996, on its way to $130 in 2001; 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 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $130; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1991 to 2001: $100 is worth $130 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2001/