$100 in 1991 is worth $158 in 2008,
because prices increased 58.1% over that period, an average of
2.73% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$158
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
58.1%
Average inflation rate
2.73% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$158
Price difference ($100 base)
$58.08
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1991 → 2008
$158
$100 in 2008 → 1991
$63.26
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2008
Between 1991 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 58.1%, which works out to an average of
2.73% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.63 buys in 2008: the 1991 dollar
lost 36.7% of its purchasing power over
these 17 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.58: $1,000 becomes
$1,581, and $10,000 becomes $15,808.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.58
$5.00
$7.90
$10.00
$15.81
$20.00
$31.62
$50.00
$79.04
$100
$158
$500
$790
$1,000
$1,581
$5,000
$7,904
$10,000
$15,808
$100,000
$158,079
$1,000,000
$1,580,786
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2008
Between 1991 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 130.9%, while apparel fell 7.6%, against 58.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.73%
$158
Energy
5.05%
$231
Medical care
4.33%
$206
Housing
2.87%
$162
Transportation
2.73%
$158
Food
2.69%
$157
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.48%
$152
Apparel
-0.46%
$92.39
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1991 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1991–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1991, at end
1991–2000
2.64%
26.4%
$126
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$158
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $122 by
1999, on its way to $158 in 2008; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.8% in 2008, and the smallest rise was 1.6% in 1998.
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $158; 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 1991 to 2008: $100 is worth $158 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2008/