$100 in 1991 is worth $171 in 2013,
because prices increased 71.0% over that period, an average of
2.47% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$171
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
71.0%
Average inflation rate
2.47% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$171
Price difference ($100 base)
$71.04
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1991 → 2013
$171
$100 in 2013 → 1991
$58.47
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2013
Between 1991 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 71.0%, which works out to an average of
2.47% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.58 buys in 2013: the 1991 dollar
lost 41.5% of its purchasing power over
these 22 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 2013 at the same ratio, 1.71: $1,000 becomes
$1,710, and $10,000 becomes $17,104.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.71
$5.00
$8.55
$10.00
$17.10
$20.00
$34.21
$50.00
$85.52
$100
$171
$500
$855
$1,000
$1,710
$5,000
$8,552
$10,000
$17,104
$100,000
$171,040
$1,000,000
$1,710,404
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2013
Between 1991 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 140.2%, while apparel fell 1.0%, against 71.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.47%
$171
Medical care
4.06%
$240
Energy
4.03%
$238
Transportation
2.59%
$176
Food
2.55%
$174
Housing
2.45%
$170
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.29%
$165
Apparel
-0.05%
$99.00
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1991 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.64% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1991–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1991, at end
1991–2000
2.64%
26.4%
$126
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$160
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$171
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $132 by
2002, on its way to $171 in 2013; 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 prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $171; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1991 to 2013: $100 is worth $171 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2013/