$100 in 1991 is worth $174 in 2014,
because prices increased 73.8% over that period, an average of
2.43% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$174
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
73.8%
Average inflation rate
2.43% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$174
Price difference ($100 base)
$73.81
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1991 → 2014
$174
$100 in 2014 → 1991
$57.53
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2014
Between 1991 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 73.8%, which works out to an average of
2.43% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.58 buys in 2014: the 1991 dollar
lost 42.5% of its purchasing power over
these 23 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 2014 at the same ratio, 1.74: $1,000 becomes
$1,738, and $10,000 becomes $17,381.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2014
$1.00
$1.74
$5.00
$8.69
$10.00
$17.38
$20.00
$34.76
$50.00
$86.91
$100
$174
$500
$869
$1,000
$1,738
$5,000
$8,691
$10,000
$17,381
$100,000
$173,815
$1,000,000
$1,738,150
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2014
Between 1991 and 2014, medical care rose the most, up 145.9%, while apparel fell 0.9%, against 73.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.43%
$174
Medical care
3.99%
$246
Energy
3.84%
$238
Food
2.54%
$178
Housing
2.45%
$175
Transportation
2.45%
$174
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.27%
$167
Apparel
-0.04%
$99.08
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1991 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.64% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1991–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$174
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $132 by
2002, on its way to $174 in 2014; 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 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $174; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1991 to 2014: $100 is worth $174 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2014/