$100 in 1991 is worth $176 in 2016,
because prices increased 76.2% over that period, an average of
2.29% a year.
$100 in 1991 has
the same buying power as
$176
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
76.2%
Average inflation rate
2.29% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$176
Price difference ($100 base)
$76.22
CPI in 1991
136.2
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1991
4.21%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1991 → 2016
$176
$100 in 2016 → 1991
$56.75
What happened to prices between 1991 and 2016
Between 1991 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 136.2 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 76.2%, which works out to an average of
2.29% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1991 bought what
$0.57 buys in 2016: the 1991 dollar
lost 43.3% of its purchasing power over
these 25 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 2016 at the same ratio, 1.76: $1,000 becomes
$1,762, and $10,000 becomes $17,622.
Amount in 1991
Value in 2016
$1.00
$1.76
$5.00
$8.81
$10.00
$17.62
$20.00
$35.24
$50.00
$88.11
$100
$176
$500
$881
$1,000
$1,762
$5,000
$8,811
$10,000
$17,622
$100,000
$176,217
$1,000,000
$1,762,166
Inflation by spending category, 1991–2016
Between 1991 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 162.0%, while apparel fell 2.1%, against 76.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1991
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1991 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.29%
$176
Medical care
3.93%
$262
Energy
2.49%
$185
Housing
2.44%
$183
Food
2.42%
$182
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.25%
$174
Transportation
1.83%
$157
Apparel
-0.08%
$97.94
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1991: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1991 to 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.64% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1991–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$176
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1991
$100 from 1991 had already become $135 by
2003, on its way to $176 in 2016; 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 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1991 had the buying
power of $176; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1991 to 2016: $100 is worth $176 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1991 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1991-to-2016/