$100 in 1992 is worth $114 in 1997,
because prices increased 14.4% over that period, an average of
2.73% a year.
$100 in 1992 has
the same buying power as
$114
in 1997
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
14.4%
Average inflation rate
2.73% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$114
Price difference ($100 base)
$14.40
CPI in 1992
140.3
CPI in 1997
160.5
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
$100 in 1992 → 1997
$114
$100 in 1997 → 1992
$87.41
What happened to prices between 1992 and 1997
Between 1992 and 1997, the Consumer Price Index went from 140.3 to 160.5.
Cumulatively, prices increased 14.4%, which works out to an average of
2.73% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1992 bought what
$0.87 buys in 1997: the 1992 dollar
lost 12.6% of its purchasing power over
these 5 years.
1992 was the year the recovery finally showed up in the numbers, if not yet in hiring. The
median household earned about $30,600, gas averaged $1.13 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly
$121,500. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the year, its calmest reading since the mid-1980s, as energy
prices stayed well below their 1990 peak and a slack labor market kept a lid on wages and prices
alike. The Federal Reserve kept cutting its policy rate through the year, reaching about 3% by
September, the lowest in decades, trying to jump-start hiring more than a year after the 1990-91
recession officially ended. The sluggish job market became the defining issue of the November
election, and Bill Clinton unseated incumbent George H.W. Bush, whose approval ratings had
fallen sharply from their post-Gulf War highs. In August, Hurricane Andrew tore through South
Florida, the costliest U.S. hurricane on record at the time, causing tens of billions of dollars
in damage and reshaping how insurers priced catastrophe risk for years afterward. Falling rates,
a costly hurricane, and an election fought over jobs defined a recovery that showed up in the
data well before it showed up in most paychecks.
Every 1992 amount converts to 1997 at the same ratio, 1.14: $1,000 becomes
$1,144, and $10,000 becomes $11,440.
Amount in 1992
Value in 1997
$1.00
$1.14
$5.00
$5.72
$10.00
$11.44
$20.00
$22.88
$50.00
$57.20
$100
$114
$500
$572
$1,000
$1,144
$5,000
$5,720
$10,000
$11,440
$100,000
$114,398
$1,000,000
$1,143,977
Inflation by spending category, 1992–1997
Between 1992 and 1997, medical care rose the most, up 23.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 0.8%, against 14.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1992
spending costs in 1997, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1992 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.73%
$114
Medical care
4.30%
$123
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.85%
$115
Transportation
2.67%
$114
Food
2.67%
$114
Housing
2.66%
$114
Energy
1.60%
$108
Apparel
0.15%
$101
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1992: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1992
$100 from 1992 had already become $106 by
1994, on its way to $114 in 1997; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.0% in 1993, and the smallest rise was 2.3% in 1997.
In 1997, prices rose 2.3% and $100 from 1992 had the buying
power of $114; the year's average CPI of 160.5 is the level
behind every 1997 figure on this page.
The median household earned about $37,000 in 1997, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, and a new home
cost roughly $146,000. Inflation ran at 2.3% for the year, its lowest reading since the
mid-1980s, as a strong dollar and falling import prices helped keep costs in check at home even
as trouble built abroad. In July, Thailand devalued the baht, and the currency collapse that
followed spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies,
forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region, though the crisis had little
immediate effect on U.S. prices. At home, Washington had a calmer year: in August, President
Clinton and Congress agreed on the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act, which cut
capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set the federal budget on a path to its first
surplus in nearly three decades. In September, the federal minimum wage completed a two-step
rise to $5.15 an hour, where it would stay for a decade. Low inflation, a firming budget picture,
and a crisis unfolding an ocean away made 1997 a year the U.S. economy looked stronger than much
of the rest of the world’s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1992 to 1997: $100 is worth $114 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-1997/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1992 to 1997. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-1997/