$100 in 1992 is worth $126 in 2001,
because prices increased 26.2% over that period, an average of
2.62% a year.
$100 in 1992 has
the same buying power as
$126
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
26.2%
Average inflation rate
2.62% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$126
Price difference ($100 base)
$26.23
CPI in 1992
140.3
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1992 → 2001
$126
$100 in 2001 → 1992
$79.22
What happened to prices between 1992 and 2001
Between 1992 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 140.3 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 26.2%, which works out to an average of
2.62% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1992 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2001: the 1992 dollar
lost 20.8% of its purchasing power over
these 9 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 2001 at the same ratio, 1.26: $1,000 becomes
$1,262, and $10,000 becomes $12,623.
Amount in 1992
Value in 2001
$1.00
$1.26
$5.00
$6.31
$10.00
$12.62
$20.00
$25.25
$50.00
$63.11
$100
$126
$500
$631
$1,000
$1,262
$5,000
$6,311
$10,000
$12,623
$100,000
$126,230
$1,000,000
$1,262,295
Inflation by spending category, 1992–2001
Between 1992 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 43.5%, while apparel fell 3.5%, against 26.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1992
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1992 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.62%
$126
Medical care
4.09%
$144
Housing
2.81%
$128
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.63%
$126
Energy
2.56%
$126
Food
2.56%
$126
Transportation
2.23%
$122
Apparel
-0.39%
$96.51
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1992: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1992 to 2001
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.85% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.59% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1992–2001 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1992, at end
1992–2000
2.59%
22.7%
$123
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$126
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1992
$100 from 1992 had already become $112 by
1996, on its way to $126 in 2001; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2000, and the smallest rise was 1.6% in 1998.
In 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1992 had the buying
power of $126; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1992 to 2001: $100 is worth $126 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1992 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2001/