$100 in 1992 is worth $155 in 2010,
because prices increased 55.4% over that period, an average of
2.48% a year.
$100 in 1992 has
the same buying power as
$155
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
55.4%
Average inflation rate
2.48% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$155
Price difference ($100 base)
$55.42
CPI in 1992
140.3
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 1992 → 2010
$155
$100 in 2010 → 1992
$64.34
What happened to prices between 1992 and 2010
Between 1992 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 140.3 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 55.4%, which works out to an average of
2.48% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1992 bought what
$0.64 buys in 2010: the 1992 dollar
lost 35.7% of its purchasing power over
these 18 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 2010 at the same ratio, 1.55: $1,000 becomes
$1,554, and $10,000 becomes $15,542.
Amount in 1992
Value in 2010
$1.00
$1.55
$5.00
$7.77
$10.00
$15.54
$20.00
$31.08
$50.00
$77.71
$100
$155
$500
$777
$1,000
$1,554
$5,000
$7,771
$10,000
$15,542
$100,000
$155,421
$1,000,000
$1,554,212
Inflation by spending category, 1992–2010
Between 1992 and 2010, energy rose the most, up 105.3%, while apparel fell 9.4%, against 55.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1992
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1992 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.48%
$155
Energy
4.08%
$205
Medical care
4.05%
$204
Food
2.62%
$159
Housing
2.55%
$157
Transportation
2.39%
$153
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.29%
$150
Apparel
-0.55%
$90.60
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1992: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1992 to 2010
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.59% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.39% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1992–2010 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1992, at end
1992–2000
2.59%
22.7%
$123
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$155
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1992
$100 from 1992 had already become $126 by
2001, on its way to $155 in 2010; 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 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1992 had the buying
power of $155; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 1992 to 2010: $100 is worth $155 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1992 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2010/