$100 in 1992 is worth $166 in 2013,
because prices increased 66.0% over that period, an average of
2.44% a year.
$100 in 1992 has
the same buying power as
$166
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
66.0%
Average inflation rate
2.44% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$166
Price difference ($100 base)
$66.04
CPI in 1992
140.3
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1992 → 2013
$166
$100 in 2013 → 1992
$60.23
What happened to prices between 1992 and 2013
Between 1992 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 140.3 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 66.0%, which works out to an average of
2.44% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1992 bought what
$0.60 buys in 2013: the 1992 dollar
lost 39.8% of its purchasing power over
these 21 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 2013 at the same ratio, 1.66: $1,000 becomes
$1,660, and $10,000 becomes $16,604.
Amount in 1992
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.66
$5.00
$8.30
$10.00
$16.60
$20.00
$33.21
$50.00
$83.02
$100
$166
$500
$830
$1,000
$1,660
$5,000
$8,302
$10,000
$16,604
$100,000
$166,042
$1,000,000
$1,660,421
Inflation by spending category, 1992–2013
Between 1992 and 2013, energy rose the most, up 137.3%, while apparel fell 3.4%, against 66.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1992
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1992 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.44%
$166
Energy
4.20%
$237
Medical care
3.91%
$224
Food
2.61%
$172
Transportation
2.61%
$172
Housing
2.42%
$165
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.22%
$159
Apparel
-0.16%
$96.60
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1992: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1992 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1992–2013 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
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$166
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1992
$100 from 1992 had already become $128 by
2002, on its way to $166 in 2013; 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 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1992 had the buying
power of $166; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1992 to 2013: $100 is worth $166 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1992 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2013/