$100 in 1992 is worth $171 in 2016,
because prices increased 71.1% over that period, an average of
2.26% a year.
$100 in 1992 has
the same buying power as
$171
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
71.1%
Average inflation rate
2.26% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$171
Price difference ($100 base)
$71.07
CPI in 1992
140.3
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1992 → 2016
$171
$100 in 2016 → 1992
$58.46
What happened to prices between 1992 and 2016
Between 1992 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 140.3 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 71.1%, which works out to an average of
2.26% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1992 bought what
$0.58 buys in 2016: the 1992 dollar
lost 41.5% of its purchasing power over
these 24 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 2016 at the same ratio, 1.71: $1,000 becomes
$1,711, and $10,000 becomes $17,107.
Amount in 1992
Value in 2016
$1.00
$1.71
$5.00
$8.55
$10.00
$17.11
$20.00
$34.21
$50.00
$85.53
$100
$171
$500
$855
$1,000
$1,711
$5,000
$8,553
$10,000
$17,107
$100,000
$171,067
$1,000,000
$1,710,670
Inflation by spending category, 1992–2016
Between 1992 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 143.9%, while apparel fell 4.4%, against 71.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1992
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1992 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.26%
$171
Medical care
3.79%
$244
Energy
2.57%
$184
Food
2.47%
$180
Housing
2.42%
$177
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.19%
$168
Transportation
1.82%
$154
Apparel
-0.19%
$95.56
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1992: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1992 to 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1992–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$171
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1992
$100 from 1992 had already become $135 by
2004, on its way to $171 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 1992 had the buying
power of $171; 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 1992 to 2016: $100 is worth $171 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1992 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1992-to-2016/