$100 in 1995 is worth $141 in 2008,
because prices increased 41.3% over that period, an average of
2.69% a year.
$100 in 1995 has
the same buying power as
$141
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
41.3%
Average inflation rate
2.69% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$141
Price difference ($100 base)
$41.27
CPI in 1995
152.4
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1995
2.83%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1995 → 2008
$141
$100 in 2008 → 1995
$70.78
What happened to prices between 1995 and 2008
Between 1995 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 152.4 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 41.3%, which works out to an average of
2.69% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1995 bought what
$0.71 buys in 2008: the 1995 dollar
lost 29.2% of its purchasing power over
these 13 years.
In 1995, gas averaged $1.15 a gallon, a new home cost roughly $133,900, and the median household
earned about $34,100. Inflation ran at 2.8% for the year, little changed from 1994, as the
Federal Reserve shifted from raising rates to cutting them. Having lifted its policy rate six
times the year before, the Fed judged by July that the economy had cooled enough on its own, and
trimmed rates instead, an outcome economists would later point to as a rare soft landing. The
year opened with a currency crisis: Mexico’s peso lost roughly half its value against the dollar
in a matter of weeks, and the U.S. Treasury and the IMF assembled a $50 billion rescue package,
controversial in Congress, to stabilize it and keep the crisis from spreading to other emerging
markets. Closer to home, a budget standoff between President Clinton and the Republican Congress
shut down federal agencies twice, first for five days in November and then for 21 days spanning
December into January 1996, the longest shutdown up to that point. The Postal Service raised the
cost of a first-class stamp to 32 cents in January. Low, steady inflation was about the only calm
part of 1995’s economic story.
Every 1995 amount converts to 2008 at the same ratio, 1.41: $1,000 becomes
$1,413, and $10,000 becomes $14,127.
Amount in 1995
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.41
$5.00
$7.06
$10.00
$14.13
$20.00
$28.25
$50.00
$70.64
$100
$141
$500
$706
$1,000
$1,413
$5,000
$7,064
$10,000
$14,127
$100,000
$141,275
$1,000,000
$1,412,749
Inflation by spending category, 1995–2008
Between 1995 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 125.0%, while apparel fell 9.9%, against 41.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1995
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1995 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.69%
$141
Energy
6.44%
$225
Medical care
3.93%
$165
Housing
2.93%
$146
Food
2.86%
$144
Transportation
2.65%
$141
Education & communication
2.28%
$134
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.26%
$134
Recreation
1.40%
$120
Apparel
-0.80%
$90.08
Decade by decade: 1995 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.47% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1995–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1995, at end
1995–2000
2.47%
13.0%
$113
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$141
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1995
$100 from 1995 had already become $116 by
2001, on its way to $141 in 2008; 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 the smallest rise was 1.6% in 1998.
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1995 had the buying
power of $141; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1995 to 2008: $100 is worth $141 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1995-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1995 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1995-to-2008/