$100 in 1996 is worth $102 in 1997,
because prices increased 2.3% over that period, an average of
2.29% a year.
$100 in 1996 has
the same buying power as
$102
in 1997
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
2.3%
Average inflation rate
2.29% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$102
Price difference ($100 base)
$2.29
CPI in 1996
156.9
CPI in 1997
160.5
Inflation in 1996
2.95%
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
$100 in 1996 → 1997
$102
$100 in 1997 → 1996
$97.76
What happened to prices between 1996 and 1997
Between 1996 and 1997, the Consumer Price Index went from 156.9 to 160.5.
Cumulatively, prices increased 2.3%, which works out to an average of
2.29% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1996 bought what
$0.98 buys in 1997: the 1996 dollar
lost 2.2% of its purchasing power over
these 1 years.
The median household earned about $35,500 in 1996, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, up noticeably
from the mid-decade lull, and a new home cost roughly $140,000. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the
year, ticking back up from 1995 as energy prices firmed. Washington passed two of the decade’s
more consequential laws that year: in February, the Telecommunications Act rewrote the rules for
phone, cable, and broadcast media for the first time since 1934, opening local markets to
competition and easing ownership limits; in August, a welfare overhaul ended the federal
guarantee of cash assistance, replacing it with block grants to states and time limits on
benefits. In October, the federal minimum wage rose to $4.75 an hour, its first increase in five
years and the opening step of a two-part law that would take it to $5.15 the following
September. Two sweeping new laws and a minimum wage finally on the move again made 1996 a year
that changed more about how the economy was governed than about how fast prices moved.
Every 1996 amount converts to 1997 at the same ratio, 1.02: $1,000 becomes
$1,023, and $10,000 becomes $10,229.
Amount in 1996
Value in 1997
$1.00
$1.02
$5.00
$5.11
$10.00
$10.23
$20.00
$20.46
$50.00
$51.15
$100
$102
$500
$511
$1,000
$1,023
$5,000
$5,115
$10,000
$10,229
$100,000
$102,294
$1,000,000
$1,022,945
Inflation by spending category, 1996–1997
Between 1996 and 1997, education & communication rose the most, up 3.3%, while transportation rose the least, up 0.9%, against 2.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1996
spending costs in 1997, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1996 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.29%
$102
Education & communication
3.25%
$103
Medical care
2.80%
$103
Housing
2.62%
$103
Food
2.61%
$103
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.36%
$102
Recreation
2.26%
$102
Energy
1.27%
$101
Apparel
0.91%
$101
Transportation
0.91%
$101
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1996
$100 from 1996grew to $102 by 1997; each row
shows the CPI, that year's inflation rate, and the running value.
In 1997, prices rose 2.3% and $100 from 1996 had the buying
power of $102; the year's average CPI of 160.5 is the level
behind every 1997 figure on this page.
The median household earned about $37,000 in 1997, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, and a new home
cost roughly $146,000. Inflation ran at 2.3% for the year, its lowest reading since the
mid-1980s, as a strong dollar and falling import prices helped keep costs in check at home even
as trouble built abroad. In July, Thailand devalued the baht, and the currency collapse that
followed spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies,
forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region, though the crisis had little
immediate effect on U.S. prices. At home, Washington had a calmer year: in August, President
Clinton and Congress agreed on the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act, which cut
capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set the federal budget on a path to its first
surplus in nearly three decades. In September, the federal minimum wage completed a two-step
rise to $5.15 an hour, where it would stay for a decade. Low inflation, a firming budget picture,
and a crisis unfolding an ocean away made 1997 a year the U.S. economy looked stronger than much
of the rest of the world’s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1996 to 1997: $100 is worth $102 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-1997/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1996 to 1997. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-1997/