$100 in 1996 is worth $137 in 2008,
because prices increased 37.2% over that period, an average of
2.67% a year.
$100 in 1996 has
the same buying power as
$137
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
37.2%
Average inflation rate
2.67% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$137
Price difference ($100 base)
$37.22
CPI in 1996
156.9
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1996
2.95%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1996 → 2008
$137
$100 in 2008 → 1996
$72.87
What happened to prices between 1996 and 2008
Between 1996 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 156.9 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 37.2%, which works out to an average of
2.67% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1996 bought what
$0.73 buys in 2008: the 1996 dollar
lost 27.1% of its purchasing power over
these 12 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.37: $1,000 becomes
$1,372, and $10,000 becomes $13,722.
Amount in 1996
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.37
$5.00
$6.86
$10.00
$13.72
$20.00
$27.44
$50.00
$68.61
$100
$137
$500
$686
$1,000
$1,372
$5,000
$6,861
$10,000
$13,722
$100,000
$137,223
$1,000,000
$1,372,231
Inflation by spending category, 1996–2008
Between 1996 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 115.0%, while apparel fell 9.7%, against 37.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1996
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1996 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.67%
$137
Energy
6.58%
$215
Medical care
3.97%
$160
Housing
2.94%
$142
Food
2.82%
$140
Transportation
2.64%
$137
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.22%
$130
Education & communication
2.19%
$130
Recreation
1.26%
$116
Apparel
-0.85%
$90.29
Decade by decade: 1996 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.35% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1996–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1996, at end
1996–2000
2.35%
9.8%
$110
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$137
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1996
$100 from 1996 had already become $115 by
2002, on its way to $137 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 1996 had the buying
power of $137; 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 1996 to 2008: $100 is worth $137 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1996 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-2008/