$100 in 1996 is worth $148 in 2013,
because prices increased 48.5% over that period, an average of
2.35% a year.
$100 in 1996 has
the same buying power as
$148
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
48.5%
Average inflation rate
2.35% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$148
Price difference ($100 base)
$48.47
CPI in 1996
156.9
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1996
2.95%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1996 → 2013
$148
$100 in 2013 → 1996
$67.35
What happened to prices between 1996 and 2013
Between 1996 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 156.9 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 48.5%, which works out to an average of
2.35% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1996 bought what
$0.67 buys in 2013: the 1996 dollar
lost 32.6% of its purchasing power over
these 17 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 2013 at the same ratio, 1.48: $1,000 becomes
$1,485, and $10,000 becomes $14,847.
Amount in 1996
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.48
$5.00
$7.42
$10.00
$14.85
$20.00
$29.69
$50.00
$74.24
$100
$148
$500
$742
$1,000
$1,485
$5,000
$7,424
$10,000
$14,847
$100,000
$148,475
$1,000,000
$1,484,748
Inflation by spending category, 1996–2013
Between 1996 and 2013, energy rose the most, up 122.0%, while apparel fell 3.3%, against 48.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1996
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1996 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.35%
$148
Energy
4.80%
$222
Medical care
3.73%
$186
Food
2.60%
$155
Transportation
2.50%
$152
Housing
2.36%
$149
Education & communication
2.11%
$143
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.05%
$141
Recreation
1.00%
$118
Apparel
-0.19%
$96.74
Decade by decade: 1996 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.39% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1996–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1996, at end
1996–2000
2.35%
9.8%
$110
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$139
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$148
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1996
$100 from 1996 had already become $120 by
2004, on its way to $148 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 1996 had the buying
power of $148; 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 1996 to 2013: $100 is worth $148 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1996 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1996-to-2013/