$100 in 1997 is worth $134 in 2008,
because prices increased 34.1% over that period, an average of
2.71% a year.
$100 in 1997 has
the same buying power as
$134
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
34.1%
Average inflation rate
2.71% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$134
Price difference ($100 base)
$34.15
CPI in 1997
160.5
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1997 → 2008
$134
$100 in 2008 → 1997
$74.55
What happened to prices between 1997 and 2008
Between 1997 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 160.5 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 34.1%, which works out to an average of
2.71% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1997 bought what
$0.75 buys in 2008: the 1997 dollar
lost 25.5% of its purchasing power over
these 11 years.
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.
Every 1997 amount converts to 2008 at the same ratio, 1.34: $1,000 becomes
$1,341, and $10,000 becomes $13,415.
Amount in 1997
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.34
$5.00
$6.71
$10.00
$13.41
$20.00
$26.83
$50.00
$67.07
$100
$134
$500
$671
$1,000
$1,341
$5,000
$6,707
$10,000
$13,415
$100,000
$134,145
$1,000,000
$1,341,452
Inflation by spending category, 1997–2008
Between 1997 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 112.3%, while apparel fell 10.5%, against 34.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1997
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1997 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.71%
$134
Energy
7.08%
$212
Medical care
4.08%
$155
Housing
2.97%
$138
Food
2.84%
$136
Transportation
2.80%
$136
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.21%
$127
Education & communication
2.10%
$126
Recreation
1.17%
$114
Apparel
-1.01%
$89.47
Decade by decade: 1997 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.37% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1997–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1997, at end
1997–2000
2.37%
7.3%
$107
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$134
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1997
$100 from 1997 had already become $112 by
2002, on its way to $134 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 1997 had the buying
power of $134; 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 1997 to 2008: $100 is worth $134 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1997-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1997 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1997-to-2008/