$100 in 1997 is worth $147 in 2014,
because prices increased 47.5% over that period, an average of
2.31% a year.
$100 in 1997 has
the same buying power as
$147
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
47.5%
Average inflation rate
2.31% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$147
Price difference ($100 base)
$47.50
CPI in 1997
160.5
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1997 → 2014
$147
$100 in 2014 → 1997
$67.80
What happened to prices between 1997 and 2014
Between 1997 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 160.5 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 47.5%, which works out to an average of
2.31% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1997 bought what
$0.68 buys in 2014: the 1997 dollar
lost 32.2% of its purchasing power over
these 17 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 2014 at the same ratio, 1.47: $1,000 becomes
$1,475, and $10,000 becomes $14,750.
Amount in 1997
Value in 2014
$1.00
$1.47
$5.00
$7.37
$10.00
$14.75
$20.00
$29.50
$50.00
$73.75
$100
$147
$500
$737
$1,000
$1,475
$5,000
$7,375
$10,000
$14,750
$100,000
$147,499
$1,000,000
$1,474,991
Inflation by spending category, 1997–2014
Between 1997 and 2014, energy rose the most, up 118.5%, while apparel fell 4.1%, against 47.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1997
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1997 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.31%
$147
Energy
4.70%
$218
Medical care
3.70%
$186
Food
2.58%
$154
Transportation
2.40%
$150
Housing
2.36%
$149
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.01%
$140
Education & communication
1.99%
$140
Recreation
0.88%
$116
Apparel
-0.24%
$95.95
Decade by decade: 1997 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.39% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1997–2014 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1997, at end
1997–2000
2.37%
7.3%
$107
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$136
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$147
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1997
$100 from 1997 had already become $122 by
2005, on its way to $147 in 2014; 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 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1997 had the buying
power of $147; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1997 to 2014: $100 is worth $147 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1997-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1997 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1997-to-2014/