$100 in 1998 is worth $109 in 2001,
because prices increased 8.7% over that period, an average of
2.80% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$109
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
8.7%
Average inflation rate
2.80% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$109
Price difference ($100 base)
$8.65
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1998 → 2001
$109
$100 in 2001 → 1998
$92.04
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2001
Between 1998 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 8.7%, which works out to an average of
2.80% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.92 buys in 2001: the 1998 dollar
lost 8.0% of its purchasing power over
these 3 years.
The median household earned about $38,900 in 1998, gas averaged just $1.06 a gallon, its
cheapest of the decade, and a new home cost roughly $152,500. Inflation ran at 1.6% for the
year, the lowest of the 1990s, as a glut of crude oil, worsened by weak demand from Asia’s
slowdown, pushed prices below $11 a barrel by December and pulled pump prices down with them.
The calm at home came alongside real turmoil abroad: in August, Russia devalued the ruble and
defaulted on its domestic debt, rattling markets already unsettled by the Asian financial
crisis, and in September the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management collapsed after its highly
leveraged bets went bad, prompting the Federal Reserve to organize a private-sector bailout by
more than a dozen banks to prevent a disorderly unwinding of its roughly $100 billion in
positions. The Fed also cut interest rates three times that fall, in September, October, and
November, an insurance policy against the global financial turmoil spreading to the U.S.
economy. Cheap oil and a well-timed set of rate cuts left 1998 as a year the U.S. economy
absorbed two foreign financial crises without much of a dent at home.
Every 1998 amount converts to 2001 at the same ratio, 1.09: $1,000 becomes
$1,087, and $10,000 becomes $10,865.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2001
$1.00
$1.09
$5.00
$5.43
$10.00
$10.87
$20.00
$21.73
$50.00
$54.33
$100
$109
$500
$543
$1,000
$1,087
$5,000
$5,433
$10,000
$10,865
$100,000
$108,650
$1,000,000
$1,086,503
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2001
Between 1998 and 2001, energy rose the most, up 25.7%, while apparel fell 4.3%, against 8.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.80%
$109
Energy
7.91%
$126
Medical care
4.06%
$113
Housing
3.22%
$110
Transportation
2.90%
$109
Food
2.51%
$108
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.38%
$107
Education & communication
1.60%
$105
Recreation
1.24%
$104
Apparel
-1.45%
$95.71
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2001
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.85% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2001 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1998, at end
1998–2000
2.78%
5.6%
$106
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$109
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $102 by
1999, on its way to $109 in 2001; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2000, and the smallest rise was 2.2% in 1999.
In 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $109; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2001: $100 is worth $109 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2001/