$100 in 1998 is worth $124 in 2006,
because prices increased 23.7% over that period, an average of
2.69% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$124
in 2006
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
23.7%
Average inflation rate
2.69% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$124
Price difference ($100 base)
$23.68
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2006
201.6
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2006
3.23%
$100 in 1998 → 2006
$124
$100 in 2006 → 1998
$80.85
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2006
Between 1998 and 2006, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 201.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 23.7%, which works out to an average of
2.69% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.81 buys in 2006: the 1998 dollar
lost 19.1% of its purchasing power over
these 8 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 2006 at the same ratio, 1.24: $1,000 becomes
$1,237, and $10,000 becomes $12,368.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2006
$1.00
$1.24
$5.00
$6.18
$10.00
$12.37
$20.00
$24.74
$50.00
$61.84
$100
$124
$500
$618
$1,000
$1,237
$5,000
$6,184
$10,000
$12,368
$100,000
$123,681
$1,000,000
$1,236,810
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2006
Between 1998 and 2006, energy rose the most, up 91.4%, while apparel fell 10.2%, against 23.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2006, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.69%
$124
Energy
8.45%
$191
Medical care
4.19%
$139
Transportation
3.11%
$128
Housing
3.00%
$127
Food
2.46%
$121
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.17%
$119
Education & communication
1.92%
$116
Recreation
1.16%
$110
Apparel
-1.33%
$89.85
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2006
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.78% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.66% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2006 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1998, at end
1998–2000
2.78%
5.6%
$106
2000–2006
2.66%
17.1%
$124
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $110 by
2002, on its way to $124 in 2006; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2005, and the smallest rise was 1.6% in 2002.
In 2006, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $124; the year's average CPI of 201.6 is the level
behind every 2006 figure on this page.
Inflation was 3.2% in 2006 and gasoline averaged $2.59 a gallon, up 29 cents from 2005. The
median household earned about $48,200 and the median new home cost $246,500, a gain of about
2% after a 13% jump in 2004 and 9% in 2005. National home prices, by the S&P/Case-Shiller
index, peaked in mid-2006. Ben Bernanke replaced Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chair on
February 1, and on June 29 the Fed raised its policy rate to 5.25%, the last of 17 straight
quarter-point increases. It held there for over a year. A first-class stamp rose to 39 cents in
January, and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 for the ninth full year in a row.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2006: $100 is worth $124 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2006/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2006. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2006/