$100 in 1998 is worth $132 in 2008,
because prices increased 32.1% over that period, an average of
2.82% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$132
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
32.1%
Average inflation rate
2.82% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$132
Price difference ($100 base)
$32.09
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1998 → 2008
$132
$100 in 2008 → 1998
$75.71
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2008
Between 1998 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 32.1%, which works out to an average of
2.82% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.76 buys in 2008: the 1998 dollar
lost 24.3% of its purchasing power over
these 10 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 2008 at the same ratio, 1.32: $1,000 becomes
$1,321, and $10,000 becomes $13,209.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.32
$5.00
$6.60
$10.00
$13.21
$20.00
$26.42
$50.00
$66.04
$100
$132
$500
$660
$1,000
$1,321
$5,000
$6,604
$10,000
$13,209
$100,000
$132,088
$1,000,000
$1,320,877
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2008
Between 1998 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 130.0%, while apparel fell 10.6%, against 32.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.82%
$132
Energy
8.69%
$230
Medical care
4.16%
$150
Transportation
3.28%
$138
Housing
3.03%
$135
Food
2.91%
$133
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.20%
$124
Education & communication
2.11%
$123
Recreation
1.14%
$112
Apparel
-1.11%
$89.40
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.83% a year, and slowest in the 1990s (2.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1998, at end
1998–2000
2.78%
5.6%
$106
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$132
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $113 by
2003, on its way to $132 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 2002.
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $132; 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 1998 to 2008: $100 is worth $132 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2008/