$100 in 1998 is worth $134 in 2010,
because prices increased 33.8% over that period, an average of
2.45% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$134
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
33.8%
Average inflation rate
2.45% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$134
Price difference ($100 base)
$33.78
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 1998 → 2010
$134
$100 in 2010 → 1998
$74.75
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2010
Between 1998 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 33.8%, which works out to an average of
2.45% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.75 buys in 2010: the 1998 dollar
lost 25.2% of its purchasing power over
these 12 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 2010 at the same ratio, 1.34: $1,000 becomes
$1,338, and $10,000 becomes $13,378.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2010
$1.00
$1.34
$5.00
$6.69
$10.00
$13.38
$20.00
$26.76
$50.00
$66.89
$100
$134
$500
$669
$1,000
$1,338
$5,000
$6,689
$10,000
$13,378
$100,000
$133,777
$1,000,000
$1,337,767
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2010
Between 1998 and 2010, energy rose the most, up 105.5%, while apparel fell 10.1%, against 33.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.45%
$134
Energy
6.19%
$205
Medical care
4.02%
$160
Food
2.64%
$137
Transportation
2.63%
$137
Housing
2.52%
$135
Education & communication
2.18%
$130
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.05%
$128
Recreation
0.95%
$112
Apparel
-0.89%
$89.85
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2010
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.78% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (2.39% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2010 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1998, at end
1998–2000
2.78%
5.6%
$106
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$134
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $116 by
2004, on its way to $134 in 2010; 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 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $134; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2010: $100 is worth $134 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2010/