$100 in 1998 is worth $145 in 2014,
because prices increased 45.2% over that period, an average of
2.36% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$145
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
45.2%
Average inflation rate
2.36% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$145
Price difference ($100 base)
$45.24
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1998 → 2014
$145
$100 in 2014 → 1998
$68.85
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2014
Between 1998 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 45.2%, which works out to an average of
2.36% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.69 buys in 2014: the 1998 dollar
lost 31.1% of its purchasing power over
these 16 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 2014 at the same ratio, 1.45: $1,000 becomes
$1,452, and $10,000 becomes $14,524.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2014
$1.00
$1.45
$5.00
$7.26
$10.00
$14.52
$20.00
$29.05
$50.00
$72.62
$100
$145
$500
$726
$1,000
$1,452
$5,000
$7,262
$10,000
$14,524
$100,000
$145,237
$1,000,000
$1,452,368
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2014
Between 1998 and 2014, energy rose the most, up 136.7%, while apparel fell 4.1%, against 45.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.36%
$145
Energy
5.53%
$237
Medical care
3.73%
$180
Transportation
2.67%
$152
Food
2.61%
$151
Housing
2.37%
$145
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.00%
$137
Education & communication
1.99%
$137
Recreation
0.84%
$114
Apparel
-0.26%
$95.88
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2014
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 2.78% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$145
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $124 by
2006, on its way to $145 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 1998 had the buying
power of $145; 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 1998 to 2014: $100 is worth $145 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2014/