$100 in 1998 is worth $187 in 2023,
because prices increased 86.9% over that period, an average of
2.53% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$187
in 2023
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
86.9%
Average inflation rate
2.53% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$187
Price difference ($100 base)
$86.93
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2023
304.702
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2023
4.12%
$100 in 1998 → 2023
$187
$100 in 2023 → 1998
$53.49
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2023
Between 1998 and 2023, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 304.702.
Cumulatively, prices increased 86.9%, which works out to an average of
2.53% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.53 buys in 2023: the 1998 dollar
lost 46.5% of its purchasing power over
these 25 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 2023 at the same ratio, 1.87: $1,000 becomes
$1,869, and $10,000 becomes $18,693.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2023
$1.00
$1.87
$5.00
$9.35
$10.00
$18.69
$20.00
$37.39
$50.00
$93.47
$100
$187
$500
$935
$1,000
$1,869
$5,000
$9,347
$10,000
$18,693
$100,000
$186,934
$1,000,000
$1,869,337
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2023
Between 1998 and 2023, energy rose the most, up 175.3%, while apparel fell 1.8%, against 86.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2023, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.53%
$187
Energy
4.13%
$275
Medical care
3.33%
$227
Food
2.83%
$201
Housing
2.80%
$200
Transportation
2.57%
$189
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.33%
$178
Education & communication
1.49%
$145
Recreation
1.20%
$135
Apparel
-0.07%
$98.18
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2023
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 5.59% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2023 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$159
2020–2023
5.59%
17.7%
$187
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $134 by
2010, on its way to $187 in 2023; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 8.0% in 2022, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2023, prices rose 4.1% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $187; the year's average CPI of 304.702 is the level
behind every 2023 figure on this page.
2023 was the year inflation came down without a recession. Consumer prices
rose 4.1% on average, roughly half of 2022’s 8.0%, and the December-to-December
rate fell to 3.4%. Gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon, well below the 2022
average, and supply-chain pressure on goods eased. Shelter, restaurant meals,
and other services stayed expensive, so the CPI kept rising at a rate well
above the pre-pandemic pace.
The Federal Reserve completed its rate-hiking campaign in July, taking the
policy rate to 5.25–5.50%, the highest level in 22 years. The effects showed
up in banking: Silicon Valley Bank failed in March after rate increases eroded
the value of its bond portfolio, the second-largest bank failure in U.S.
history at the time. Despite that, unemployment stayed under 4% all year.
Median household income was $80,610 according to the Census Bureau. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 66 cents
in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2023: $100 is worth $187 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2023/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2023. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2023/