$100 in 1998 is worth $198 in 2025,
because prices increased 97.5% over that period, an average of
2.55% a year.
$100 in 1998 has
the same buying power as
$198
in 2025
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
97.5%
Average inflation rate
2.55% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$198
Price difference ($100 base)
$97.51
CPI in 1998
163
CPI in 2025
321.943
Inflation in 1998
1.56%
Inflation in 2025
2.63%
$100 in 1998 → 2025
$198
$100 in 2025 → 1998
$50.63
What happened to prices between 1998 and 2025
Between 1998 and 2025, the Consumer Price Index went from 163 to 321.943.
Cumulatively, prices increased 97.5%, which works out to an average of
2.55% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1998 bought what
$0.51 buys in 2025: the 1998 dollar
lost 49.4% of its purchasing power over
these 27 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 2025 at the same ratio, 1.98: $1,000 becomes
$1,975, and $10,000 becomes $19,751.
Amount in 1998
Value in 2025
$1.00
$1.98
$5.00
$9.88
$10.00
$19.75
$20.00
$39.50
$50.00
$98.76
$100
$198
$500
$988
$1,000
$1,975
$5,000
$9,876
$10,000
$19,751
$100,000
$197,511
$1,000,000
$1,975,110
Inflation by spending category, 1998–2025
Between 1998 and 2025, energy rose the most, up 171.5%, while apparel fell 1.3%, against 97.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1998
spending costs in 2025, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1998 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.55%
$198
Energy
3.77%
$271
Medical care
3.29%
$240
Housing
2.90%
$216
Food
2.81%
$211
Transportation
2.45%
$192
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.39%
$189
Education & communication
1.42%
$146
Recreation
1.24%
$140
Apparel
-0.05%
$98.73
Decade by decade: 1998 to 2025
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 4.46% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.73% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1998–2025 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
2020–2025
4.46%
24.4%
$198
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1998
$100 from 1998 had already become $138 by
2011, on its way to $198 in 2025; 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 2025, prices rose 2.6% and $100 from 1998 had the buying
power of $198; the year's average CPI of 321.943 is the level
behind every 2025 figure on this page.
2025 was a year of trade policy and data disruptions rather than an
inflation surge. Consumer prices rose 2.6% on average, a step down from
2024’s 2.9% and well below the 8.0% of 2022. Tariffs announced in April
pushed up prices for some imported goods, including furniture, apparel, and
auto parts, but the effect on the overall index was smaller than many
forecasters feared at the start of the year, in part because retailers
absorbed some of the cost and demand for services stayed steady.
The Federal Reserve held its policy rate steady through the first half of the
year, then began cutting again in September, lowering it in three quarter-point
steps to 3.50–3.75% by December.
The federal government shutdown that began October 1 lasted 43 days, and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish a CPI for October 2025 because the
survey data could not be collected. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 78 cents in July.
MLA: “Inflation from 1998 to 2025: $100 is worth $198 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2025/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1998 to 2025. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1998-to-2025/