$100 in 1999 is worth $140 in 2013,
because prices increased 39.8% over that period, an average of
2.42% a year.
$100 in 1999 has
the same buying power as
$140
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
39.8%
Average inflation rate
2.42% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$140
Price difference ($100 base)
$39.83
CPI in 1999
166.6
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1999
2.21%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1999 → 2013
$140
$100 in 2013 → 1999
$71.52
What happened to prices between 1999 and 2013
Between 1999 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 166.6 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 39.8%, which works out to an average of
2.42% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1999 bought what
$0.72 buys in 2013: the 1999 dollar
lost 28.5% of its purchasing power over
these 14 years.
The median household earned about $40,700 in 1999, gas averaged $1.17 a gallon, and a new home
cost roughly $161,000. Inflation ran at 2.2% for the year, ticking back up from 1998’s decade low
as oil prices recovered from their collapse. The decade closed with two changes to the financial
system that would shape the one after it: on January 1, the euro launched as an accounting
currency across 11 European countries, trading alongside national currencies like the French
franc and German mark ahead of physical cash in 2002, and in November, Congress passed the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, tearing down the Depression-era wall between commercial banks, investment
banks, and insurers. Stock markets, meanwhile, were absorbed in a boom of their own: the Nasdaq
surged through the year on soaring internet-stock valuations, and the Federal Reserve raised
interest rates three times in the second half of 1999 partly to cool the exuberance, even as it
pumped extra liquidity into the banking system to guard against any disruption from the Y2K
rollover. A first-class stamp cost 33 cents. Inflation had spent the decade falling from 1990’s
5.4% peak to averages closer to 2-3%, and 1999 closed it out almost exactly where the 1990s as a
whole had settled.
Every 1999 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 1.40: $1,000 becomes
$1,398, and $10,000 becomes $13,983.
Amount in 1999
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.40
$5.00
$6.99
$10.00
$13.98
$20.00
$27.97
$50.00
$69.92
$100
$140
$500
$699
$1,000
$1,398
$5,000
$6,992
$10,000
$13,983
$100,000
$139,830
$1,000,000
$1,398,301
Inflation by spending category, 1999–2013
Between 1999 and 2013, energy rose the most, up 129.3%, while apparel fell 3.0%, against 39.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1999
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1999 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.42%
$140
Energy
6.11%
$229
Medical care
3.85%
$170
Transportation
2.97%
$151
Food
2.66%
$144
Housing
2.36%
$139
Education & communication
2.13%
$134
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.01%
$132
Recreation
0.88%
$113
Apparel
-0.21%
$97.04
Decade by decade: 1999 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1990s, averaging 3.36% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (2.23% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1999–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1999, at end
1999–2000
3.36%
3.4%
$103
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$131
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$140
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1999
$100 from 1999 had already become $121 by
2006, on its way to $140 in 2013; 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 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1999 had the buying
power of $140; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1999 to 2013: $100 is worth $140 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1999-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1999 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1999-to-2013/