$100 in 2004 is worth $114 in 2008,
because prices increased 14.0% over that period, an average of
3.32% a year.
$100 in 2004 has
the same buying power as
$114
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
14.0%
Average inflation rate
3.32% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$114
Price difference ($100 base)
$13.98
CPI in 2004
188.9
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 2004
2.66%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 2004 → 2008
$114
$100 in 2008 → 2004
$87.74
What happened to prices between 2004 and 2008
Between 2004 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 188.9 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 14.0%, which works out to an average of
3.32% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2004 bought what
$0.88 buys in 2008: the 2004 dollar
lost 12.3% of its purchasing power over
these 4 years.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in 2004, with a 29-cent jump in the price of gasoline, to $1.88 a
gallon, doing much of the work. Crude oil passed $50 a barrel in October on rising demand
from China and India. The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in four years on
June 30, to 1.25%, and it kept going: 17 consecutive quarter-point increases took the rate to
5.25% by June 2006. Housing was already running ahead of incomes. The median household earned
about $44,300, up 2.3% from 2003, while the median new home sold for $221,000, up about 13%. A
first-class stamp stayed at 37 cents and the federal minimum wage at $5.15, unchanged since
1997.
Every 2004 amount converts to 2008 at the same ratio, 1.14: $1,000 becomes
$1,140, and $10,000 becomes $11,398.
Amount in 2004
Value in 2008
$1.00
$1.14
$5.00
$5.70
$10.00
$11.40
$20.00
$22.80
$50.00
$56.99
$100
$114
$500
$570
$1,000
$1,140
$5,000
$5,699
$10,000
$11,398
$100,000
$113,977
$1,000,000
$1,139,772
Inflation by spending category, 2004–2008
Between 2004 and 2008, energy rose the most, up 56.3%, while apparel fell 1.2%, against 14.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2004
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2004 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.32%
$114
Energy
11.82%
$156
Transportation
4.64%
$120
Medical care
4.09%
$117
Food
3.55%
$115
Housing
3.36%
$114
Education & communication
2.59%
$111
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.33%
$110
Recreation
1.05%
$104
Apparel
-0.31%
$98.76
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2004
$100 from 2004 had already become $107 by
2006, on its way to $114 in 2008; 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 the smallest rise was 2.8% in 2007.
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 2004 had the buying
power of $114; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 2004 to 2008: $100 is worth $114 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2004-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2004 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2004-to-2008/