$100 in 2004 is worth $127 in 2016,
because prices increased 27.1% over that period, an average of
2.02% a year.
$100 in 2004 has
the same buying power as
$127
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
27.1%
Average inflation rate
2.02% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$127
Price difference ($100 base)
$27.06
CPI in 2004
188.9
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 2004
2.66%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 2004 → 2016
$127
$100 in 2016 → 2004
$78.71
What happened to prices between 2004 and 2016
Between 2004 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 188.9 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 27.1%, which works out to an average of
2.02% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2004 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2016: the 2004 dollar
lost 21.3% of its purchasing power over
these 12 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 2016 at the same ratio, 1.27: $1,000 becomes
$1,271, and $10,000 becomes $12,706.
Amount in 2004
Value in 2016
$1.00
$1.27
$5.00
$6.35
$10.00
$12.71
$20.00
$25.41
$50.00
$63.53
$100
$127
$500
$635
$1,000
$1,271
$5,000
$6,353
$10,000
$12,706
$100,000
$127,055
$1,000,000
$1,270,551
Inflation by spending category, 2004–2016
Between 2004 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 49.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 4.7%, against 27.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2004
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2004 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.02%
$127
Medical care
3.41%
$150
Food
2.41%
$133
Housing
2.13%
$129
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.94%
$126
Energy
1.89%
$125
Education & communication
1.85%
$125
Transportation
1.50%
$119
Recreation
0.62%
$108
Apparel
0.38%
$105
Decade by decade: 2004 to 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 2.42% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2004–2016 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2004, at end
2004–2010
2.42%
15.4%
$115
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$127
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2004
$100 from 2004 had already become $115 by
2010, on its way to $127 in 2016; 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 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 2004 had the buying
power of $127; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 2004 to 2016: $100 is worth $127 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2004-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2004 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2004-to-2016/