$100 in 2006 is worth $114 in 2012,
because prices increased 13.9% over that period, an average of
2.19% a year.
$100 in 2006 has
the same buying power as
$114
in 2012
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
13.9%
Average inflation rate
2.19% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$114
Price difference ($100 base)
$13.89
CPI in 2006
201.6
CPI in 2012
229.594
Inflation in 2006
3.23%
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
$100 in 2006 → 2012
$114
$100 in 2012 → 2006
$87.81
What happened to prices between 2006 and 2012
Between 2006 and 2012, the Consumer Price Index went from 201.6 to 229.594.
Cumulatively, prices increased 13.9%, which works out to an average of
2.19% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2006 bought what
$0.88 buys in 2012: the 2006 dollar
lost 12.2% of its purchasing power over
these 6 years.
Inflation was 3.2% in 2006 and gasoline averaged $2.59 a gallon, up 29 cents from 2005. The
median household earned about $48,200 and the median new home cost $246,500, a gain of about
2% after a 13% jump in 2004 and 9% in 2005. National home prices, by the S&P/Case-Shiller
index, peaked in mid-2006. Ben Bernanke replaced Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chair on
February 1, and on June 29 the Fed raised its policy rate to 5.25%, the last of 17 straight
quarter-point increases. It held there for over a year. A first-class stamp rose to 39 cents in
January, and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 for the ninth full year in a row.
Every 2006 amount converts to 2012 at the same ratio, 1.14: $1,000 becomes
$1,139, and $10,000 becomes $11,389.
Amount in 2006
Value in 2012
$1.00
$1.14
$5.00
$5.69
$10.00
$11.39
$20.00
$22.78
$50.00
$56.94
$100
$114
$500
$569
$1,000
$1,139
$5,000
$5,694
$10,000
$11,389
$100,000
$113,886
$1,000,000
$1,138,859
Inflation by spending category, 2006–2012
Between 2006 and 2012, energy rose the most, up 25.0%, while recreation rose the least, up 3.4%, against 13.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2006
spending costs in 2012, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2006 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.19%
$114
Energy
3.79%
$125
Medical care
3.57%
$123
Transportation
3.11%
$120
Food
3.05%
$120
Education & communication
2.30%
$115
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.84%
$112
Housing
1.54%
$110
Apparel
0.92%
$106
Recreation
0.56%
$103
Decade by decade: 2006 to 2012
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 2.61% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (1.98% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2006–2012 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2006, at end
2006–2010
1.98%
8.2%
$108
2010–2012
2.61%
5.3%
$114
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2006
$100 from 2006 had already become $106 by
2009, on its way to $114 in 2012; 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 2012, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2006 had the buying
power of $114; the year's average CPI of 229.594 is the level
behind every 2012 figure on this page.
2012 put a number on what the Federal Reserve was aiming for. In January the
Fed announced a 2% inflation target, and consumer prices rose 2.1% for the
year, almost exactly on it. Gasoline averaged $3.62 a gallon, another annual
high, but the pace of increase cooled from 2011’s 3.2% as food and core prices
grew more slowly.
The bigger story was housing and jobs. Home prices began to recover, and the
median new home sold for about $245,200, up from $227,200 the year before.
Median household income was $51,017. The federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents.
In September the Fed started a third round of asset purchases, this one with
no fixed end date, aimed at lowering unemployment. Overseas, the European
Central Bank’s July pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro calmed
bond markets. A summer drought across the Midwest drove corn and soybean
prices to records, a shock that reached grocery shelves only partly, because
most of what shoppers pay for food covers processing and transport rather than
raw crops.
MLA: “Inflation from 2006 to 2012: $100 is worth $114 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2006-to-2012/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2006 to 2012. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2006-to-2012/