$100 in 2006 is worth $127 in 2019,
because prices increased 26.8% over that period, an average of
1.84% a year.
$100 in 2006 has
the same buying power as
$127
in 2019
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
26.8%
Average inflation rate
1.84% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$127
Price difference ($100 base)
$26.81
CPI in 2006
201.6
CPI in 2019
255.657
Inflation in 2006
3.23%
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
$100 in 2006 → 2019
$127
$100 in 2019 → 2006
$78.86
What happened to prices between 2006 and 2019
Between 2006 and 2019, the Consumer Price Index went from 201.6 to 255.657.
Cumulatively, prices increased 26.8%, which works out to an average of
1.84% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2006 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2019: the 2006 dollar
lost 21.1% of its purchasing power over
these 13 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 2019 at the same ratio, 1.27: $1,000 becomes
$1,268, and $10,000 becomes $12,681.
Amount in 2006
Value in 2019
$1.00
$1.27
$5.00
$6.34
$10.00
$12.68
$20.00
$25.36
$50.00
$63.41
$100
$127
$500
$634
$1,000
$1,268
$5,000
$6,341
$10,000
$12,681
$100,000
$126,814
$1,000,000
$1,268,140
Inflation by spending category, 2006–2019
Between 2006 and 2019, medical care rose the most, up 48.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 3.8%, against 26.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2006
spending costs in 2019, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2006 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.84%
$127
Medical care
3.07%
$148
Food
2.18%
$132
Housing
2.09%
$131
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.91%
$128
Education & communication
1.28%
$118
Transportation
1.16%
$116
Energy
0.69%
$109
Recreation
0.65%
$109
Apparel
0.29%
$104
Decade by decade: 2006 to 2019
Prices climbed fastest in the 2000s, averaging 1.98% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.78% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2006–2019 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2006, at end
2006–2010
1.98%
8.2%
$108
2010–2019
1.78%
17.2%
$127
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2006
$100 from 2006 had already become $114 by
2012, on its way to $127 in 2019; 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 2019, prices rose 1.8% and $100 from 2006 had the buying
power of $127; the year's average CPI of 255.657 is the level
behind every 2019 figure on this page.
2019 was the last ordinary year before COVID-19. Consumer prices rose 1.8%,
slightly under the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with gasoline averaging
$2.60 a gallon. Median household income jumped to $68,703, the highest on
record up to that point, and the median new home sold for about $328,000. A
first-class stamp rose to 55 cents.
The Fed reversed course. After four increases in 2018, it cut rates three
times, to 1.50–1.75%, citing slower global growth, trade tensions, and low
inflation. In July the expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
U.S. records, and in August the yield curve briefly inverted, a signal
investors read as a recession warning.
For workers at the bottom of the pay scale, 2019 marked a milestone of a
different kind. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and reached its tenth
year without an increase, the longest gap since the wage was first set. Because
prices had climbed about 19% since it was last raised in 2009, its buying power
was lower than at any point in that span.
MLA: “Inflation from 2006 to 2019: $100 is worth $127 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2006-to-2019/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2006 to 2019. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2006-to-2019/