$100 in 2008 is worth $107 in 2012,
because prices increased 6.6% over that period, an average of
1.62% a year.
$100 in 2008 has
the same buying power as
$107
in 2012
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
6.6%
Average inflation rate
1.62% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$107
Price difference ($100 base)
$6.64
CPI in 2008
215.303
CPI in 2012
229.594
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
$100 in 2008 → 2012
$107
$100 in 2012 → 2008
$93.78
What happened to prices between 2008 and 2012
Between 2008 and 2012, the Consumer Price Index went from 215.303 to 229.594.
Cumulatively, prices increased 6.6%, which works out to an average of
1.62% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2008 bought what
$0.94 buys in 2012: the 2008 dollar
lost 6.2% of its purchasing power over
these 4 years.
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.
Every 2008 amount converts to 2012 at the same ratio, 1.07: $1,000 becomes
$1,066, and $10,000 becomes $10,664.
Amount in 2008
Value in 2012
$1.00
$1.07
$5.00
$5.33
$10.00
$10.66
$20.00
$21.33
$50.00
$53.32
$100
$107
$500
$533
$1,000
$1,066
$5,000
$5,332
$10,000
$10,664
$100,000
$106,638
$1,000,000
$1,066,376
Inflation by spending category, 2008–2012
Between 2008 and 2012, medical care rose the most, up 14.0%, while recreation rose the least, up 1.3%, against 6.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2008
spending costs in 2012, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2008 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.62%
$107
Medical care
3.32%
$114
Transportation
2.68%
$111
Food
2.22%
$109
Education & communication
2.00%
$108
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.61%
$107
Apparel
1.51%
$106
Energy
0.98%
$104
Housing
0.74%
$103
Recreation
0.32%
$101
Decade by decade: 2008 to 2012
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 2.61% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (0.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2008–2012 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2008, at end
2008–2010
0.64%
1.3%
$101
2010–2012
2.61%
5.3%
$107
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2008
$100 from 2008 had already become $101 by
2010, on its way to $107 in 2012; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.2% in 2011, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2012, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2008 had the buying
power of $107; 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 2008 to 2012: $100 is worth $107 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2012/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2008 to 2012. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2012/