$100 in 2008 is worth $114 in 2017,
because prices increased 13.8% over that period, an average of
1.45% a year.
$100 in 2008 has
the same buying power as
$114
in 2017
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
13.8%
Average inflation rate
1.45% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$114
Price difference ($100 base)
$13.85
CPI in 2008
215.303
CPI in 2017
245.12
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
Inflation in 2017
2.13%
$100 in 2008 → 2017
$114
$100 in 2017 → 2008
$87.84
What happened to prices between 2008 and 2017
Between 2008 and 2017, the Consumer Price Index went from 215.303 to 245.12.
Cumulatively, prices increased 13.8%, which works out to an average of
1.45% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2008 bought what
$0.88 buys in 2017: the 2008 dollar
lost 12.2% of its purchasing power over
these 9 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 2017 at the same ratio, 1.14: $1,000 becomes
$1,138, and $10,000 becomes $11,385.
Amount in 2008
Value in 2017
$1.00
$1.14
$5.00
$5.69
$10.00
$11.38
$20.00
$22.77
$50.00
$56.92
$100
$114
$500
$569
$1,000
$1,138
$5,000
$5,692
$10,000
$11,385
$100,000
$113,849
$1,000,000
$1,138,489
Inflation by spending category, 2008–2017
Between 2008 and 2017, medical care rose the most, up 30.6%, while energy fell 13.6%, against 13.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2008
spending costs in 2017, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2008 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.45%
$114
Medical care
3.01%
$131
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.76%
$117
Food
1.74%
$117
Housing
1.68%
$116
Education & communication
1.11%
$110
Apparel
0.61%
$106
Recreation
0.50%
$105
Transportation
0.34%
$103
Energy
-1.61%
$86.43
Decade by decade: 2008 to 2017
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 1.69% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (0.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2008–2017 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2008, at end
2008–2010
0.64%
1.3%
$101
2010–2017
1.69%
12.4%
$114
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2008
$100 from 2008 had already become $107 by
2012, on its way to $114 in 2017; 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 2017, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 2008 had the buying
power of $114; the year's average CPI of 245.12 is the level
behind every 2017 figure on this page.
2017 pushed consumer prices back above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The
CPI rose 2.1%, the first reading over 2% in five years, helped by a rebound
in energy after OPEC’s output cuts and by a storm-related spike at the pump:
Hurricane Harvey shut a large part of Gulf Coast refining in late August.
Gasoline averaged $2.42 a gallon, up from $2.14 in 2016.
Household incomes kept rising. The median household income reached $61,372,
and the median new home sold for about $322,100. The federal minimum wage
stayed at $7.25, its eighth year at that level, and a first-class stamp rose
to 49 cents.
The Fed raised rates three times, to 1.25–1.50%, and in October began
letting its bond holdings shrink. Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
in December, lowering the corporate rate to 21%. Even with unemployment near
4%, core inflation stayed under 2%, a puzzle that shaped Fed debates for the
next two years.
MLA: “Inflation from 2008 to 2017: $100 is worth $114 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2017/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2008 to 2017. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2017/