$100 in 2008 is worth $117 in 2018,
because prices increased 16.6% over that period, an average of
1.55% a year.
$100 in 2008 has
the same buying power as
$117
in 2018
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
16.6%
Average inflation rate
1.55% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$117
Price difference ($100 base)
$16.63
CPI in 2008
215.303
CPI in 2018
251.107
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
$100 in 2008 → 2018
$117
$100 in 2018 → 2008
$85.74
What happened to prices between 2008 and 2018
Between 2008 and 2018, the Consumer Price Index went from 215.303 to 251.107.
Cumulatively, prices increased 16.6%, which works out to an average of
1.55% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2008 bought what
$0.86 buys in 2018: the 2008 dollar
lost 14.3% of its purchasing power over
these 10 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 2018 at the same ratio, 1.17: $1,000 becomes
$1,166, and $10,000 becomes $11,663.
Amount in 2008
Value in 2018
$1.00
$1.17
$5.00
$5.83
$10.00
$11.66
$20.00
$23.33
$50.00
$58.31
$100
$117
$500
$583
$1,000
$1,166
$5,000
$5,831
$10,000
$11,663
$100,000
$116,630
$1,000,000
$1,166,296
Inflation by spending category, 2008–2018
Between 2008 and 2018, medical care rose the most, up 33.1%, while energy fell 7.1%, against 16.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2008
spending costs in 2018, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2008 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.55%
$117
Medical care
2.90%
$133
Housing
1.80%
$120
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.80%
$119
Food
1.71%
$118
Education & communication
1.02%
$111
Transportation
0.75%
$108
Apparel
0.55%
$106
Recreation
0.50%
$105
Energy
-0.73%
$92.93
Decade by decade: 2008 to 2018
Prices climbed fastest in the 2010s, averaging 1.78% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (0.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2008–2018 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2008, at end
2008–2010
0.64%
1.3%
$101
2010–2018
1.78%
15.2%
$117
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2008
$100 from 2008 had already become $108 by
2013, on its way to $117 in 2018; 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 2018, prices rose 2.4% and $100 from 2008 had the buying
power of $117; the year's average CPI of 251.107 is the level
behind every 2018 figure on this page.
2018 was the peak of the late-2010s expansion. Consumer prices rose 2.4%,
the fastest since 2011, with gasoline averaging $2.72 a gallon after a summer
high. Unemployment fell to 3.7% in September, the lowest since 1969, and median
household income reached $63,179. The median new home sold for about $331,800,
and a first-class stamp cost 50 cents. The federal minimum wage was still $7.25.
Trade policy became a price factor for the first time in decades. New tariffs
on steel, aluminum, and a growing list of Chinese goods raised costs for
manufacturers and some consumer products, and retaliation cut into exports of
soybeans and other farm goods.
The Federal Reserve, led from February by Jerome Powell, raised rates four
times to 2.25–2.50%. A stock-market drop of nearly 20% in the fourth quarter
led the Fed to signal a pause in early 2019. Oil fell from over $75 a barrel in
October to below $50 by December, which pulled headline inflation lower going
into the next year.
MLA: “Inflation from 2008 to 2018: $100 is worth $117 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2018/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2008 to 2018. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2018/