$100 in 2008 is worth $119 in 2019,
because prices increased 18.7% over that period, an average of
1.57% a year.
$100 in 2008 has
the same buying power as
$119
in 2019
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
18.7%
Average inflation rate
1.57% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$119
Price difference ($100 base)
$18.74
CPI in 2008
215.303
CPI in 2019
255.657
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
$100 in 2008 → 2019
$119
$100 in 2019 → 2008
$84.22
What happened to prices between 2008 and 2019
Between 2008 and 2019, the Consumer Price Index went from 215.303 to 255.657.
Cumulatively, prices increased 18.7%, which works out to an average of
1.57% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2008 bought what
$0.84 buys in 2019: the 2008 dollar
lost 15.8% of its purchasing power over
these 11 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 2019 at the same ratio, 1.19: $1,000 becomes
$1,187, and $10,000 becomes $11,874.
Amount in 2008
Value in 2019
$1.00
$1.19
$5.00
$5.94
$10.00
$11.87
$20.00
$23.75
$50.00
$59.37
$100
$119
$500
$594
$1,000
$1,187
$5,000
$5,937
$10,000
$11,874
$100,000
$118,743
$1,000,000
$1,187,429
Inflation by spending category, 2008–2019
Between 2008 and 2019, medical care rose the most, up 36.9%, while energy fell 9.0%, against 18.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2008
spending costs in 2019, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2008 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.57%
$119
Medical care
2.90%
$137
Housing
1.90%
$123
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.83%
$122
Food
1.72%
$121
Education & communication
0.99%
$111
Transportation
0.65%
$107
Recreation
0.57%
$106
Apparel
0.39%
$104
Energy
-0.86%
$90.97
Decade by decade: 2008 to 2019
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 2008–2019 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2008, at end
2008–2010
0.64%
1.3%
$101
2010–2019
1.78%
17.2%
$119
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2008
$100 from 2008 had already become $108 by
2013, on its way to $119 in 2019; 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 2019, prices rose 1.8% and $100 from 2008 had the buying
power of $119; 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 2008 to 2019: $100 is worth $119 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2019/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2008 to 2019. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2019/