$100 in 2008 is worth $126 in 2021,
because prices increased 25.9% over that period, an average of
1.78% a year.
$100 in 2008 has
the same buying power as
$126
in 2021
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
25.9%
Average inflation rate
1.78% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$126
Price difference ($100 base)
$25.86
CPI in 2008
215.303
CPI in 2021
270.97
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
Inflation in 2021
4.70%
$100 in 2008 → 2021
$126
$100 in 2021 → 2008
$79.46
What happened to prices between 2008 and 2021
Between 2008 and 2021, the Consumer Price Index went from 215.303 to 270.97.
Cumulatively, prices increased 25.9%, which works out to an average of
1.78% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2008 bought what
$0.79 buys in 2021: the 2008 dollar
lost 20.5% of its purchasing power over
these 13 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 2021 at the same ratio, 1.26: $1,000 becomes
$1,259, and $10,000 becomes $12,586.
Amount in 2008
Value in 2021
$1.00
$1.26
$5.00
$6.29
$10.00
$12.59
$20.00
$25.17
$50.00
$62.93
$100
$126
$500
$629
$1,000
$1,259
$5,000
$6,293
$10,000
$12,586
$100,000
$125,855
$1,000,000
$1,258,552
Inflation by spending category, 2008–2021
Between 2008 and 2021, medical care rose the most, up 44.3%, while energy rose the least, up 0.7%, against 25.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2008
spending costs in 2021, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2008 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.78%
$126
Medical care
2.86%
$144
Housing
2.03%
$130
Food
2.02%
$130
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.95%
$129
Transportation
1.28%
$118
Education & communication
1.10%
$115
Recreation
0.77%
$111
Apparel
0.13%
$102
Energy
0.05%
$101
Decade by decade: 2008 to 2021
Prices climbed fastest in the 2020s, averaging 4.70% a year, and slowest in the 2000s (0.64% a year). Each step below chains into the full 2008–2021 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 2008, at end
2008–2010
0.64%
1.3%
$101
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$120
2020–2021
4.70%
4.7%
$126
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2008
$100 from 2008 had already become $110 by
2014, on its way to $126 in 2021; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 4.7% in 2021, and prices fell 0.4% in 2009, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 2021, prices rose 4.7% and $100 from 2008 had the buying
power of $126; the year's average CPI of 270.97 is the level
behind every 2021 figure on this page.
2021 was the year inflation stopped being background noise. Consumer prices
rose 4.7% on average for the year, and the pace kept building as the months
went on: by December, the 12-month rate had reached 7.0%, the highest since
1982. The proximate cause was a supply chain that could not keep up with a
fast-reopening economy. A global semiconductor shortage choked new car
production and pushed used vehicle prices up by more than a third, the
single largest line item in the year’s inflation math. Lumber, appliances,
and shipping capacity told versions of the same story: demand snapped back
faster than factories, ports, and truckers could handle it. Washington added
fuel in March with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, on top of the
relief already in the pipeline since 2020. For most of the year, the Federal
Reserve called the price surge “transitory,” a temporary reopening effect
expected to fade on its own, and held its policy rate near zero. By
November, with inflation still climbing, the Fed reversed course and began
winding down its bond purchases, the first step toward the rate hikes that
would follow in 2022. Gas averaged $3.01 a gallon for the year, up from
about $2.17 in 2020, while the federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
unchanged since 2009. In hindsight, 2021 reads as the hinge year: the point
where “transitory” inflation became the multi-year fight the Fed spent the
next two years trying to win.
MLA: “Inflation from 2008 to 2021: $100 is worth $126 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2021/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2008 to 2021. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2008-to-2021/