$100 in 2010 is worth $115 in 2018,
because prices increased 15.2% over that period, an average of
1.78% a year.
$100 in 2010 has
the same buying power as
$115
in 2018
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
15.2%
Average inflation rate
1.78% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$115
Price difference ($100 base)
$15.16
CPI in 2010
218.056
CPI in 2018
251.107
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
$100 in 2010 → 2018
$115
$100 in 2018 → 2010
$86.84
What happened to prices between 2010 and 2018
Between 2010 and 2018, the Consumer Price Index went from 218.056 to 251.107.
Cumulatively, prices increased 15.2%, which works out to an average of
1.78% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2010 bought what
$0.87 buys in 2018: the 2010 dollar
lost 13.2% of its purchasing power over
these 8 years.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
Every 2010 amount converts to 2018 at the same ratio, 1.15: $1,000 becomes
$1,152, and $10,000 becomes $11,516.
Amount in 2010
Value in 2018
$1.00
$1.15
$5.00
$5.76
$10.00
$11.52
$20.00
$23.03
$50.00
$57.58
$100
$115
$500
$576
$1,000
$1,152
$5,000
$5,758
$10,000
$11,516
$100,000
$115,157
$1,000,000
$1,151,571
Inflation by spending category, 2010–2018
Between 2010 and 2018, medical care rose the most, up 24.8%, while energy rose the least, up 4.0%, against 15.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2010
spending costs in 2018, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2010 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.78%
$115
Medical care
2.81%
$125
Housing
2.25%
$120
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.91%
$116
Food
1.81%
$115
Transportation
1.07%
$109
Education & communication
0.65%
$105
Apparel
0.63%
$105
Recreation
0.62%
$105
Energy
0.49%
$104
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2010
$100 from 2010 had already become $109 by
2014, on its way to $115 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 the smallest rise was 0.1% in 2015.
In 2018, prices rose 2.4% and $100 from 2010 had the buying
power of $115; 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 2010 to 2018: $100 is worth $115 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2010-to-2018/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2010 to 2018. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2010-to-2018/