$100 in 2012 is worth $101 in 2013,
because prices increased 1.5% over that period, an average of
1.46% a year.
$100 in 2012 has
the same buying power as
$101
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1.5%
Average inflation rate
1.46% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$101
Price difference ($100 base)
$1.46
CPI in 2012
229.594
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 2012 → 2013
$101
$100 in 2013 → 2012
$98.56
What happened to prices between 2012 and 2013
Between 2012 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 229.594 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1.5%, which works out to an average of
1.46% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2012 bought what
$0.99 buys in 2013: the 2012 dollar
lost 1.4% of its purchasing power over
these 1 years.
2012 put a number on what the Federal Reserve was aiming for. In January the
Fed announced a 2% inflation target, and consumer prices rose 2.1% for the
year, almost exactly on it. Gasoline averaged $3.62 a gallon, another annual
high, but the pace of increase cooled from 2011’s 3.2% as food and core prices
grew more slowly.
The bigger story was housing and jobs. Home prices began to recover, and the
median new home sold for about $245,200, up from $227,200 the year before.
Median household income was $51,017. The federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents.
In September the Fed started a third round of asset purchases, this one with
no fixed end date, aimed at lowering unemployment. Overseas, the European
Central Bank’s July pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro calmed
bond markets. A summer drought across the Midwest drove corn and soybean
prices to records, a shock that reached grocery shelves only partly, because
most of what shoppers pay for food covers processing and transport rather than
raw crops.
Every 2012 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 1.01: $1,000 becomes
$1,015, and $10,000 becomes $10,146.
Amount in 2012
Value in 2013
$1.00
$1.01
$5.00
$5.07
$10.00
$10.15
$20.00
$20.29
$50.00
$50.73
$100
$101
$500
$507
$1,000
$1,015
$5,000
$5,073
$10,000
$10,146
$100,000
$101,465
$1,000,000
$1,014,648
Inflation by spending category, 2012–2013
Between 2012 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 2.5%, while energy fell 0.7%, against 1.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2012
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2012 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.46%
$101
Medical care
2.46%
$102
Housing
2.08%
$102
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.76%
$102
Education & communication
1.53%
$102
Food
1.39%
$101
Apparel
0.91%
$101
Recreation
0.49%
$100
Transportation
0.03%
$100
Energy
-0.68%
$99.32
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2012
$100 from 2012grew to $101 by 2013; each row
shows the CPI, that year's inflation rate, and the running value.
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 2012 had the buying
power of $101; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 2012 to 2013: $100 is worth $101 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2012 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2013/