$100 in 2012 is worth $103 in 2014,
because prices increased 3.1% over that period, an average of
1.54% a year.
$100 in 2012 has
the same buying power as
$103
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
3.1%
Average inflation rate
1.54% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$103
Price difference ($100 base)
$3.11
CPI in 2012
229.594
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 2012 → 2014
$103
$100 in 2014 → 2012
$96.98
What happened to prices between 2012 and 2014
Between 2012 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 229.594 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 3.1%, which works out to an average of
1.54% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2012 bought what
$0.97 buys in 2014: the 2012 dollar
lost 3.0% of its purchasing power over
these 2 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 2014 at the same ratio, 1.03: $1,000 becomes
$1,031, and $10,000 becomes $10,311.
Amount in 2012
Value in 2014
$1.00
$1.03
$5.00
$5.16
$10.00
$10.31
$20.00
$20.62
$50.00
$51.56
$100
$103
$500
$516
$1,000
$1,031
$5,000
$5,156
$10,000
$10,311
$100,000
$103,111
$1,000,000
$1,031,107
Inflation by spending category, 2012–2014
Between 2012 and 2014, medical care rose the most, up 4.9%, while energy fell 1.0%, against 3.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2012
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2012 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.54%
$103
Medical care
2.43%
$105
Housing
2.33%
$105
Food
1.90%
$104
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.76%
$104
Education & communication
1.36%
$103
Apparel
0.49%
$101
Recreation
0.37%
$101
Transportation
-0.32%
$99.36
Energy
-0.51%
$98.99
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2012
$100 from 2012 had already become $101 by
2013, on its way to $103 in 2014; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 1.6% in 2014, and the smallest rise was 1.5% in 2013.
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 2012 had the buying
power of $103; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 2012 to 2014: $100 is worth $103 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2012 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2014/