$100 in 2012 is worth $105 in 2016,
because prices increased 4.5% over that period, an average of
1.12% a year.
$100 in 2012 has
the same buying power as
$105
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
4.5%
Average inflation rate
1.12% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$105
Price difference ($100 base)
$4.54
CPI in 2012
229.594
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 2012 → 2016
$105
$100 in 2016 → 2012
$95.66
What happened to prices between 2012 and 2016
Between 2012 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 229.594 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 4.5%, which works out to an average of
1.12% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2012 bought what
$0.96 buys in 2016: the 2012 dollar
lost 4.3% of its purchasing power over
these 4 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 2016 at the same ratio, 1.05: $1,000 becomes
$1,045, and $10,000 becomes $10,454.
Amount in 2012
Value in 2016
$1.00
$1.05
$5.00
$5.23
$10.00
$10.45
$20.00
$20.91
$50.00
$52.27
$100
$105
$500
$523
$1,000
$1,045
$5,000
$5,227
$10,000
$10,454
$100,000
$104,535
$1,000,000
$1,045,354
Inflation by spending category, 2012–2016
Between 2012 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 11.7%, while energy fell 23.0%, against 4.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2012
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2012 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.12%
$105
Medical care
2.82%
$112
Housing
2.31%
$110
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.89%
$108
Food
1.48%
$106
Education & communication
0.97%
$104
Recreation
0.49%
$102
Apparel
-0.04%
$99.83
Transportation
-2.69%
$89.67
Energy
-6.32%
$77.02
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2012
$100 from 2012 had already become $103 by
2014, on its way to $105 in 2016; 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 0.1% in 2015.
In 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 2012 had the buying
power of $105; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 2012 to 2016: $100 is worth $105 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2012 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2012-to-2016/