$100 in 2013 is worth $102 in 2015,
because prices increased 1.7% over that period, an average of
0.87% a year.
$100 in 2013 has
the same buying power as
$102
in 2015
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1.7%
Average inflation rate
0.87% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$102
Price difference ($100 base)
$1.74
CPI in 2013
232.957
CPI in 2015
237.017
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
Inflation in 2015
0.12%
$100 in 2013 → 2015
$102
$100 in 2015 → 2013
$98.29
What happened to prices between 2013 and 2015
Between 2013 and 2015, the Consumer Price Index went from 232.957 to 237.017.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1.7%, which works out to an average of
0.87% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2013 bought what
$0.98 buys in 2015: the 2013 dollar
lost 1.7% of its purchasing power over
these 2 years.
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.
Every 2013 amount converts to 2015 at the same ratio, 1.02: $1,000 becomes
$1,017, and $10,000 becomes $10,174.
Amount in 2013
Value in 2015
$1.00
$1.02
$5.00
$5.09
$10.00
$10.17
$20.00
$20.35
$50.00
$50.87
$100
$102
$500
$509
$1,000
$1,017
$5,000
$5,087
$10,000
$10,174
$100,000
$101,743
$1,000,000
$1,017,428
Inflation by spending category, 2013–2015
Between 2013 and 2015, medical care rose the most, up 5.1%, while energy fell 17.0%, against 1.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2013
spending costs in 2015, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2013 →
All items (CPI-U)
0.87%
$102
Medical care
2.51%
$105
Housing
2.33%
$105
Food
2.13%
$104
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.79%
$104
Education & communication
0.85%
$102
Recreation
0.29%
$101
Apparel
-0.59%
$98.82
Transportation
-4.31%
$91.56
Energy
-8.89%
$83.01
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2013
$100 from 2013 had already become $102 by
2014, on its way to $102 in 2015; 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 2015, prices rose 0.1% and $100 from 2013 had the buying
power of $102; the year's average CPI of 237.017 is the level
behind every 2015 figure on this page.
2015 was almost a year with no inflation at all. Consumer prices rose 0.1%,
the smallest increase since the 2009 decline, because energy prices kept
falling. Gasoline averaged $2.45 a gallon, down from $3.37 in 2014, and a
strong dollar made imported goods cheaper. The picture was different outside
food and energy: core prices rose about 1.8% as rents and medical costs
climbed.
Incomes finally showed real progress. Median household income reached $56,516,
a large jump from $53,657, and the median new home sold for about $296,400. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp stayed at 49
cents.
The Federal Reserve chose December to end its zero-rate policy, raising the
target range to 0.25–0.50% for the first time since 2006. It moved even
though headline inflation was far under 2%, arguing that the drag from
energy was temporary. Earlier, a currency shift in China in August had shaken
global markets and pushed oil below $40 a barrel. Prices in 2015 ended
the year barely above their 2014 level.
MLA: “Inflation from 2013 to 2015: $100 is worth $102 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2013-to-2015/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2013 to 2015. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2013-to-2015/