$100 in 2013 is worth $108 in 2018,
because prices increased 7.8% over that period, an average of
1.51% a year.
$100 in 2013 has
the same buying power as
$108
in 2018
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
7.8%
Average inflation rate
1.51% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$108
Price difference ($100 base)
$7.79
CPI in 2013
232.957
CPI in 2018
251.107
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
$100 in 2013 → 2018
$108
$100 in 2018 → 2013
$92.77
What happened to prices between 2013 and 2018
Between 2013 and 2018, the Consumer Price Index went from 232.957 to 251.107.
Cumulatively, prices increased 7.8%, which works out to an average of
1.51% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2013 bought what
$0.93 buys in 2018: the 2013 dollar
lost 7.2% of its purchasing power over
these 5 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 2018 at the same ratio, 1.08: $1,000 becomes
$1,078, and $10,000 becomes $10,779.
Amount in 2013
Value in 2018
$1.00
$1.08
$5.00
$5.39
$10.00
$10.78
$20.00
$21.56
$50.00
$53.90
$100
$108
$500
$539
$1,000
$1,078
$5,000
$5,390
$10,000
$10,779
$100,000
$107,791
$1,000,000
$1,077,911
Inflation by spending category, 2013–2018
Between 2013 and 2018, medical care rose the most, up 14.0%, while energy fell 10.0%, against 7.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2013
spending costs in 2018, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2013 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.51%
$108
Medical care
2.66%
$114
Housing
2.60%
$114
Core (all items less food & energy)
1.95%
$110
Food
1.36%
$107
Recreation
0.66%
$103
Education & communication
0.13%
$101
Apparel
-0.28%
$98.62
Transportation
-0.63%
$96.90
Energy
-2.09%
$89.99
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2013
$100 from 2013 had already become $102 by
2015, on its way to $108 in 2018; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 2.4% in 2018, and the smallest rise was 0.1% in 2015.
In 2018, prices rose 2.4% and $100 from 2013 had the buying
power of $108; 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 2013 to 2018: $100 is worth $108 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2013-to-2018/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2013 to 2018. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2013-to-2018/