$100 in 2015 is worth $101 in 2016,
because prices increased 1.3% over that period, an average of
1.26% a year.
$100 in 2015 has
the same buying power as
$101
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1.3%
Average inflation rate
1.26% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$101
Price difference ($100 base)
$1.26
CPI in 2015
237.017
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 2015
0.12%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 2015 → 2016
$101
$100 in 2016 → 2015
$98.75
What happened to prices between 2015 and 2016
Between 2015 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 237.017 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1.3%, which works out to an average of
1.26% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2015 bought what
$0.99 buys in 2016: the 2015 dollar
lost 1.2% of its purchasing power over
these 1 years.
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.
Every 2015 amount converts to 2016 at the same ratio, 1.01: $1,000 becomes
$1,013, and $10,000 becomes $10,126.
Amount in 2015
Value in 2016
$1.00
$1.01
$5.00
$5.06
$10.00
$10.13
$20.00
$20.25
$50.00
$50.63
$100
$101
$500
$506
$1,000
$1,013
$5,000
$5,063
$10,000
$10,126
$100,000
$101,262
$1,000,000
$1,012,615
Inflation by spending category, 2015–2016
Between 2015 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 3.8%, while energy fell 6.6%, against 1.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2015
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2015 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.26%
$101
Medical care
3.79%
$104
Housing
2.48%
$102
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.21%
$102
Recreation
0.90%
$101
Education & communication
0.67%
$101
Food
0.28%
$100
Apparel
0.11%
$100
Transportation
-2.10%
$97.90
Energy
-6.58%
$93.42
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2015
$100 from 2015grew to $101 by 2016; each row
shows the CPI, that year's inflation rate, and the running value.
In 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 2015 had the buying
power of $101; 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 2015 to 2016: $100 is worth $101 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2015-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2015 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2015-to-2016/