$100 in 2018 is worth $102 in 2019,
because prices increased 1.8% over that period, an average of
1.81% a year.
$100 in 2018 has
the same buying power as
$102
in 2019
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1.8%
Average inflation rate
1.81% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$102
Price difference ($100 base)
$1.81
CPI in 2018
251.107
CPI in 2019
255.657
Inflation in 2018
2.44%
Inflation in 2019
1.81%
$100 in 2018 → 2019
$102
$100 in 2019 → 2018
$98.22
What happened to prices between 2018 and 2019
Between 2018 and 2019, the Consumer Price Index went from 251.107 to 255.657.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1.8%, which works out to an average of
1.81% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 2018 bought what
$0.98 buys in 2019: the 2018 dollar
lost 1.8% of its purchasing power over
these 1 years.
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.
Every 2018 amount converts to 2019 at the same ratio, 1.02: $1,000 becomes
$1,018, and $10,000 becomes $10,181.
Amount in 2018
Value in 2019
$1.00
$1.02
$5.00
$5.09
$10.00
$10.18
$20.00
$20.36
$50.00
$50.91
$100
$102
$500
$509
$1,000
$1,018
$5,000
$5,091
$10,000
$10,181
$100,000
$101,812
$1,000,000
$1,018,120
Inflation by spending category, 2018–2019
Between 2018 and 2019, housing rose the most, up 2.9%, while energy fell 2.1%, against 1.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 2018
spending costs in 2019, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 2018 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.81%
$102
Housing
2.89%
$103
Medical care
2.83%
$103
Core (all items less food & energy)
2.19%
$102
Food
1.88%
$102
Recreation
1.28%
$101
Education & communication
0.73%
$101
Transportation
-0.28%
$99.72
Apparel
-1.27%
$98.73
Energy
-2.11%
$97.89
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 2018
$100 from 2018grew to $102 by 2019; each row
shows the CPI, that year's inflation rate, and the running value.
In 2019, prices rose 1.8% and $100 from 2018 had the buying
power of $102; the year's average CPI of 255.657 is the level
behind every 2019 figure on this page.
2019 was the last ordinary year before COVID-19. Consumer prices rose 1.8%,
slightly under the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with gasoline averaging
$2.60 a gallon. Median household income jumped to $68,703, the highest on
record up to that point, and the median new home sold for about $328,000. A
first-class stamp rose to 55 cents.
The Fed reversed course. After four increases in 2018, it cut rates three
times, to 1.50–1.75%, citing slower global growth, trade tensions, and low
inflation. In July the expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
U.S. records, and in August the yield curve briefly inverted, a signal
investors read as a recession warning.
For workers at the bottom of the pay scale, 2019 marked a milestone of a
different kind. The federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25 and reached its tenth
year without an increase, the longest gap since the wage was first set. Because
prices had climbed about 19% since it was last raised in 2009, its buying power
was lower than at any point in that span.
MLA: “Inflation from 2018 to 2019: $100 is worth $102 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2018-to-2019/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 2018 to 2019. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/2018-to-2019/