In 1990, the median U.S. household earned about $29,900, gas averaged $1.15 a gallon, and mailing a letter cost a quarter. Inflation ran hot at 5.4% for the year, its highest rate since 1982, pushed up by an oil shock after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and the economy tipped into recession that summer. It was the last gasp of elevated inflation before the long calm of the 1990s.
Year in review
Inflation in 1990
The U.S. inflation rate in 1990 was 5.4% (CPI: 130.7). Convert 1990 dollars to today →
5.4% 1990 inflation rate
3.0% 1990s average
6.3% peak month (Oct)
4.4% lowest month (May)
What things cost in 1990
| Median household income | $29,943 |
|---|---|
| Gas (per gallon) | $1.15 |
| Median home price | $122,900 |
| First-class stamp | $0.25 |
| Federal minimum wage | $3.80 |
What $100 from 1990 was worth later
| In 2000 | $132 |
|---|---|
| In 2010 | $167 |
| In 2020 | $198 |
| In 2026 | $253 |
Inflation in 1990, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 127.4 | 5.2% |
| February | 128 | 5.3% |
| March | 128.7 | 5.2% |
| April | 128.9 | 4.7% |
| May | 129.2 | 4.4% |
| June | 129.9 | 4.7% |
| July | 130.4 | 4.8% |
| August | 131.6 | 5.6% |
| September | 132.7 | 6.2% |
| October | 133.5 | 6.3% |
| November | 133.8 | 6.3% |
| December | 133.8 | 6.1% |
Economic events of 1990
- Iraq invades Kuwait in August, triggering an oil price shock Crude oil roughly doubled in three months, from about $17 a barrel before the invasion to the mid-$30s by October, as markets feared for Persian Gulf supply. Gasoline prices jumped immediately, and energy costs drove the inflation spike that autumn.
- The U.S. enters the 1990–91 recession in July A mild eight-month downturn (the National Bureau of Economic Research dates it July 1990 to March 1991), brought on by the oil shock, tighter credit after the savings-and-loan crisis, and a Federal Reserve that had been raising rates to cool inflation since 1988.
- Inflation peaks at 6.1% year-over-year in the autumn The highest 12-month readings since 1982, almost entirely an energy story. As the recession cooled demand and oil prices retreated after the Gulf War began, inflation fell back, reaching about 3% by the end of 1991.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Income of Households (P60 series); EIA retail gasoline price history.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.