The median household earned about $35,500 in 1996, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, up noticeably from the mid-decade lull, and a new home cost roughly $140,000. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the year, ticking back up from 1995 as energy prices firmed. Washington passed two of the decade’s more consequential laws that year: in February, the Telecommunications Act rewrote the rules for phone, cable, and broadcast media for the first time since 1934, opening local markets to competition and easing ownership limits; in August, a welfare overhaul ended the federal guarantee of cash assistance, replacing it with block grants to states and time limits on benefits. In October, the federal minimum wage rose to $4.75 an hour, its first increase in five years and the opening step of a two-part law that would take it to $5.15 the following September. Two sweeping new laws and a minimum wage finally on the move again made 1996 a year that changed more about how the economy was governed than about how fast prices moved.
Year in review
Inflation in 1996
The U.S. inflation rate in 1996 was 3.0% (CPI: 156.9). Convert 1996 dollars to today →
3.0% 1996 inflation rate
3.0% 1990s average
3.3% peak month (Dec)
2.7% lowest month (Feb)
What things cost in 1996
In 1996, the median household income was $35,492, and a gallon of gas cost $1.23.
| Median household income | $35,492 |
|---|---|
| Gas (per gallon) | $1.23 |
| Median home price | $140,000 |
| First-class stamp | $0.32 |
| Federal minimum wage | $4.25 |
What $100 from 1996 was worth later
$100 from 1996 had the buying power of $212 by 2026; each milestone links to that conversion.
| In 2000 | $110 |
|---|---|
| In 2010 | $139 |
| In 2020 | $165 |
| In 2026 | $212 |
Inflation in 1996, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 154.4 | 2.7% |
| February | 154.9 | 2.7% |
| March | 155.7 | 2.8% |
| April | 156.3 | 2.9% |
| May | 156.6 | 2.9% |
| June | 156.7 | 2.8% |
| July | 157 | 3.0% |
| August | 157.3 | 2.9% |
| September | 157.8 | 3.0% |
| October | 158.3 | 3.0% |
| November | 158.6 | 3.3% |
| December | 158.6 | 3.3% |
Economic events of 1996
Congress overhauls welfare with a law ending guaranteed cash assistance; prices rose 3.0% that year.
- Congress overhauls welfare with a law ending guaranteed cash assistance The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, signed by President Clinton in August, replaced the decades-old Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with block grants to states and time limits on benefits.
- The Telecommunications Act rewrites the rules for phone, cable, and broadcast media Signed in February, it was the first major overhaul of U.S. communications law since 1934, opening local phone and cable markets to competition and easing ownership limits on broadcast stations.
- The federal minimum wage rises to $4.75 an hour in October It was the first increase in five years, part of a two-step law that would take the wage to $5.15 the following September.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (income); U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Sales (home price); U.S. Energy Information Administration (gasoline); U.S. Department of Labor (minimum wage); USPS historical rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.