The median household earned about $37,000 in 1997, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $146,000. Inflation ran at 2.3% for the year, its lowest reading since the mid-1980s, as a strong dollar and falling import prices helped keep costs in check at home even as trouble built abroad. In July, Thailand devalued the baht, and the currency collapse that followed spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies, forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region, though the crisis had little immediate effect on U.S. prices. At home, Washington had a calmer year: in August, President Clinton and Congress agreed on the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act, which cut capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set the federal budget on a path to its first surplus in nearly three decades. In September, the federal minimum wage completed a two-step rise to $5.15 an hour, where it would stay for a decade. Low inflation, a firming budget picture, and a crisis unfolding an ocean away made 1997 a year the U.S. economy looked stronger than much of the rest of the world’s.
Year in review
Inflation in 1997
The U.S. inflation rate in 1997 was 2.3% (CPI: 160.5). Convert 1997 dollars to today →
2.3% 1997 inflation rate
3.0% 1990s average
3.0% peak month (Jan)
1.7% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1997
In 1997, the median household income was $37,005, and a gallon of gas cost $1.23.
| Median household income | $37,005 |
|---|---|
| Gas (per gallon) | $1.23 |
| Median home price | $146,000 |
| First-class stamp | $0.32 |
| Federal minimum wage | $4.75 |
What $100 from 1997 was worth later
$100 from 1997 had the buying power of $207 by 2026; each milestone links to that conversion.
| In 2000 | $107 |
|---|---|
| In 2010 | $136 |
| In 2020 | $161 |
| In 2026 | $207 |
Inflation in 1997, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 159.1 | 3.0% |
| February | 159.6 | 3.0% |
| March | 160 | 2.8% |
| April | 160.2 | 2.5% |
| May | 160.1 | 2.2% |
| June | 160.3 | 2.3% |
| July | 160.5 | 2.2% |
| August | 160.8 | 2.2% |
| September | 161.2 | 2.2% |
| October | 161.6 | 2.1% |
| November | 161.5 | 1.8% |
| December | 161.3 | 1.7% |
Economic events of 1997
Thailand devalues the baht in July, triggering the Asian financial crisis; prices rose 2.3% that year.
- Thailand devalues the baht in July, triggering the Asian financial crisis The currency collapse spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies, forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region.
- Clinton and Congress agree on a plan to balance the federal budget The Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, both signed in August, cut capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set a path that produced the first federal budget surplus in nearly three decades by 1998.
- The federal minimum wage completes its two-step rise to $5.15 an hour in September It was the second step of the increase that began at $4.75 the previous October; the rate would hold for a decade, the longest stretch without a raise since the 1980s.
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.