The median household earned about $40,700 in 1999, gas averaged $1.17 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $161,000. Inflation ran at 2.2% for the year, ticking back up from 1998’s decade low as oil prices recovered from their collapse. The decade closed with two changes to the financial system that would shape the one after it: on January 1, the euro launched as an accounting currency across 11 European countries, trading alongside national currencies like the French franc and German mark ahead of physical cash in 2002, and in November, Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, tearing down the Depression-era wall between commercial banks, investment banks, and insurers. Stock markets, meanwhile, were absorbed in a boom of their own: the Nasdaq surged through the year on soaring internet-stock valuations, and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates three times in the second half of 1999 partly to cool the exuberance, even as it pumped extra liquidity into the banking system to guard against any disruption from the Y2K rollover. A first-class stamp cost 33 cents. Inflation had spent the decade falling from 1990’s 5.4% peak to averages closer to 2-3%, and 1999 closed it out almost exactly where the 1990s as a whole had settled.
Year in review
Inflation in 1999
The U.S. inflation rate in 1999 was 2.2% (CPI: 166.6). Convert 1999 dollars to today →
2.2% 1999 inflation rate
3.0% 1990s average
2.7% peak month (Dec)
1.6% lowest month (Feb)
What things cost in 1999
In 1999, the median household income was $40,696, and a gallon of gas cost $1.17.
| Median household income | $40,696 |
|---|---|
| Gas (per gallon) | $1.17 |
| Median home price | $161,000 |
| First-class stamp | $0.33 |
| Federal minimum wage | $5.15 |
What $100 from 1999 was worth later
$100 from 1999 had the buying power of $199 by 2026; each milestone links to that conversion.
| In 2000 | $103 |
|---|---|
| In 2010 | $131 |
| In 2020 | $155 |
| In 2026 | $199 |
Inflation in 1999, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 164.3 | 1.7% |
| February | 164.5 | 1.6% |
| March | 165 | 1.7% |
| April | 166.2 | 2.3% |
| May | 166.2 | 2.1% |
| June | 166.2 | 2.0% |
| July | 166.7 | 2.1% |
| August | 167.1 | 2.3% |
| September | 167.9 | 2.6% |
| October | 168.2 | 2.6% |
| November | 168.3 | 2.6% |
| December | 168.3 | 2.7% |
Economic events of 1999
The euro launches as an accounting currency across 11 European countries; prices rose 2.2% that year.
- The euro launches as an accounting currency across 11 European countries Launched January 1, the euro traded alongside national currencies like the French franc and German mark for electronic payments and accounting; euro cash wouldn't circulate until 2002.
- Congress repeals key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, signed in November, tore down the wall a Depression-era law had built between commercial banks, investment banks, and insurers, clearing the way for the large financial conglomerates that would dominate the next decade.
- The Fed raises interest rates three times as the dot-com boom accelerates The Nasdaq surged through the year on soaring internet-stock valuations, and the Fed lifted rates in the second half of 1999 partly to cool the exuberance, even as it pumped extra liquidity into the banking system ahead of the Y2K rollover.
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.