Inflation was 3.2% in 2006 and gasoline averaged $2.59 a gallon, up 29 cents from 2005. The median household earned about $48,200 and the median new home cost $246,500, a gain of about 2% after a 13% jump in 2004 and 9% in 2005. National home prices, by the S&P/Case-Shiller index, peaked in mid-2006. Ben Bernanke replaced Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chair on February 1, and on June 29 the Fed raised its policy rate to 5.25%, the last of 17 straight quarter-point increases. It held there for over a year. A first-class stamp rose to 39 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 for the ninth full year in a row.
Year in review
Inflation in 2006
The U.S. inflation rate in 2006 was 3.2% (CPI: 201.6). Convert 2006 dollars to today →
3.2% 2006 inflation rate
2.6% 2000s average
4.3% peak month (Jun)
1.3% lowest month (Oct)
What things cost in 2006
In 2006, the median household income was $48,201, and a gallon of gas cost $2.59.
| Median household income | $48,201 |
|---|---|
| Gas (per gallon) | $2.59 |
| Median home price | $246,500 |
| First-class stamp | $0.39 |
| Federal minimum wage | $5.15 |
What $100 from 2006 was worth later
$100 from 2006 had the buying power of $165 by 2026; each milestone links to that conversion.
| In 2010 | $108 |
|---|---|
| In 2020 | $128 |
| In 2026 | $165 |
Inflation in 2006, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 198.3 | 4.0% |
| February | 198.7 | 3.6% |
| March | 199.8 | 3.4% |
| April | 201.5 | 3.5% |
| May | 202.5 | 4.2% |
| June | 202.9 | 4.3% |
| July | 203.5 | 4.1% |
| August | 203.9 | 3.8% |
| September | 202.9 | 2.1% |
| October | 201.8 | 1.3% |
| November | 201.5 | 2.0% |
| December | 201.8 | 2.5% |
Economic events of 2006
Ben Bernanke succeeds Alan Greenspan as Fed chair; prices rose 3.2% that year.
- Ben Bernanke succeeds Alan Greenspan as Fed chair Bernanke took office on February 1. Greenspan had led the central bank since 1987, through the stock market crash of that year and the long expansion of the 1990s.
- The Fed ends its rate increases at 5.25% in June The 17th consecutive quarter-point increase came on June 29. The Fed held at 5.25% for more than a year, as a cooling housing market began to slow growth.
- Home prices peak The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index topped out in mid-2006, after rising for about a decade. New-home sales fell through the year and the median new home price nearly stopped rising.
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.