Annual U.S. inflation, 2000–2020, with 2010 highlighted. Bars below the line
are deflation. Source: BLS CPI-U.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
What things cost in 2010
In 2010, the median household income was $49,276, and a gallon of gas cost $2.78.
Median household income
$49,276
Gas (per gallon)
$2.78
Median home price
$221,800
First-class stamp
$0.44
Federal minimum wage
$7.25
What $100 from 2010 was worth later
$100 from 2010 had the buying power of $152
by 2026; each milestone links to that conversion.
Consumer prices rise 1.6% as the economy climbs out of the Great Recession.
Consumer prices rise 1.6% as the economy climbs out of the Great Recession After 2009's 0.4% decline, the CPI returned to modest growth. Gasoline and other energy prices recovered from their 2009 lows, while rents and other shelter costs stayed soft because so many homes stood vacant or in foreclosure.
The Fed announces a second round of bond buying in November With its policy rate already at 0–0.25%, the Federal Reserve said on November 3 that it would buy another $600 billion of Treasury bonds ("QE2"). Officials worried that inflation running below their target could tip toward outright deflation.
Congress passes the Dodd-Frank Act Signed July 21, the law rewrote U.S. financial regulation after the 2008 crisis, creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and imposing new capital and oversight rules on large banks.
Euro-area lenders and the IMF agree a 110 billion euro rescue for Greece The May package was the first of several bailouts as government debt worries spread across southern Europe, pushing investors toward the dollar and Treasury bonds.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, U.S. city average); 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; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, press releases.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages.
See the methodology.