Inflation by year
What $100 in 1990 is worth today
$100 in 1990 has the same buying power as $256.30 in August 2026. Prices have risen 156.3% since, an average of 2.64% a year.
Against the 2025 annual average instead of the latest month, it is $246.32.
Convert any amount from 1990
$100.00 in 1990 is worth
$256.30
in August 2026 — the same buying power
$156.30 more
Geometric mean over the period
It buys what this amount bought in 1990
The index behind it
Your amount multiplied by this ratio gives the answer
Annual averages of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, 1982–84 = 100, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026 has no annual average yet, so it uses August 2026, the latest month published.
What got more expensive
The headline rate averages things that behaved nothing like each other. Categories are published as annual averages only, so this compares 1990 with 2025, the last complete year.
| Category | Total change | A year |
|---|---|---|
| All items— the headline rate | +146.3% | 2.61% |
| Other goods and services | +264.3% | 3.76% |
| Medical care | +256.3% | 3.70% |
| Housing | +169.8% | 2.88% |
| Food and beverages | +154.8% | 2.71% |
| Transportation | +125.8% | 2.35% |
| Apparel | +5.8% | 0.16% |
Each category is measured against itself over the same years. The indices use different base periods, so their levels are not comparable with each other — only their changes are, which is all this shows. Not shown, because BLS began the series later than 1990: recreation (from 1993), education and communication (from 1993).
- Note: Based on CPI-U: 130.7 (1990 annual average) and 334.98 (August 2026, the latest month published), 1982–84 = 100.
1990 dollars in today’s money
| In 1990 | In August 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $2.56 |
| $5.00 | $12.81 |
| $10.00 | $25.63 |
| $20.00 | $51.26 |
| $50.00 | $128.15 |
| $100.00 | $256.30 |
| $500.00 | $1,281.48 |
| $1,000.00 | $2,562.97 |
| $5,000.00 | $12,814.84 |
| $10,000.00 | $25,629.69 |
| $100,000.00 | $256,296.86 |
Every row is the 1990 amount multiplied by the same ratio: CPI-U of 334.980 in August 2026 divided by 130.700, the 1990 annual average — 2.5630. Put the other way, a dollar today buys what $0.39 bought in 1990.
Inflation in 1990
Prices rose 5.4% between the 1989 and 1990 annual averages. Of the 112 years with a measured rate, from 1914 to 2025, that ranks 25th from the highest.
Prices first stood at double their 1990 level in 2021, 31 years later.
The 1990s, year by year
Across 1990–1999, prices rose in 10 of the 10 years with a measured change. The sharpest rise was 5.4% in 1990. The mildest year was 1998, at 1.6%.
| Year | CPI-U | Change on the year before |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 130.700 | +5.4% |
| 1991 | 136.200 | +4.2% |
| 1992 | 140.300 | +3.0% |
| 1993 | 144.500 | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 148.200 | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 152.400 | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 156.900 | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 160.500 | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 163.000 | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 166.600 | +2.2% |
$100 from 1990, in every year since
Every year since 1990
| Year | $100 from 1990 | CPI-U | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $100.00 | 130.700 | +5.4% |
| 1991 | $104.21 | 136.200 | +4.2% |
| 1992 | $107.35 | 140.300 | +3.0% |
| 1993 | $110.56 | 144.500 | +3.0% |
| 1994 | $113.39 | 148.200 | +2.6% |
| 1995 | $116.60 | 152.400 | +2.8% |
| 1996 | $120.05 | 156.900 | +3.0% |
| 1997 | $122.80 | 160.500 | +2.3% |
| 1998 | $124.71 | 163.000 | +1.6% |
| 1999 | $127.47 | 166.600 | +2.2% |
| 2000 | $131.75 | 172.200 | +3.4% |
| 2001 | $135.50 | 177.100 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | $137.64 | 179.900 | +1.6% |
| 2003 | $140.78 | 184.000 | +2.3% |
| 2004 | $144.53 | 188.900 | +2.7% |
| 2005 | $149.43 | 195.300 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | $154.25 | 201.600 | +3.2% |
| 2007 | $158.64 | 207.342 | +2.8% |
| 2008 | $164.73 | 215.303 | +3.8% |
| 2009 | $164.14 | 214.537 | −0.4% |
| 2010 | $166.84 | 218.056 | +1.6% |
| 2011 | $172.10 | 224.939 | +3.2% |
| 2012 | $175.66 | 229.594 | +2.1% |
| 2013 | $178.24 | 232.957 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | $181.13 | 236.736 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | $181.34 | 237.017 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | $183.63 | 240.007 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | $187.54 | 245.120 | +2.1% |
| 2018 | $192.12 | 251.107 | +2.4% |
| 2019 | $195.61 | 255.657 | +1.8% |
| 2020 | $198.02 | 258.811 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | $207.32 | 270.970 | +4.7% |
| 2022 | $223.91 | 292.655 | +8.0% |
| 2023 | $233.13 | 304.702 | +4.1% |
| 2024 | $240.01 | 313.689 | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $246.32 | 321.943 | +2.6% |
| August 2026 | $256.30 | 334.980 | — |
The first row is 1990 itself, where $100 is still $100. Each later row is that year’s CPI-U divided by 130.700, multiplied by $100 — the same arithmetic as the calculator above, applied once a year.
What got more expensive since 1990
The headline figure above averages things that moved very differently. Medical care and housing have outrun the index for decades; clothing has barely moved. If inflation has never matched your own experience, this is why — your basket is not the average basket.
| Category | Total change | A year |
|---|---|---|
| All items— the headline rate | +146.3% | 2.61% |
| Other goods and services | +264.3% | 3.76% |
| Medical care | +256.3% | 3.70% |
| Housing | +169.8% | 2.88% |
| Food and beverages | +154.8% | 2.71% |
| Transportation | +125.8% | 2.35% |
| Apparel | +5.8% | 0.16% |
Each category is measured against itself over the same years. The indices use different base periods, so their levels are not comparable with each other — only their changes are, which is all this shows. Not shown, because BLS began the series later than 1990: recreation (from 1993), education and communication (from 1993).
What this cannot tell you
CPI is a national average, and your own prices will differ. Housing, healthcare and education have risen much faster than the index as a whole, and some goods — electronics above all — have become far cheaper.
It does not capture regional differences. A dollar in 1990 went further in some places than others, and still does.
The basket itself has changed. People in 1990 did not buy what people buy now, so the ratio is exact arithmetic on a comparison that is looser than a single number suggests.
August 2026 is one month, not a year. Monthly figures carry some seasonal movement, so this headline shifts slightly each month until BLS publishes the full-year average.
Other years
Source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (series CUUR0000SA0). Annual averages for complete years, and the latest monthly value for the current one. The data is checked against BLS every month and was last updated on .