$100 in 1988 has the buying power of $284.82 in September 2026. Prices are 184.8% higher, an average of 2.78% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 1988's average index was 118.3 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $35.11 did in 1988.
Inflation in 1988 was 4.1% (the change in the year's average CPI from 1987; December to December, 4.4%), the 33rd highest of the 112 years since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 99.6 | +3.2% | $338.29 |
| 1984 | 103.9 | +4.3% | $324.29 |
| 1985 | 107.6 | +3.6% | $313.14 |
| 1986 | 109.6 | +1.9% | $307.43 |
| 1987 | 113.6 | +3.6% | $296.60 |
| 1988 | 118.3 | +4.1% | $284.82 |
| 1989 | 124.0 | +4.8% | $271.73 |
| 1990 | 130.7 | +5.4% | $257.80 |
| 1991 | 136.2 | +4.2% | $247.39 |
| 1992 | 140.3 | +3.0% | $240.16 |
| 1993 | 144.5 | +3.0% | $233.18 |
2.78% a year, compounded from the middle of 1988 to September 2026: prices are 184.8% higher in all, so a dollar from 1988 is worth $2.85 today.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, which runs back to January 1913. A year's figure is the average of its monthly indexes, as BLS computes annual averages; today's figure is the latest month, September 2026, so the answer moves each month when BLS publishes a new CPI.
1987 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 1989
Source: BLS CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted (FRED CPIAUCNS); through 2006, BLS's official annual averages. The answer moves each month, when BLS publishes a new CPI.