$100 in 1996 has the buying power of $214.75 in September 2026. Prices are 114.7% higher, an average of 2.56% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 1996's average index was 156.9 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $46.57 did in 1996.
Inflation in 1996 was 3.0% (the change in the year's average CPI from 1995; December to December, 3.3%), the 48th highest of the 112 years since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 136.2 | +4.2% | $247.39 |
| 1992 | 140.3 | +3.0% | $240.16 |
| 1993 | 144.5 | +3.0% | $233.18 |
| 1994 | 148.2 | +2.6% | $227.35 |
| 1995 | 152.4 | +2.8% | $221.09 |
| 1996 | 156.9 | +3.0% | $214.75 |
| 1997 | 160.5 | +2.3% | $209.93 |
| 1998 | 163.0 | +1.6% | $206.71 |
| 1999 | 166.6 | +2.2% | $202.24 |
| 2000 | 172.2 | +3.4% | $195.67 |
| 2001 | 177.1 | +2.8% | $190.25 |
2.56% a year, compounded from the middle of 1996 to September 2026: prices are 114.7% higher in all, so a dollar from 1996 is worth $2.15 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.
1995 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 1997
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.