$100 in 1998 is worth $207 today
$100 in January 1998 had the same buying power as $207 in Aug 2026. Prices have risen 107% since then. Change the amount or the months below.
US CPI data through Aug 2026, updated monthly. How we calculate$100 in Jan 1998 is worth, in Aug 2026
Prices rose 107.3% in total, about 2.58% a year. Cash kept under the mattress since Jan 1998 now buys only 48% of what it used to.
US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data through Aug 2026. Oct 2025 was not published and is estimated from the months around it.
What $100 from 1998 is worth now
Prices in the US have risen 107% since 1998, so it takes $207 today to buy what $100 bought then. Put the other way, $100 kept in cash since 1998 now buys only 48% of what it did.
That is an average of 2.6% a year over 29 years. Inflation was mostly moderate, around 2% to 3% a year, until the jump of 2021 and 2022.
For contrast, $100 put into the S&P 500 in January 1998, with dividends reinvested, would be worth about $1,311 today, 6.3× what inflation alone requires. Cash loses buying power; invested money has historically outgrown it.
| Year | Same buying power |
|---|---|
| 1998 | $100 |
| 2000 | $104 |
| 2010 | $134 |
| 2020 | $160 |
| Aug 2026 | $207 |
CPI in January of each year; the last row uses the latest month.
Other years
Common questions
How much is $100 from 1998 worth today?
About $207 in Aug 2026 dollars, based on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from January 1998.
How much have prices gone up since 1998?
107% in total, or about 2.6% a year on average.
What would $100 in 1998 buy today?
It buys about 48% of what it bought in 1998. You would need $207 to buy the same things.
How is this calculated?
Today's value = $100 × (latest CPI ÷ CPI in January 1998). CPI is the Bureau of Labor Statistics measure of the prices US households pay.
Based on the US Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Individual prices, such as homes, college or healthcare, rose faster or slower than the average.
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