Value of a dollar in 1990: what it is worth today
What one dollar of 1990 is worth in September 2026, at the CPI-U annual average. Change the amount or the year.
In September 2026 dollars
$257.80
$100.00 at 1990 prices (annual average), U.S. city average.
| Prices since | +158 % |
| Average per year | +2.65 % |
| What $100.00 today buys at 1990 prices | $38.79 |
| Index 1990 | 130.7 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · CPI-U U.S. city average, 1990 annual average
One dollar of 1990 is worth $2.58 in September 2026 on the CPI-U for the U.S. city average. The index averaged 130.7 in 1990, already well above its 1982-84 base, and now stands at 336.94: prices have risen 158 % since, or 2.65 % a year. A dollar today buys what $0.39 bought in 1990. That year inflation reached 5.4 % on annual averages, the fastest since 1982, and 6.1 % from December to December. It was the top of the decade: annual inflation then slowed, staying under 3 % in 7 of the nine years from 1991 to 1999. From 1990 to 2000 the price level rose 31.8 %. On local indexes a 1990 dollar is worth $2.63 in New York and $2.80 in San Francisco today. The four regions and Size Class A already existed in 1990; Size Class B/C did not.
One fast year, then a long calm
The 5.4 % of 1990 is the highest annual rate of the 1990s and the highest since 1982. It did not last. Annual inflation fell to 4.2 % in 1991 and 3.0 % in 1992, and the rest of the decade stayed between 1.6 % and 3.0 %. Over the ten years to 2000, a 1990 dollar lost about 24 % of its buying power.
Inflation in a year of the 1990s
Inflation in 1990, U.S. average
+5.4 %
| Annual average change | +5.40 % |
| December to December | +6.11 % |
| $100 of 1990 in September 2026 | $257.80 |
A 1990 rent, carried forward
A rent of $600 a month in 1990 matches $1,547 today on the all items index. Rents themselves may have moved differently: the shelter index the BLS publishes by spending group starts only in 1997 in this site's data, so for a 1990 lease the all items index is the usable measure. A lease that names a specific index follows that index.
Which local index for a 1990 amount
The local menu of 1990 is not the one you see today. All four regions published a 1990 annual average, and so did Size Class A, which began in December 1986; its 1990 rate was 5.5 %, against 5.4 % nationally. Size Class B/C starts only in December 1996 and cannot be used. Among the metros, 21 have a 1990 annual average in the data: Boston; New York; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; Minneapolis-St. Paul; St. Louis; Washington, DC; Miami; Atlanta; Tampa; Baltimore; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Denver; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Seattle; San Diego; Urban Hawaii; Urban Alaska.
Reading the result
The figure on this page uses the 1990 annual average. Within the year the national index rose from 127.4 in January to 133.8 in December, so a date late in 1990 gives a smaller result than the average. The calculator by month handles dated amounts.
Read the ratio the other way for a fixed payment. A pension or annuity set in 1990 and never adjusted has lost 61 % of its buying power since then: each of its dollars now buys what $0.39 bought in 1990.
$100 of 1990 in later years
| Year | What $100 of 1990 buys |
|---|---|
| 2000 | $131.75 |
| 2010 | $166.84 |
| 2020 | $198.02 |
| September 2026 | $257.80 |
Inflation in 1990, area by area
| Area | 1990 annual average change |
|---|---|
| U.S. average | +5.4 % |
| Northeast | +6.0 % |
| Midwest | +4.9 % |
| South | +5.3 % |
| West | +5.5 % |
| Large metros (Size A) | +5.5 % |
| Boston | +5.8 % |
| New York | +6.0 % |
| Philadelphia | +5.8 % |
| Chicago | +5.4 % |
| Detroit | +5.2 % |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | +4.1 % |
| St. Louis | +5.2 % |
| Washington, DC | +5.9 % |
| Miami | +5.3 % |
| Atlanta | +4.4 % |
| Tampa | +4.2 % |
| Baltimore | +5.1 % |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | +4.7 % |
| Houston | +5.7 % |
| Denver | +4.4 % |
| Los Angeles | +5.9 % |
| San Francisco | +4.5 % |
| Seattle | +7.4 % |
| San Diego | +6.0 % |
| Urban Hawaii | +7.3 % |
| Urban Alaska | +6.2 % |