$1 in 1990 had the same buying power as $2.58 in September 2026. Prices are 158% higher than in 1990, an average of 2.7% a year, based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A dollar in September 2026 buys what 39 cents bought in 1990.
Convert any amount from 1990 in the Inflation Calculator
1990 dollars in today's money
| In 1990 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $2.58 |
| $5.00 | $12.89 |
| $10.00 | $25.79 |
| $20.00 | $51.58 |
| $50.00 | $128.94 |
| $100.00 | $258 |
| $500.00 | $1,289 |
| $1,000 | $2,579 |
| $10,000 | $25,788 |
What $100 from 1990 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 1990
Prices rose 5.4% in 1990, comparing its average CPI-U with 1989's. That ranks 25th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 4.1% |
| 1989 | 4.8% |
| 1990 | 5.4% |
| 1991 | 4.2% |
| 1992 | 3.0% |
Wages in 1990 and today
- The federal minimum wage rose from $3.35 to $3.80 an hour in April 1990. $3.80 then is worth $9.80 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $10.20 an hour in 1990, or $26.30 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 23.7% more than in 1990.
Prices in 1990 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, 2 of these 6 items cost less today than they did in 1990, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 1990 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $1.01 | $2.61 | $2.27 | 6.0 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $0.70 | $1.79 | $1.83 | 4.1 → 3.4 |
| Ground beef (per pound) | $1.59 | $4.09 | $6.79 | 9.3 → 13 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $2.97 | $7.65 | $9.33 | 17 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $1.16 | $3.00 | $4.48 | 6.8 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.084 | $0.217 | $0.196 | 0.5 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 1990 was worth over the years
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 1990, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 130.658) = $257.88
1990's index is the average of its monthly CPI-U values; today's is the latest month, September 2026. Other calculators can differ slightly if they use a different month or index. More in our methodology.
Data: CPI-U through September 2026. Next BLS release: November 10, 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED; prices and wages from BLS average price data and Current Employment Statistics; minimum wage from the U.S. Department of Labor.