What is $1 from 1988 worth today?
$1 in 1988 is worth $2.85 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 185% since 1988, an average of 2.78% a year over 38 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.5 times, and a dollar today buys 35.1% of what it bought in 1988.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1988 is worth $56.96, $100 is worth $284.82 and $1,000 is worth $2,848 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1988
The CPI-U averaged 118.3 in 1988, up 4.1% from 113.6 in 1987. From December 1987 to December 1988, prices rose 4.4%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1988 is number 33 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1980s, annual inflation averaged 5.5% a year. The highest rate was 13.5% in 1980 and the lowest 1.9% in 1986.
1988 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1988 money
If something cost $5 in 1988, the same buying power today is $14.24. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $35.11 bought in 1988, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $21,066 salary in 1988.
If your pay in 1988 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,848 a month in September 2026 to afford the same basket of goods and services. Remember that this is an average across consumer spending: some prices, such as housing, health care and tuition, have risen faster than the CPI, while others have risen more slowly.
How this 1988 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1988 annual average (118.3): 336.94 ÷ 118.3 = 2.8482. Multiply any 1988 amount by 2.8482 to convert it to September 2026 dollars. The data is the CPI for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted (BLS series CUUR0000SA0), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Use the calculator above to pick a specific month in 1988 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1987 and $1 in 1989. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.