What is $1 from 1990 worth today?
$1 in 1990 is worth $2.58 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 158% since 1990, an average of 2.65% a year over 36 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.4 times, and a dollar today buys 38.8% of what it bought in 1990.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1990 is worth $51.56, $100 is worth $257.80 and $1,000 is worth $2,578 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1990
The CPI-U averaged 130.7 in 1990, up 5.4% from 124 in 1989. From December 1989 to December 1990, prices rose 6.1%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1990 is number 25 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1990s, annual inflation averaged 3.0% a year. The highest rate was 5.4% in 1990 and the lowest 1.6% in 1998, so 1990 had the decade's highest inflation.
1990 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1990 money
If something cost $5 in 1990, the same buying power today is $12.89. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $38.79 bought in 1990, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $23,274 salary in 1990.
If your pay in 1990 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,578 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 1990 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1990 annual average (130.7): 336.94 ÷ 130.7 = 2.5780. Multiply any 1990 amount by 2.5780 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 1990 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1989 and $1 in 1991. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.