What is $1 from 1998 worth today?
$1 in 1998 is worth $2.07 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 107% since 1998, an average of 2.61% a year over 28 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.0 times, and a dollar today buys 48.4% of what it bought in 1998.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1998 is worth $41.34, $100 is worth $206.71 and $1,000 is worth $2,067 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1998
The CPI-U averaged 163 in 1998, up 1.6% from 160.5 in 1997. From December 1997 to December 1998, prices rose 1.6%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1998 is number 79 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 1998 had the decade's lowest inflation.
1998 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1998 money
If something cost $5 in 1998, the same buying power today is $10.34. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $48.38 bought in 1998, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $29,026 salary in 1998.
If your pay in 1998 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,067 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 1998 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1998 annual average (163): 336.94 ÷ 163 = 2.0671. Multiply any 1998 amount by 2.0671 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 1998 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1997 and $1 in 1999. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.