The world in 1990
What was a dollar worth in 1990?
If you were born in 1990, here's what your money could do — and how much it has changed since.
−59%
That's how much value the dollar has lost since 1990.
$1 back then is worth about $2.41 today.
$1 back then is worth about $2.41 today.
🍔 Same money, 1990 vs. today
The same money buys you one plate today — a burger, a coffee and a gallon of gas. Here's how many it bought in 1990.
vs
1990
2.6×
plates
$21 bought 2.6 full plates in 1990
Today
1×
plate
$21 buys just 1 plate now
💰 The full breakdown
What $1,000 bought in 1990 — vs. today.
Gallons of gas176% more back then
1990
862 gal
today
312 gal
Fast-food burger meals (est.)141% more back then
1990
403 meals
today
167 meals
Hours of min-wage work91% more back then
1990
263 hrs
today
138 hrs
Postage stamps192% more back then
1990
4,000 stamps
today
1,370 stamps
Gallons of milk150% more back then
1990
617 gal
today
247 gal
Pounds of coffee138% more back then
1990
366 lb
today
154 lb
🏠 And a home…
🏠A median home
×3.4 since 1990
Prices: U.S. BLS (CPI, milk, coffee) · EIA (gas) · DOL (minimum wage) · USPS (stamps) · Census (home). Burger meal estimated from inflation. Yearly averages.
Want your exact day?
See the history, the famous birthdays and the economy of the exact day you were born.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure here is a yearly average from public U.S. government data, free for anyone to use.
The dollar & inflation · BLS
The change in a dollar's value is the ratio of the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) then and now, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gas, homes & wages
Average retail gasoline price (U.S. EIA), median home sales price (U.S. Census Bureau) and the federal minimum wage (U.S. Dept. of Labor). All public domain.
For general informational and entertainment purposes only — not financial advice. Figures are yearly averages and rounded; actual prices varied by month and region.