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Long-term price trends for computers, TVs, and related items

October 13, 2015

Have you bought a TV or computer recently? If so, you may have noticed their prices have steeply decreased over the years, while their quality continues to improve. From December 1997 to August 2015, the Consumer Price Index for personal computers and peripheral equipment declined 96 percent. Most of the decline in this index occurred between 1998 and 2003. The price index for TVs decreased 94 percent from December 1997 to August 2015. This decline was more gradual than the decline in the price index for personal computers.

Consumer price indexes for televisions, computers, software, and related items, not seasonally adjusted, December 1997–August 2015
(December 1997 = 100)
Month All items Televisions Cable and satellite television and radio service Personal computers and peripheral equipment Computer software and accessories Internet services and electronic information providers Audio equipment Photographic equipment and supplies

Dec 1997

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Jan 1998

100.2 99.8 101.8 96.9 97.1 100.2 99.4 99.9

Feb 1998

100.4 100.2 103.5 91.3 97.2 100.2 98.3 99.0

Mar 1998

100.6 100.7 103.6 88.7 98.3 100.2 98.8 100.1

Apr 1998

100.7 100.3 103.9 86.6 97.9 101.3 98.3 99.7

May 1998

100.9 99.5 104.3 82.7 97.1 103.4 97.3 100.1

Jun 1998

101.1 98.8 105.0 80.0 97.2 103.6 96.3 99.8

Jul 1998

101.2 98.5 105.5 75.2 98.2 103.6 95.8 98.7

Aug 1998

101.3 98.0 106.0 71.1 95.4 103.6 95.2 99.2

Sep 1998

101.4 97.2 106.4 68.5 94.7 103.4 95.5 99.7

Oct 1998

101.7 96.3 106.2 67.5 92.7 103.4 95.2 99.6

Nov 1998

101.7 96.0 106.5 65.6 90.0 103.3 93.4 98.7

Dec 1998

101.6 95.2 106.9 64.2 90.0 103.3 92.6 96.8

Jan 1999

101.9 94.7 107.6 61.4 88.2 103.3 96.5 97.3

Feb 1999

102.0 94.2 108.5 59.7 88.6 103.3 95.5 98.3

Mar 1999

102.3 93.9 108.4 57.6 89.0 103.3 95.4 97.6

Apr 1999

103.0 92.9 108.4 56.8 87.7 103.4 94.8 97.0

May 1999

103.0 91.4 108.8 55.7 87.3 77.5 93.4 96.6

Jun 1999

103.0 91.0 108.9 54.5 87.1 53.5 92.5 97.2

Jul 1999

103.3 90.5 109.3 52.9 89.3 79.4 92.1 98.1

Aug 1999

103.6 90.5 109.7 50.9 89.1 99.0 91.4 98.0

Sep 1999

104.1 89.7 109.2 49.7 88.7 96.2 89.7 96.8

Oct 1999

104.3 89.2 109.4 48.2 89.4 96.0 89.4 96.5

Nov 1999

104.3 88.5 109.6 47.0 88.3 96.0 89.5 97.1

Dec 1999

104.3 88.2 109.9 47.2 88.2 96.0 89.0 96.0

Jan 2000

104.6 87.4 111.4 46.4 87.9 96.1 89.3 94.8

Feb 2000

105.3 86.7 112.7 45.1 87.6 97.6 88.1 95.5

Mar 2000

106.1 86.4 113.4 44.2 87.1 97.9 87.0 96.6

Apr 2000

106.2 85.4 113.4 42.7 87.4 97.9 86.4 95.6

May 2000

106.3 84.6 113.5 42.4 86.9 97.4 94.6 93.1

Jun 2000

106.9 83.9 114.2 41.2 86.1 95.7 93.8 93.4

Jul 2000

107.1 81.9 114.4 40.3 85.3 95.7 93.2 94.0

Aug 2000

107.1 81.1 115.2 39.5 85.2 95.6 92.5 93.9

Sep 2000

107.7 80.2 115.3 38.9 85.4 95.5 91.6 93.9

Oct 2000

107.9 79.6 115.6 38.3 82.5 95.7 91.4 93.7

Nov 2000

107.9 79.4 115.8 37.3 82.3 95.8 90.4 94.0

Dec 2000

107.9 78.7 115.6 36.5 81.5 95.7 89.8 93.3

Jan 2001

108.6 79.1 116.7 35.0 80.0 95.5 89.6 93.0

Feb 2001

109.0 78.7 117.9 33.9 80.1 95.9 89.4 93.2

Mar 2001

109.2 77.7 118.6 32.4 80.2 95.9 88.3 93.0

Apr 2001

109.7 76.9 118.9 31.7 79.6 95.9 87.9 92.8

May 2001

110.2 75.7 119.1 30.4 79.4 95.8 87.9 92.4

Jun 2001

110.4 74.1 119.0 29.8 78.6 96.6 85.7 92.5

Jul 2001

110.0 73.8 119.7 29.3 79.0 99.1 86.2 92.5

Aug 2001

110.0 72.8 120.0 27.8 79.1 100.8 86.1 91.6

Sep 2001

110.5 71.9 119.7 26.7 77.7 100.2 87.0 92.0

Oct 2001

110.2 71.1 120.0 26.4 77.0 100.3 86.9 92.3

Nov 2001

110.0 70.8 120.2 25.8 79.1 100.4 86.8 92.1

Dec 2001

109.5 70.3 120.2 25.3 79.5 100.3 85.9 91.3

Jan 2002

109.8 70.4 122.3 24.6 77.3 98.2 85.7 91.3

Feb 2002

110.2 70.4 124.3 23.9 76.9 97.9 85.1 91.3

Mar 2002

110.8 69.8 124.7 23.1 76.3 98.2 85.0 90.7

Apr 2002

111.5 68.9 125.3 22.9 76.6 98.1 84.5 89.7

May 2002

111.5 68.3 125.6 23.0 74.7 96.3 83.6 88.8

Jun 2002

111.5 67.4 126.5 22.6 74.3 98.1 82.7 88.5

Jul 2002

111.7 65.9 127.3 22.3 73.6 100.3 81.3 88.2

Aug 2002

112.0 64.8 126.9 22.0 73.3 100.1 80.8 87.6

Sep 2002

112.2 64.0 126.9 21.1 71.4 100.2 81.8 87.1

Oct 2002

112.4 63.6 127.9 20.7 71.2 99.9 81.6 87.0

Nov 2002

112.4 63.3 128.6 20.0 71.1 99.9 81.8 86.2

Dec 2002

112.2 62.8 129.0 19.7 71.0 99.6 82.0 85.6

Jan 2003

112.6 62.1 130.0 19.5 71.2 99.7 81.1 86.3

Feb 2003

113.5 62.0 131.0 19.1 70.8 99.8 80.9 86.1

Mar 2003

114.2 61.3 131.3 19.0 70.2 100.0 80.1 85.8

Apr 2003

113.9 60.5 131.6 18.7 69.6 100.3 79.1 84.6

May 2003

113.8 59.1 132.3 18.0 68.5 100.2 79.4 84.6

Jun 2003

113.9 58.1 132.9 17.5 67.7 101.0 78.7 84.6

Jul 2003

114.0 57.3 133.3 17.2 66.8 99.7 77.3 83.7

Aug 2003

114.4 56.0 133.3 16.7 65.5 100.0 77.4 83.7

Sep 2003

114.8 55.3 133.1 16.3 65.5 100.8 76.6 83.1

Oct 2003

114.7 54.8 133.5 16.5 65.0 100.6 76.9 82.6

Nov 2003

114.4 54.5 134.0 16.3 64.0 98.0 78.4 82.2

Dec 2003

114.3 53.8 133.8 16.2 64.1 97.6 77.6 80.7

Jan 2004

114.8 53.2 134.9 16.2 63.8 98.3 76.7 80.7

Feb 2004

115.4 52.7 136.3 16.0 63.3 98.3 76.0 79.9

Mar 2004

116.2 52.2 136.8 15.8 62.8 98.7 75.9 79.7

Apr 2004

116.6 51.5 138.0 15.9 63.2 96.1 75.6 77.9

May 2004

117.2 50.3 138.3 15.7 63.0 95.6 75.9 78.0

Jun 2004

117.6 49.5 138.4 15.5 62.5 97.2 75.1 77.6

Jul 2004

117.4 48.8 138.7 15.3 62.5 97.3 74.4 77.5

Aug 2004

117.5 48.7 138.7 15.1 62.6 97.6 73.4 77.5

Sep 2004

117.7 48.5 138.8 15.0 61.6 97.4 73.4 77.3

Oct 2004

118.4 48.3 139.0 14.6 61.5 97.4 73.6 76.5

Nov 2004

118.4 47.5 139.0 14.2 61.3 97.2 73.0 75.9

Dec 2004

118.0 47.2 139.2 13.9 61.1 97.2 72.4 75.0

Jan 2005

118.2 47.0 140.3 14.0 60.7 97.2 71.0 74.4

Feb 2005

118.9 46.5 140.8 13.5 60.3 96.9 70.7 74.9

Mar 2005

119.8 46.2 141.8 13.4 59.6 96.7 70.2 74.3

Apr 2005

120.6 45.8 142.3 13.4 59.1 96.6 70.4 74.2

May 2005

120.5 45.8 142.3 13.2 58.7 96.5 69.2 74.2

Jun 2005

120.6 44.9 139.9 13.0 58.4 95.4 68.6 74.0

Jul 2005

121.1 44.2 140.2 12.8 58.5 95.6 67.5 73.1

Aug 2005

121.8 43.2 143.1 12.4 58.5 95.1 67.2 73.2

Sep 2005

123.2 42.7 143.2 12.3 58.3 94.9 67.6 73.1

Oct 2005

123.5 42.0 143.6 12.2 58.3 94.9 66.9 72.6

Nov 2005

122.5 40.7 143.6 12.0 58.4 94.2 66.6 72.5

Dec 2005

122.0 40.4 143.8 11.7 58.5 94.5 66.1 71.3

Jan 2006

122.9 40.5 144.3 11.6 57.8 94.5 65.3 71.6

Feb 2006

123.2 40.2 144.9 11.5 57.3 94.5 64.8 71.3

Mar 2006

123.9 40.5 146.8 11.4 56.6 95.8 65.3 70.3

Apr 2006

124.9 40.2 148.2 11.1 56.0 96.6 65.3 69.6

May 2006

125.5 39.4 148.2 10.8 55.7 96.8 65.8 68.6

Jun 2006

125.8 37.9 148.4 10.7 55.1 97.4 65.6 68.1

Jul 2006

126.2 37.2 148.5 10.6 55.1 97.3 65.4 67.7

Aug 2006

126.4 36.2 148.7 10.6 54.5 94.7 65.2 67.2

Sep 2006

125.8 35.2 148.8 10.5 54.5 93.1 64.1 66.7

Oct 2006

125.1 34.2 148.5 10.4 54.0 87.0 64.0 66.3

Nov 2006

124.9 32.2 148.6 10.3 53.8 81.1 64.4 64.9

Dec 2006

125.1 31.2 147.6 10.3 54.2 77.2 63.2 63.4

Jan 2007

125.5 30.7 148.1 10.3 54.1 73.4 62.8 62.6

Feb 2007

126.2 30.6 149.1 10.2 54.0 73.3 62.4 61.9

Mar 2007

127.3 30.1 149.1 10.2 53.7 73.5 62.5 61.3

Apr 2007

128.1 29.8 150.1 10.2 53.2 73.9 61.9 60.5

May 2007

128.9 28.8 151.2 10.0 53.4 74.0 61.3 60.8

Jun 2007

129.2 28.5 151.2 9.7 53.2 73.1 60.5 60.9

Jul 2007

129.1 27.7 150.5 9.6 52.4 72.9 61.2 60.7

Aug 2007

128.9 26.8 150.3 9.5 51.0 73.1 60.8 61.4

Sep 2007

129.3 26.5 151.3 9.5 51.6 73.3 60.1 61.2

Oct 2007

129.5 26.6 152.0 9.3 51.5 72.8 60.5 60.6

Nov 2007

130.3 26.1 151.4 8.9 51.5 72.6 60.5 59.9

Dec 2007

130.2 25.5 151.3 8.9 50.7 73.2 60.2 59.0

Jan 2008

130.9 25.2 152.1 9.0 50.9 72.9 59.8 58.6

Feb 2008

131.2 24.9 153.2 9.0 51.2 73.3 59.8 58.5

Mar 2008

132.4 24.6 154.4 9.0 50.8 73.2 58.7 57.5

Apr 2008

133.2 24.7 154.7 8.8 50.9 73.0 57.8 56.8

May 2008

134.3 24.0 154.5 8.7 50.9 73.2 57.9 57.0

Jun 2008

135.7 23.5 153.6 8.5 50.6 73.5 57.5 56.9

Jul 2008

136.4 23.2 153.7 8.5 50.5 74.3 57.6 56.7

Aug 2008

135.8 22.9 154.9 8.3 50.4 74.3 57.8 57.0

Sep 2008

135.6 22.3 155.3 8.1 50.2 74.1 58.3 57.7

Oct 2008

134.3 21.8 154.4 8.0 50.7 74.2 59.4 56.8

Nov 2008

131.7 21.2 154.2 8.0 50.5 75.0 58.2 56.3

Dec 2008

130.3 20.6 154.0 7.9 50.2 75.9 57.3 55.4

Jan 2009

130.9 20.0 154.3 7.9 50.5 76.3 56.7 55.2

Feb 2009

131.6 19.7 155.9 7.8 50.6 76.9 56.2 54.7

Mar 2009

131.9 19.4 157.0 7.7 50.5 77.0 56.0 54.5

Apr 2009

132.2 19.4 157.5 7.7 50.7 77.5 55.4 54.8

May 2009

132.6 18.6 157.6 7.5 50.3 76.8 55.7 55.2

Jun 2009

133.7 18.0 158.3 7.5 50.3 76.8 55.3 55.1

Jul 2009

133.5 17.4 158.4 7.2 50.0 76.7 55.1 55.9

Aug 2009

133.8 17.0 158.4 7.0 49.7 76.6 54.9 55.7

Sep 2009

133.9 16.2 158.1 7.0 48.7 76.4 54.7 56.3

Oct 2009

134.0 15.4 157.4 7.0 49.5 76.1 54.8 55.3

Nov 2009

134.1 15.3 157.6 7.0 49.6 75.7 54.8 54.6

Dec 2009

133.9 14.9 157.6 7.0 48.9 75.6 54.5 54.2

Jan 2010

134.3 14.5 158.8 7.0 49.0 76.0 54.1 54.3

Feb 2010

134.4 13.9 158.7 7.0 49.3 77.5 54.4 54.0

Mar 2010

134.9 13.9 159.2 7.0 48.6 77.7 54.1 53.6

Apr 2010

135.2 14.0 159.4 7.0 47.7 77.6 54.0 53.1

May 2010

135.3 13.6 159.2 6.9 47.2 77.6 53.7 52.8

Jun 2010

135.1 13.5 160.5 6.8 46.0 77.5 53.5 53.0

Jul 2010

135.2 13.2 160.0 6.8 44.8 77.2 53.5 52.7

Aug 2010

135.3 12.9 159.6 6.8 45.1 77.1 53.4 51.7

Sep 2010

135.4 12.7 159.6 6.8 45.2 76.8 53.4 51.3

Oct 2010

135.6 12.5 159.9 6.7 45.2 76.5 53.3 50.9

Nov 2010

135.6 12.3 159.9 6.7 45.0 76.6 52.9 49.9

Dec 2010

135.9 12.1 158.0 6.6 43.8 76.4 52.3 48.6

Jan 2011

136.5 11.9 158.8 6.5 44.0 76.0 52.2 48.6

Feb 2011

137.2 11.8 160.7 6.5 44.0 76.4 52.1 48.6

Mar 2011

138.5 11.8 161.5 6.4 43.5 76.8 51.9 49.3

Apr 2011

139.4 11.7 162.1 6.4 43.3 76.6 51.9 50.6

May 2011

140.1 11.3 162.4 6.3 42.9 76.1 51.4 51.1

Jun 2011

139.9 11.2 162.1 6.2 42.9 76.3 50.7 50.4

Jul 2011

140.1 11.0 162.7 6.1 42.8 76.4 51.3 50.7

Aug 2011

140.4 10.7 162.3 6.0 42.9 76.5 51.1 50.6

Sep 2011

140.7 10.5 163.2 5.9 42.7 76.4 51.0 50.1

Oct 2011

140.4 10.3 163.4 5.9 42.1 76.2 50.4 50.3

Nov 2011

140.3 10.1 163.5 5.9 42.5 75.9 49.9 49.7

Dec 2011

139.9 10.0 164.0 5.8 43.2 76.0 49.1 48.6

Jan 2012

140.5 9.9 165.3 5.8 43.1 76.5 49.3 48.1

Feb 2012

141.1 9.8 167.1 5.8 42.4 76.6 48.9 48.5

Mar 2012

142.2 9.6 168.6 5.7 42.0 76.9 48.6 48.1

Apr 2012

142.6 9.4 169.2 5.7 41.8 77.4 47.9 48.9

May 2012

142.5 9.3 169.8 5.7 41.8 77.7 47.0 48.4

Jun 2012

142.3 9.0 170.0 5.7 41.0 77.3 47.1 48.3

Jul 2012

142.0 8.8 170.4 5.6 40.7 76.9 47.4 48.8

Aug 2012

142.8 8.7 170.9 5.5 39.8 75.9 47.4 48.6

Sep 2012

143.5 8.6 171.2 5.4 39.5 75.8 47.2 48.8

Oct 2012

143.4 8.4 170.0 5.4 39.4 75.6 46.9 47.6

Nov 2012

142.7 8.3 170.0 5.3 40.0 75.6 46.6 46.9

Dec 2012

142.3 8.3 169.9 5.3 40.1 75.8 46.0 44.9

Jan 2013

142.8 8.2 170.8 5.3 39.7 76.1 46.6 44.2

Feb 2013

143.9 8.1 172.8 5.3 39.9 77.1 46.9 45.7

Mar 2013

144.3 8.0 174.1 5.2 39.3 78.2 45.5 46.8

Apr 2013

144.2 7.8 174.3 5.2 38.7 77.9 45.0 46.1

May 2013

144.4 7.8 174.5 5.1 38.5 77.6 44.9 46.2

Jun 2013

144.8 7.7 174.3 5.1 38.5 77.3 44.5 45.6

Jul 2013

144.8 7.5 174.5 5.0 38.3 76.7 45.0 44.8

Aug 2013

145.0 7.4 174.4 5.0 37.9 77.0 44.9 45.5

Sep 2013

145.2 7.3 174.6 5.0 38.3 77.3 44.9 44.9

Oct 2013

144.8 7.2 174.5 4.9 38.5 77.2 44.6 44.3

Nov 2013

144.5 7.2 175.0 4.9 37.9 77.0 45.0 44.0

Dec 2013

144.5 7.1 174.5 4.9 37.2 76.9 44.3 43.1

Jan 2014

145.0 7.1 175.4 4.9 37.3 76.9 44.6 43.4

Feb 2014

145.6 7.1 176.8 4.9 37.0 77.4 45.1 43.1

Mar 2014

146.5 7.0 178.4 4.9 36.7 77.8 44.2 43.8

Apr 2014

147.0 6.9 178.8 4.9 36.7 78.1 43.9 44.8

May 2014

147.5 6.7 179.1 4.8 36.6 78.1 44.0 44.9

Jun 2014

147.8 6.6 179.3 4.8 36.9 78.3 43.4 44.5

Jul 2014

147.7 6.4 179.0 4.7 37.3 78.4 42.6 44.0

Aug 2014

147.5 6.3 177.7 4.6 37.4 78.3 42.3 45.1

Sep 2014

147.6 6.3 178.1 4.6 37.0 78.3 41.8 45.2

Oct 2014

147.2 6.2 178.7 4.6 37.1 78.5 41.8 44.2

Nov 2014

146.4 6.0 178.2 4.5 37.3 78.4 41.3 43.6

Dec 2014

145.6 5.9 178.3 4.4 36.8 78.2 41.0 42.1

Jan 2015

144.9 5.9 179.0 4.4 36.6 78.3 41.1 41.6

Feb 2015

145.5 5.9 180.3 4.4 36.6 78.3 41.3 41.6

Mar 2015

146.4 5.9 181.2 4.4 36.9 78.8 40.9 41.4

Apr 2015

146.7 5.8 181.9 4.4 36.8 79.0 41.0 41.5

May 2015

147.4 5.8 181.3 4.3 37.2 78.1 40.9 41.1

Jun 2015

147.9 5.8 181.4 4.3 36.9 77.9 40.5 41.1

Jul 2015

148.0 5.6 181.4 4.3 36.4 76.9 40.5 41.4

Aug 2015

147.7 5.5 180.5 4.2 36.8 76.0 40.4 41.5

In contrast to TVs, the price index for cable and satellite television and radio service increased 80 percent from December 1997 to August 2015. The price index for Internet services decreased about 25 percent from June 2006 to February 2007; since then the index has changed little.

The price indexes for photographic equipment and supplies (−59 percent), audio equipment (−60 percent), and computer software (−63 percent) all declined from December 1997 to August 2015.

These data are from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program. The CPI adjusts prices to account for changes in the quality of consumer electronics and other items. These adjustments reflect innovation and technological changes in the items.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Long-term price trends for computers, TVs, and related items at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/long-term-price-trends-for-computers-tvs-and-related-items.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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