Inflation by year
What $100 in 1940 is worth today
$100 in 1940 has the same buying power as $2,392.71 in August 2026. Prices have risen 2,292.7% since, an average of 3.76% a year.
Against the 2025 annual average instead of the latest month, it is $2,299.59.
Convert any amount from 1940
$100.00 in 1940 is worth
$2,392.71
in August 2026 — the same buying power
$2,292.71 more
Geometric mean over the period
It buys what this amount bought in 1940
The index behind it
Your amount multiplied by this ratio gives the answer
Annual averages of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, 1982–84 = 100, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026 has no annual average yet, so it uses August 2026, the latest month published.
What got more expensive
The headline rate averages things that behaved nothing like each other. Categories are published as annual averages only, so this compares 1940 with 2025, the last complete year.
| Category | Total change | A year |
|---|---|---|
| All items— the headline rate | +2,199.6% | 3.76% |
| Medical care | +5,477.9% | 4.84% |
| Transportation | +1,816.3% | 3.54% |
| Apparel | +502.3% | 2.14% |
Each category is measured against itself over the same years. The indices use different base periods, so their levels are not comparable with each other — only their changes are, which is all this shows. Not shown, because BLS began the series later than 1940: food and beverages (from 1967), housing (from 1967), recreation (from 1993), education and communication (from 1993), other goods and services (from 1967).
- Warning: Over spans this long, the CPI basket itself has changed enormously. The ratio is arithmetically correct but comparing living standards across many decades is a much weaker claim than the number suggests.
- Note: Based on CPI-U: 14 (1940 annual average) and 334.98 (August 2026, the latest month published), 1982–84 = 100.
1940 dollars in today’s money
| In 1940 | In August 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $23.93 |
| $5.00 | $119.64 |
| $10.00 | $239.27 |
| $20.00 | $478.54 |
| $50.00 | $1,196.36 |
| $100.00 | $2,392.71 |
| $500.00 | $11,963.57 |
| $1,000.00 | $23,927.14 |
| $5,000.00 | $119,635.71 |
| $10,000.00 | $239,271.43 |
| $100,000.00 | $2,392,714.29 |
Every row is the 1940 amount multiplied by the same ratio: CPI-U of 334.980 in August 2026 divided by 14.000, the 1940 annual average — 23.9271. Put the other way, a dollar today buys what $0.04 bought in 1940.
Inflation in 1940
Prices rose 0.7% between the 1939 and 1940 annual averages. Of the 112 years with a measured rate, from 1914 to 2025, that ranks 95th from the highest.
Prices first stood at double their 1940 level in 1957, 17 years later.
The 1940s, year by year
Across 1940–1949, prices rose in 9 of the 10 years with a measured change, fell in 1. The sharpest rise was 14.4% in 1947. The steepest fall was 1.2% in 1949.
| Year | CPI-U | Change on the year before |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 14.000 | +0.7% |
| 1941 | 14.700 | +5.0% |
| 1942 | 16.300 | +10.9% |
| 1943 | 17.300 | +6.1% |
| 1944 | 17.600 | +1.7% |
| 1945 | 18.000 | +2.3% |
| 1946 | 19.500 | +8.3% |
| 1947 | 22.300 | +14.4% |
| 1948 | 24.100 | +8.1% |
| 1949 | 23.800 | −1.2% |
$100 from 1940, in every year since
Every year since 1940
| Year | $100 from 1940 | CPI-U | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | $100.00 | 14.000 | +0.7% |
| 1941 | $105.00 | 14.700 | +5.0% |
| 1942 | $116.43 | 16.300 | +10.9% |
| 1943 | $123.57 | 17.300 | +6.1% |
| 1944 | $125.71 | 17.600 | +1.7% |
| 1945 | $128.57 | 18.000 | +2.3% |
| 1946 | $139.29 | 19.500 | +8.3% |
| 1947 | $159.29 | 22.300 | +14.4% |
| 1948 | $172.14 | 24.100 | +8.1% |
| 1949 | $170.00 | 23.800 | −1.2% |
| 1950 | $172.14 | 24.100 | +1.3% |
| 1951 | $185.71 | 26.000 | +7.9% |
| 1952 | $189.29 | 26.500 | +1.9% |
| 1953 | $190.71 | 26.700 | +0.8% |
| 1954 | $192.14 | 26.900 | +0.7% |
| 1955 | $191.43 | 26.800 | −0.4% |
| 1956 | $194.29 | 27.200 | +1.5% |
| 1957 | $200.71 | 28.100 | +3.3% |
| 1958 | $206.43 | 28.900 | +2.8% |
| 1959 | $207.86 | 29.100 | +0.7% |
| 1960 | $211.43 | 29.600 | +1.7% |
| 1961 | $213.57 | 29.900 | +1.0% |
| 1962 | $215.71 | 30.200 | +1.0% |
| 1963 | $218.57 | 30.600 | +1.3% |
| 1964 | $221.43 | 31.000 | +1.3% |
| 1965 | $225.00 | 31.500 | +1.6% |
| 1966 | $231.43 | 32.400 | +2.9% |
| 1967 | $238.57 | 33.400 | +3.1% |
| 1968 | $248.57 | 34.800 | +4.2% |
| 1969 | $262.14 | 36.700 | +5.5% |
| 1970 | $277.14 | 38.800 | +5.7% |
| 1971 | $289.29 | 40.500 | +4.4% |
| 1972 | $298.57 | 41.800 | +3.2% |
| 1973 | $317.14 | 44.400 | +6.2% |
| 1974 | $352.14 | 49.300 | +11.0% |
| 1975 | $384.29 | 53.800 | +9.1% |
| 1976 | $406.43 | 56.900 | +5.8% |
| 1977 | $432.86 | 60.600 | +6.5% |
| 1978 | $465.71 | 65.200 | +7.6% |
| 1979 | $518.57 | 72.600 | +11.3% |
| 1980 | $588.57 | 82.400 | +13.5% |
| 1981 | $649.29 | 90.900 | +10.3% |
| 1982 | $689.29 | 96.500 | +6.2% |
| 1983 | $711.43 | 99.600 | +3.2% |
| 1984 | $742.14 | 103.900 | +4.3% |
| 1985 | $768.57 | 107.600 | +3.6% |
| 1986 | $782.86 | 109.600 | +1.9% |
| 1987 | $811.43 | 113.600 | +3.6% |
| 1988 | $845.00 | 118.300 | +4.1% |
| 1989 | $885.71 | 124.000 | +4.8% |
| 1990 | $933.57 | 130.700 | +5.4% |
| 1991 | $972.86 | 136.200 | +4.2% |
| 1992 | $1,002.14 | 140.300 | +3.0% |
| 1993 | $1,032.14 | 144.500 | +3.0% |
| 1994 | $1,058.57 | 148.200 | +2.6% |
| 1995 | $1,088.57 | 152.400 | +2.8% |
| 1996 | $1,120.71 | 156.900 | +3.0% |
| 1997 | $1,146.43 | 160.500 | +2.3% |
| 1998 | $1,164.29 | 163.000 | +1.6% |
| 1999 | $1,190.00 | 166.600 | +2.2% |
| 2000 | $1,230.00 | 172.200 | +3.4% |
| 2001 | $1,265.00 | 177.100 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | $1,285.00 | 179.900 | +1.6% |
| 2003 | $1,314.29 | 184.000 | +2.3% |
| 2004 | $1,349.29 | 188.900 | +2.7% |
| 2005 | $1,395.00 | 195.300 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | $1,440.00 | 201.600 | +3.2% |
| 2007 | $1,481.01 | 207.342 | +2.8% |
| 2008 | $1,537.88 | 215.303 | +3.8% |
| 2009 | $1,532.41 | 214.537 | −0.4% |
| 2010 | $1,557.54 | 218.056 | +1.6% |
| 2011 | $1,606.71 | 224.939 | +3.2% |
| 2012 | $1,639.96 | 229.594 | +2.1% |
| 2013 | $1,663.98 | 232.957 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | $1,690.97 | 236.736 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | $1,692.98 | 237.017 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | $1,714.34 | 240.007 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | $1,750.86 | 245.120 | +2.1% |
| 2018 | $1,793.62 | 251.107 | +2.4% |
| 2019 | $1,826.12 | 255.657 | +1.8% |
| 2020 | $1,848.65 | 258.811 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | $1,935.50 | 270.970 | +4.7% |
| 2022 | $2,090.39 | 292.655 | +8.0% |
| 2023 | $2,176.44 | 304.702 | +4.1% |
| 2024 | $2,240.64 | 313.689 | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $2,299.59 | 321.943 | +2.6% |
| August 2026 | $2,392.71 | 334.980 | — |
The first row is 1940 itself, where $100 is still $100. Each later row is that year’s CPI-U divided by 14.000, multiplied by $100 — the same arithmetic as the calculator above, applied once a year.
What got more expensive since 1940
The headline figure above averages things that moved very differently. Medical care and housing have outrun the index for decades; clothing has barely moved. If inflation has never matched your own experience, this is why — your basket is not the average basket.
| Category | Total change | A year |
|---|---|---|
| All items— the headline rate | +2,199.6% | 3.76% |
| Medical care | +5,477.9% | 4.84% |
| Transportation | +1,816.3% | 3.54% |
| Apparel | +502.3% | 2.14% |
Each category is measured against itself over the same years. The indices use different base periods, so their levels are not comparable with each other — only their changes are, which is all this shows. Not shown, because BLS began the series later than 1940: food and beverages (from 1967), housing (from 1967), recreation (from 1993), education and communication (from 1993), other goods and services (from 1967).
What this cannot tell you
CPI is a national average, and your own prices will differ. Housing, healthcare and education have risen much faster than the index as a whole, and some goods — electronics above all — have become far cheaper.
It does not capture regional differences. A dollar in 1940 went further in some places than others, and still does.
The basket itself has changed. People in 1940 did not buy what people buy now, so the ratio is exact arithmetic on a comparison that is looser than a single number suggests, and more so over a span this long.
August 2026 is one month, not a year. Monthly figures carry some seasonal movement, so this headline shifts slightly each month until BLS publishes the full-year average.
Other years
Source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (series CUUR0000SA0). Annual averages for complete years, and the latest monthly value for the current one. The data is checked against BLS every month and was last updated on .