$100 in 1921 is worth $95.53 in 1928,
because prices declined 4.5% over that period, an average of
0.65% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$95.53
in 1928
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
-4.5%
Average inflation rate
-0.65% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$95.53
Price difference ($100 base)
-$4.47
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 1928
17.1
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
$100 in 1921 → 1928
$95.53
$100 in 1928 → 1921
$105
What happened to prices between 1921 and 1928
Between 1921 and 1928, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 17.1.
Cumulatively, prices declined 4.5%, which works out to an average of
-0.65% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$1.05 buys in 1928: the 1921 dollar
gained 4.7% in purchasing power over
these 7 years.
Consumer prices fell 10.5% in 1921, the mirror image of the wartime
inflation that had more than doubled the cost of living between
1913 and 1920. The Depression of 1920-21, one
of the sharpest contractions in U.S. history, bottomed out that July
according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, even though it had
lasted barely eighteen months. Unemployment climbed toward one worker in ten
as businesses cut production and prices to work through wartime inventories,
but the same collapse in prices also meant the recovery, once it started,
had room to run without reigniting inflation. Warren Harding took office
March 4, promising a return to “normalcy” after a decade of war, pandemic,
labor unrest, and rapid price swings; his administration moved quickly to
cut top income tax rates and federal spending. Congress also acted on
immigration that year: the Emergency Quota Act, signed May 19, capped annual
arrivals from each country at 3% of that nationality’s population in the
1910 census, the first time the United States had set a numerical ceiling on
immigration. The law favored northern and western Europe and cut total
immigration by more than half compared with prewar levels; Congress
tightened the formula again in 1924. First-class postage held at 2 cents,
unchanged since mid-1919.
Every 1921 amount converts to 1928 at the same ratio, 0.96: $1,000 becomes
$955, and $10,000 becomes $9,553.
Amount in 1921
Value in 1928
$1.00
$0.96
$5.00
$4.78
$10.00
$9.55
$20.00
$19.11
$50.00
$47.77
$100
$95.53
$500
$478
$1,000
$955
$5,000
$4,777
$10,000
$9,553
$100,000
$95,531
$1,000,000
$955,307
Inflation by spending category, 1921–1928
Between 1921 and 1928, food rose the most, up 2.5%, while apparel fell 24.7%, against 4.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 1928, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
-0.65%
$95.53
Food
0.36%
$103
Apparel
-3.97%
$75.30
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1921: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $95.53 by
1924, on its way to $95.53 in 1928; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 2.3% in 1925, and prices fell 6.1% in 1922, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 1928, prices fell 1.7% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $95.53; the year's average CPI of 17.1 is the level
behind every 1928 figure on this page.
Consumer prices fell 1.7% in 1928, the second straight year of mild decline
even as the stock market climbed sharply, a widening gap between asset
prices and the cost of living that later economists pointed to as an early
warning sign. The Federal Reserve tightened policy repeatedly over the year,
raising its discount rate in an effort to slow the flood of borrowed money
pouring into stock purchases without derailing the broader economy, a
balancing act it ultimately failed to manage. Herbert Hoover won the
presidential election that November, defeating Democrat Al Smith on a
platform built around continuing the prosperity of the Coolidge years; few
voters or policymakers anticipated how quickly that prosperity would end.
First-class postage remained at 2 cents, a price that had now held for nine
straight years.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 1928: $100 is worth $95.53 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-1928/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 1928. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-1928/