$100 in 1921 is worth $784 in 1992,
because prices increased 683.8% over that period, an average of
2.94% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$784
in 1992
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
683.8%
Average inflation rate
2.94% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$784
Price difference ($100 base)
$684
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 1992
140.3
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 1992
3.01%
$100 in 1921 → 1992
$784
$100 in 1992 → 1921
$12.76
What happened to prices between 1921 and 1992
Between 1921 and 1992, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 140.3.
Cumulatively, prices increased 683.8%, which works out to an average of
2.94% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.13 buys in 1992: the 1921 dollar
lost 87.2% of its purchasing power over
these 71 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 1992 at the same ratio, 7.84: $1,000 becomes
$7,838, and $10,000 becomes $78,380.
Amount in 1921
Value in 1992
$1.00
$7.84
$5.00
$39.19
$10.00
$78.38
$20.00
$157
$50.00
$392
$100
$784
$500
$3,919
$1,000
$7,838
$5,000
$39,190
$10,000
$78,380
$100,000
$783,799
$1,000,000
$7,837,989
Inflation by spending category, 1921–1992
Between 1921 and 1992, food rose the most, up 767.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 297.3%, against 683.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 1992, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.94%
$784
Food
3.09%
$867
Apparel
1.96%
$397
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–).
Decade by decade: 1921 to 1992
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1921–1992 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1921, at end
1921–1930
-0.77%
-6.7%
$93.30
1930–1940
-1.75%
-16.2%
$78.21
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$135
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$165
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$217
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$460
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$730
1990–1992
3.61%
7.3%
$784
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $152 by
1956, on its way to $784 in 1992; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 14.4% in 1947, and prices fell 9.9% in 1932, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 1992
In 1992, prices rose 3.0% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $784; the year's average CPI of 140.3 is the level
behind every 1992 figure on this page.
1992 was the year the recovery finally showed up in the numbers, if not yet in hiring. The
median household earned about $30,600, gas averaged $1.13 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly
$121,500. Inflation ran at 3.0% for the year, its calmest reading since the mid-1980s, as energy
prices stayed well below their 1990 peak and a slack labor market kept a lid on wages and prices
alike. The Federal Reserve kept cutting its policy rate through the year, reaching about 3% by
September, the lowest in decades, trying to jump-start hiring more than a year after the 1990-91
recession officially ended. The sluggish job market became the defining issue of the November
election, and Bill Clinton unseated incumbent George H.W. Bush, whose approval ratings had
fallen sharply from their post-Gulf War highs. In August, Hurricane Andrew tore through South
Florida, the costliest U.S. hurricane on record at the time, causing tens of billions of dollars
in damage and reshaping how insurers priced catastrophe risk for years afterward. Falling rates,
a costly hurricane, and an election fought over jobs defined a recovery that showed up in the
data well before it showed up in most paychecks.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 1992: $100 is worth $784 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-1992/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 1992. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-1992/