$100 in 1921 is worth $989 in 2001,
because prices increased 889.4% over that period, an average of
2.91% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$989
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
889.4%
Average inflation rate
2.91% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$989
Price difference ($100 base)
$889
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1921 → 2001
$989
$100 in 2001 → 1921
$10.11
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2001
Between 1921 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 889.4%, which works out to an average of
2.91% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.10 buys in 2001: the 1921 dollar
lost 89.9% of its purchasing power over
these 80 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 2001 at the same ratio, 9.89: $1,000 becomes
$9,894, and $10,000 becomes $98,939.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2001
$1.00
$9.89
$5.00
$49.47
$10.00
$98.94
$20.00
$198
$50.00
$495
$100
$989
$500
$4,947
$1,000
$9,894
$5,000
$49,469
$10,000
$98,939
$100,000
$989,385
$1,000,000
$9,893,855
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2001
Between 1921 and 2001, food rose the most, up 988.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 283.4%, against 889.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.91%
$989
Food
3.03%
$1,089
Apparel
1.69%
$383
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 2001
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 1921–2001 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
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$962
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$989
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $167 by
1961, on its way to $989 in 2001; 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: 2001
In 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $989; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2001: $100 is worth $989 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2001/