$100 in 1921 is worth $1,203 in 2008,
because prices increased 1102.8% over that period, an average of
2.90% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$1,203
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1102.8%
Average inflation rate
2.90% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,203
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,103
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1921 → 2008
$1,203
$100 in 2008 → 1921
$8.31
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2008
Between 1921 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1102.8%, which works out to an average of
2.90% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2008: the 1921 dollar
lost 91.7% of its purchasing power over
these 87 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 2008 at the same ratio, 12.03: $1,000 becomes
$12,028, and $10,000 becomes $120,281.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2008
$1.00
$12.03
$5.00
$60.14
$10.00
$120
$20.00
$241
$50.00
$601
$100
$1,203
$500
$6,014
$1,000
$12,028
$5,000
$60,141
$10,000
$120,281
$100,000
$1,202,810
$1,000,000
$12,028,101
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2008
Between 1921 and 2008, food rose the most, up 1246.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 258.2%, against 1102.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.90%
$1,203
Food
3.03%
$1,347
Apparel
1.48%
$358
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 2008
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 1921–2008 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
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$1,203
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $181 by
1966, on its way to $1,203 in 2008; 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: 2008
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $1,203; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2008: $100 is worth $1,203 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2008/