$100 in 1921 is worth $1,218 in 2010,
because prices increased 1118.2% over that period, an average of
2.85% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$1,218
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1118.2%
Average inflation rate
2.85% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,218
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,118
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 1921 → 2010
$1,218
$100 in 2010 → 1921
$8.21
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2010
Between 1921 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1118.2%, which works out to an average of
2.85% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2010: the 1921 dollar
lost 91.8% of its purchasing power over
these 89 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 2010 at the same ratio, 12.18: $1,000 becomes
$12,182, and $10,000 becomes $121,819.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2010
$1.00
$12.18
$5.00
$60.91
$10.00
$122
$20.00
$244
$50.00
$609
$100
$1,218
$500
$6,091
$1,000
$12,182
$5,000
$60,909
$10,000
$121,819
$100,000
$1,218,190
$1,000,000
$12,181,899
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2010
Between 1921 and 2010, food rose the most, up 1281.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 259.9%, against 1118.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.85%
$1,218
Food
2.99%
$1,381
Apparel
1.45%
$360
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 2010
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 1921–2010 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,218
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $181 by
1966, on its way to $1,218 in 2010; 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: 2010
In 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $1,218; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2010: $100 is worth $1,218 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2010/