$100 in 1921 is worth $1,323 in 2014,
because prices increased 1222.5% over that period, an average of
2.82% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$1,323
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1222.5%
Average inflation rate
2.82% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,323
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,223
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1921 → 2014
$1,323
$100 in 2014 → 1921
$7.56
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2014
Between 1921 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1222.5%, which works out to an average of
2.82% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2014: the 1921 dollar
lost 92.4% of its purchasing power over
these 93 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 2014 at the same ratio, 13.23: $1,000 becomes
$13,225, and $10,000 becomes $132,255.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2014
$1.00
$13.23
$5.00
$66.13
$10.00
$132
$20.00
$265
$50.00
$661
$100
$1,323
$500
$6,613
$1,000
$13,225
$5,000
$66,127
$10,000
$132,255
$100,000
$1,322,547
$1,000,000
$13,225,475
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2014
Between 1921 and 2014, food rose the most, up 1426.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 284.1%, against 1222.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.82%
$1,323
Food
2.97%
$1,527
Apparel
1.46%
$384
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 2014
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 1921–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$1,323
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $181 by
1966, on its way to $1,323 in 2014; 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: 2014
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $1,323; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2014: $100 is worth $1,323 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2014/