$100 in 1921 is worth $1,341 in 2016,
because prices increased 1240.8% over that period, an average of
2.77% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$1,341
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1240.8%
Average inflation rate
2.77% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,341
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,241
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1921 → 2016
$1,341
$100 in 2016 → 1921
$7.46
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2016
Between 1921 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1240.8%, which works out to an average of
2.77% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2016: the 1921 dollar
lost 92.5% of its purchasing power over
these 95 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 2016 at the same ratio, 13.41: $1,000 becomes
$13,408, and $10,000 becomes $134,082.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2016
$1.00
$13.41
$5.00
$67.04
$10.00
$134
$20.00
$268
$50.00
$670
$100
$1,341
$500
$6,704
$1,000
$13,408
$5,000
$67,041
$10,000
$134,082
$100,000
$1,340,821
$1,000,000
$13,408,212
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2016
Between 1921 and 2016, food rose the most, up 1459.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 279.7%, against 1240.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.77%
$1,341
Food
2.93%
$1,559
Apparel
1.41%
$380
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 2016
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 1921–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$1,341
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $181 by
1966, on its way to $1,341 in 2016; 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: 2016
In 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $1,341; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2016: $100 is worth $1,341 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2016/