$100 in 1921 is worth $1,369 in 2017,
because prices increased 1269.4% over that period, an average of
2.76% a year.
$100 in 1921 has
the same buying power as
$1,369
in 2017
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1269.4%
Average inflation rate
2.76% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,369
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,269
CPI in 1921
17.9
CPI in 2017
245.12
Inflation in 1921
-10.50%
Inflation in 2017
2.13%
$100 in 1921 → 2017
$1,369
$100 in 2017 → 1921
$7.30
What happened to prices between 1921 and 2017
Between 1921 and 2017, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.9 to 245.12.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1269.4%, which works out to an average of
2.76% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1921 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2017: the 1921 dollar
lost 92.7% of its purchasing power over
these 96 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 2017 at the same ratio, 13.69: $1,000 becomes
$13,694, and $10,000 becomes $136,939.
Amount in 1921
Value in 2017
$1.00
$13.69
$5.00
$68.47
$10.00
$137
$20.00
$274
$50.00
$685
$100
$1,369
$500
$6,847
$1,000
$13,694
$5,000
$68,469
$10,000
$136,939
$100,000
$1,369,385
$1,000,000
$13,693,855
Inflation by spending category, 1921–2017
Between 1921 and 2017, food rose the most, up 1472.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 278.3%, against 1269.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1921
spending costs in 2017, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1921 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.76%
$1,369
Food
2.91%
$1,573
Apparel
1.40%
$378
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 2017
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 1921–2017 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
2010–2017
1.69%
12.4%
$1,369
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1921
$100 from 1921 had already become $226 by
1971, on its way to $1,369 in 2017; 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: 2017
In 2017, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 1921 had the buying
power of $1,369; the year's average CPI of 245.12 is the level
behind every 2017 figure on this page.
2017 pushed consumer prices back above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The
CPI rose 2.1%, the first reading over 2% in five years, helped by a rebound
in energy after OPEC’s output cuts and by a storm-related spike at the pump:
Hurricane Harvey shut a large part of Gulf Coast refining in late August.
Gasoline averaged $2.42 a gallon, up from $2.14 in 2016.
Household incomes kept rising. The median household income reached $61,372,
and the median new home sold for about $322,100. The federal minimum wage
stayed at $7.25, its eighth year at that level, and a first-class stamp rose
to 49 cents.
The Fed raised rates three times, to 1.25–1.50%, and in October began
letting its bond holdings shrink. Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
in December, lowering the corporate rate to 21%. Even with unemployment near
4%, core inflation stayed under 2%, a puzzle that shaped Fed debates for the
next two years.
MLA: “Inflation from 1921 to 2017: $100 is worth $1,369 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2017/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1921 to 2017. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1921-to-2017/