$100 in 1922 is worth $102 in 1928,
because prices increased 1.8% over that period, an average of
0.30% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$102
in 1928
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1.8%
Average inflation rate
0.30% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$102
Price difference ($100 base)
$1.79
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 1928
17.1
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
$100 in 1922 → 1928
$102
$100 in 1928 → 1922
$98.25
What happened to prices between 1922 and 1928
Between 1922 and 1928, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 17.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1.8%, which works out to an average of
0.30% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.98 buys in 1928: the 1922 dollar
lost 1.8% of its purchasing power over
these 6 years.
Consumer prices fell another 6.1% in 1922, the second straight year of
decline, even as the broader economy climbed out of the Depression of
1920-21 and industrial production rebounded. The CPI had now given back
roughly a third of its wartime runup, though it stayed well above the
1913 baseline. Congress moved to shield that recovery from
foreign competition: the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act, signed September 21,
raised duties on hundreds of imported goods to some of the highest levels in
U.S. history, a policy meant to protect farmers and manufacturers still
adjusting to postwar prices. Labor tension flared even as prices fell.
Roughly half a million bituminous coal miners struck that April over wage
cuts employers had imposed as prices dropped, and hundreds of thousands of
railroad shop workers walked out in July in a separate dispute over pay and
work rules, together the largest strike wave since 1919. Both disputes
dragged on for months and drew federal mediation before ending without full
concessions for the workers. First-class postage remained at 2 cents.
Every 1922 amount converts to 1928 at the same ratio, 1.02: $1,000 becomes
$1,018, and $10,000 becomes $10,179.
Amount in 1922
Value in 1928
$1.00
$1.02
$5.00
$5.09
$10.00
$10.18
$20.00
$20.36
$50.00
$50.89
$100
$102
$500
$509
$1,000
$1,018
$5,000
$5,089
$10,000
$10,179
$100,000
$101,786
$1,000,000
$1,017,857
Inflation by spending category, 1922–1928
Between 1922 and 1928, food rose the most, up 9.4%, while apparel fell 7.4%, against 1.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 1928, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
0.30%
$102
Food
1.51%
$109
Apparel
-1.27%
$92.59
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1922: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $104 by
1925, on its way to $102 in 1928; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 2.3% in 1925, and prices fell 1.7% in 1928, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 1928, prices fell 1.7% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $102; the year's average CPI of 17.1 is the level
behind every 1928 figure on this page.
Consumer prices fell 1.7% in 1928, the second straight year of mild decline
even as the stock market climbed sharply, a widening gap between asset
prices and the cost of living that later economists pointed to as an early
warning sign. The Federal Reserve tightened policy repeatedly over the year,
raising its discount rate in an effort to slow the flood of borrowed money
pouring into stock purchases without derailing the broader economy, a
balancing act it ultimately failed to manage. Herbert Hoover won the
presidential election that November, defeating Democrat Al Smith on a
platform built around continuing the prosperity of the Coolidge years; few
voters or policymakers anticipated how quickly that prosperity would end.
First-class postage remained at 2 cents, a price that had now held for nine
straight years.
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 1928: $100 is worth $102 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1928/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 1928. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1928/