$100 in 1922 is worth $361 in 1977,
because prices increased 260.7% over that period, an average of
2.36% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$361
in 1977
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
260.7%
Average inflation rate
2.36% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$361
Price difference ($100 base)
$261
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 1977
60.6
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 1977
6.50%
$100 in 1922 → 1977
$361
$100 in 1977 → 1922
$27.72
What happened to prices between 1922 and 1977
Between 1922 and 1977, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 60.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 260.7%, which works out to an average of
2.36% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.28 buys in 1977: the 1922 dollar
lost 72.3% of its purchasing power over
these 55 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 1977 at the same ratio, 3.61: $1,000 becomes
$3,607, and $10,000 becomes $36,071.
Amount in 1922
Value in 1977
$1.00
$3.61
$5.00
$18.04
$10.00
$36.07
$20.00
$72.14
$50.00
$180
$100
$361
$500
$1,804
$1,000
$3,607
$5,000
$18,036
$10,000
$36,071
$100,000
$360,714
$1,000,000
$3,607,143
Inflation by spending category, 1922–1977
Between 1922 and 1977, food rose the most, up 339.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 191.1%, against 260.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 1977, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.36%
$361
Food
2.73%
$440
Apparel
1.96%
$291
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–).
Decade by decade: 1922 to 1977
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 6.58% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1922–1977 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1922, at end
1922–1930
-0.07%
-0.6%
$99.40
1930–1940
-1.75%
-16.2%
$83.33
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$143
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$176
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$231
1970–1977
6.58%
56.2%
$361
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $143 by
1950, on its way to $361 in 1977; 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 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 1977
In 1977, prices rose 6.5% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $361; the year's average CPI of 60.6 is the level
behind every 1977 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 6.5% in 1977, ticking back up from 1976’s
5.8% as the economic recovery strengthened, wages climbed, and energy costs
pushed higher again. The year opened with a warning about that energy
dependence: record cold across the Midwest and Northeast in January and
February strained natural gas supplies so badly that schools and factories in
several states shut down for days to conserve fuel. Jimmy Carter, inaugurated
that January, made energy policy a centerpiece of his presidency, and
Congress created the cabinet-level Department of Energy that August to
consolidate programs built up piecemeal since the 1973 oil embargo. Culture
offered some relief from the anxiety: released that May, Star Wars became the
highest-grossing film in history to that point, drawing lines around theater
blocks for months. The year also closed an era in a different way. Elvis
Presley was found dead at his Graceland home on August 16 at age 42, drawing
tens of thousands of mourners to Memphis. A median household earned $13,572
in 1977, a new home sold for a median $48,800, and gas averaged 62 cents a
gallon. Consumer prices stood 512.1% above their 1913 level,
with the energy anxieties of the year setting up the harder shocks of 1978
and 1979.
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 1977: $100 is worth $361 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1977/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 1977. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1977/