$100 in 1922 is worth $676 in 1987,
because prices increased 576.2% over that period, an average of
2.98% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$676
in 1987
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
576.2%
Average inflation rate
2.98% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$676
Price difference ($100 base)
$576
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 1987
113.6
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
$100 in 1922 → 1987
$676
$100 in 1987 → 1922
$14.79
What happened to prices between 1922 and 1987
Between 1922 and 1987, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 113.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 576.2%, which works out to an average of
2.98% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.15 buys in 1987: the 1922 dollar
lost 85.2% of its purchasing power over
these 65 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 1987 at the same ratio, 6.76: $1,000 becomes
$6,762, and $10,000 becomes $67,619.
Amount in 1922
Value in 1987
$1.00
$6.76
$5.00
$33.81
$10.00
$67.62
$20.00
$135
$50.00
$338
$100
$676
$500
$3,381
$1,000
$6,762
$5,000
$33,810
$10,000
$67,619
$100,000
$676,190
$1,000,000
$6,761,905
Inflation by spending category, 1922–1987
Between 1922 and 1987, food rose the most, up 661.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 309.6%, against 576.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 1987, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.98%
$676
Food
3.17%
$762
Apparel
2.19%
$410
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 1987
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 1922–1987 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
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$490
1980–1987
4.69%
37.9%
$676
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $158 by
1952, on its way to $676 in 1987; 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: 1987
In 1987, prices rose 3.6% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $676; the year's average CPI of 113.6 is the level
behind every 1987 figure on this page.
1987 tested whether the disinflation of the 1980s could survive its first
real shock. Paul Volcker, who had run the Federal Reserve since 1979 and
driven inflation down from 13.5% to routine mid-single digits, handed the
chairmanship to Alan Greenspan in August. Inflation for the year came in at
3.6%, edging up as the expansion entered its fifth year and a weaker
dollar, following 1985’s Plaza Accord, pushed up the price of imported
goods. Then, on October 19, the stock market delivered Greenspan’s first
crisis: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6% in a single session,
still the largest one-day percentage drop in its history, as computer-driven
“portfolio insurance” trading amplified a global sell-off that had started
days earlier. The Fed responded within 24 hours, publicly pledging to
supply whatever liquidity the banking system needed, and the panic did not
spread to the broader economy. Growth continued and unemployment kept
falling through the rest of the year. It was an early demonstration of what
became known as the “Greenspan put,” a Fed willing to move fast and loosen
policy to contain financial shocks even while still watching inflation,
that shaped central banking for the next two decades.
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 1987: $100 is worth $676 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1987/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 1987. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-1987/