$100 in 1922 is worth $1,282 in 2008,
because prices increased 1181.6% over that period, an average of
3.01% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$1,282
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1181.6%
Average inflation rate
3.01% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,282
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,182
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1922 → 2008
$1,282
$100 in 2008 → 1922
$7.80
What happened to prices between 1922 and 2008
Between 1922 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1181.6%, which works out to an average of
3.01% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2008: the 1922 dollar
lost 92.2% of its purchasing power over
these 86 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 2008 at the same ratio, 12.82: $1,000 becomes
$12,816, and $10,000 becomes $128,157.
Amount in 1922
Value in 2008
$1.00
$12.82
$5.00
$64.08
$10.00
$128
$20.00
$256
$50.00
$641
$100
$1,282
$500
$6,408
$1,000
$12,816
$5,000
$64,078
$10,000
$128,157
$100,000
$1,281,565
$1,000,000
$12,815,655
Inflation by spending category, 1922–2008
Between 1922 and 2008, food rose the most, up 1337.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 340.4%, against 1181.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.01%
$1,282
Food
3.15%
$1,437
Apparel
1.74%
$440
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 2008
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 1922–2008 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
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$778
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$1,025
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$1,282
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $199 by
1967, on its way to $1,282 in 2008; 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: 2008
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $1,282; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 2008: $100 is worth $1,282 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2008/