$100 in 1922 is worth $1,298 in 2010,
because prices increased 1198.0% over that period, an average of
2.96% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$1,298
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1198.0%
Average inflation rate
2.96% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,298
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,198
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 1922 → 2010
$1,298
$100 in 2010 → 1922
$7.70
What happened to prices between 1922 and 2010
Between 1922 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1198.0%, which works out to an average of
2.96% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2010: the 1922 dollar
lost 92.3% of its purchasing power over
these 88 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 2010 at the same ratio, 12.98: $1,000 becomes
$12,980, and $10,000 becomes $129,795.
Amount in 1922
Value in 2010
$1.00
$12.98
$5.00
$64.90
$10.00
$130
$20.00
$260
$50.00
$649
$100
$1,298
$500
$6,490
$1,000
$12,980
$5,000
$64,898
$10,000
$129,795
$100,000
$1,297,952
$1,000,000
$12,979,524
Inflation by spending category, 1922–2010
Between 1922 and 2010, food rose the most, up 1374.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 342.6%, against 1198.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.96%
$1,298
Food
3.10%
$1,474
Apparel
1.70%
$443
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 2010
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 1922–2010 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,298
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $199 by
1967, on its way to $1,298 in 2010; 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: 2010
In 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $1,298; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 2010: $100 is worth $1,298 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2010/