$100 in 1922 is worth $1,978 in 2026,
because prices increased 1877.6% over that period, an average of
2.91% a year.
$100 in 1922 has
the same buying power as
$1,978
in 2026
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1877.6%
Average inflation rate
2.91% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,978
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,878
CPI in 1922
16.8
CPI in 2026
332.243
Inflation in 1922
-6.15%
Inflation in 2026
3.20%
$100 in 1922 → 2026
$1,978
$100 in 2026 → 1922
$5.06
Uses a partial-year average for the current year; updates with each CPI release.
What happened to prices between 1922 and 2026
Between 1922 and 2026, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.8 to 332.243.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1877.6%, which works out to an average of
2.91% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1922 bought what
$0.05 buys in 2026: the 1922 dollar
lost 94.9% of its purchasing power over
these 104 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 2026 at the same ratio, 19.78: $1,000 becomes
$19,776, and $10,000 becomes $197,764.
Amount in 1922
Value in 2026
$1.00
$19.78
$5.00
$98.88
$10.00
$198
$20.00
$396
$50.00
$989
$100
$1,978
$500
$9,888
$1,000
$19,776
$5,000
$98,882
$10,000
$197,764
$100,000
$1,977,637
$1,000,000
$19,776,369
Inflation by spending category, 1922–2026
Between 1922 and 2026, food rose the most, up 2239.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 405.3%, against 1877.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1922
spending costs in 2026, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1922 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.91%
$1,978
Food
3.08%
$2,340
Apparel
1.57%
$505
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 2026
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 1922–2026 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$1,541
2020–2026
4.25%
28.4%
$1,978
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1922
$100 from 1922 had already become $249 by
1972, on its way to $1,978 in 2026; 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: 2026
In 2026, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 1922 had the buying
power of $1,978; the year's average CPI of 332.243 is the level
behind every 2026 figure on this page.
Cite this page
MLA: “Inflation from 1922 to 2026: $100 is worth $1,978 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2026/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1922 to 2026. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1922-to-2026/