U.S. inflation · 1924–2000

Value of $100 in 1924, adjusted to 2000

$100 in 1924 is worth $1,007 in 2000, because prices increased 907.0% over that period, an average of 3.09% a year.

$100 in 1924 has the same buying power as

$1,007

in 2000

$76$542$1.0k19241943196219812000$100 · 1924$1.0k · 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change907.0%
Average inflation rate3.09% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)$1,007
Price difference ($100 base)$907
CPI in 192417.1
CPI in 2000172.2
Inflation in 19240.00%
Inflation in 20003.36%
$100 in 1924 → 2000$1,007
$100 in 2000 → 1924$9.93

What happened to prices between 1924 and 2000

Between 1924 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 172.2. Cumulatively, prices increased 907.0%, which works out to an average of 3.09% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1924 bought what $0.10 buys in 2000: the 1924 dollar lost 90.1% of its purchasing power over these 76 years.

Consumer prices held flat in 1924, the CPI’s annual average unchanged from 1923 after swinging from a sharp postwar drop to a modest rise the year before. That stability, extending the calm that had settled in after the deflation of 1921 and 1922, became a defining feature of the rest of the decade. Congress tightened immigration policy further with the Immigration Act of 1924, signed May 26, which cut the national-origins quota from 3% of each nationality’s 1910 census population to 2% of its 1890 population, shifting admissions further toward northern and western Europe and effectively excluding most immigration from Asia. Abroad, the U.S.-backed Dawes Plan, adopted that August, reorganized Germany’s war reparations payments and opened the way for American loans into the German economy, helping stabilize European currencies after the hyperinflation that had peaked in 1923. At home, Calvin Coolidge, who had served out the remainder of Warren Harding’s term after his death the previous year, won a full term of his own that November, campaigning on continued prosperity and limited government. First-class postage remained at 2 cents, a price unchanged since mid-1919.

More about inflation in 1924 →

Common amounts: 1924 dollars in 2000

Every 1924 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 10.07: $1,000 becomes $10,070, and $10,000 becomes $100,702.

Amount in 1924Value in 2000
$1.00$10.07
$5.00$50.35
$10.00$101
$20.00$201
$50.00$504
$100$1,007
$500$5,035
$1,000$10,070
$5,000$50,351
$10,000$100,702
$100,000$1,007,018
$1,000,000$10,070,175

Inflation by spending category, 1924–2000

Between 1924 and 2000, food rose the most, up 1003.9%, while apparel rose the least, up 383.6%, against 907.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1924 spending costs in 2000, by category:

Category Avg. yearly inflation $100 in 1924 →
All items (CPI-U) 3.09% $1,007
Food 3.21% $1,104
Apparel 2.10% $484

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1924: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Decade by decade: 1924 to 2000

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 1924–2000 change:

Years Avg. yearly inflation Price change $100 from 1924, at end
1924–1930 -0.39% -2.3% $97.66
1930–1940 -1.75% -16.2% $81.87
1940–1950 5.58% 72.1% $141
1950–1960 2.08% 22.8% $173
1960–1970 2.74% 31.1% $227
1970–1980 7.82% 112.4% $482
1980–1990 4.72% 58.6% $764
1990–2000 2.80% 31.8% $1,007

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1924

$100 from 1924 had already become $181 by 1964, on its way to $1,007 in 2000; 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.

Year CPI Inflation rate $100 from 1924
1924 17.1 0.0% $100
1929 17.1 0.0% $100
1934 13.4 3.1% $78.36
1939 13.9 -1.4% $81.29
1944 17.6 1.7% $103
1949 23.8 -1.2% $139
1954 26.9 0.7% $157
1959 29.1 0.7% $170
1964 31 1.3% $181
1969 36.7 5.5% $215
1974 49.3 11.0% $288
1979 72.6 11.3% $425
1984 103.9 4.3% $608
1989 124 4.8% $725
1994 148.2 2.6% $867
1999 166.6 2.2% $974
2000 172.2 3.4% $1,007

Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.

The destination year: 2000

In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1924 had the buying power of $1,007; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level behind every 2000 figure on this page.

Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about $42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet, which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33 cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back down.

More about inflation in 2000 →

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1924 to 2000: $100 is worth $1,007 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2000/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1924 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2000/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.