$100 in 1924 is worth $1,259 in 2008,
because prices increased 1159.1% over that period, an average of
3.06% a year.
$100 in 1924 has
the same buying power as
$1,259
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1159.1%
Average inflation rate
3.06% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,259
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,159
CPI in 1924
17.1
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1924
0.00%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1924 → 2008
$1,259
$100 in 2008 → 1924
$7.94
What happened to prices between 1924 and 2008
Between 1924 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1159.1%, which works out to an average of
3.06% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1924 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2008: the 1924 dollar
lost 92.1% of its purchasing power over
these 84 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.
Every 1924 amount converts to 2008 at the same ratio, 12.59: $1,000 becomes
$12,591, and $10,000 becomes $125,908.
Amount in 1924
Value in 2008
$1.00
$12.59
$5.00
$62.95
$10.00
$126
$20.00
$252
$50.00
$630
$100
$1,259
$500
$6,295
$1,000
$12,591
$5,000
$62,954
$10,000
$125,908
$100,000
$1,259,082
$1,000,000
$12,590,819
Inflation by spending category, 1924–2008
Between 1924 and 2008, food rose the most, up 1308.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 343.7%, against 1159.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1924
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1924 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.06%
$1,259
Food
3.20%
$1,409
Apparel
1.79%
$444
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 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 1924–2008 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
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$1,259
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1924
$100 from 1924 had already become $181 by
1964, on its way to $1,259 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 1924 had the buying
power of $1,259; 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 1924 to 2008: $100 is worth $1,259 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1924 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2008/