$100 in 1924 is worth $1,384 in 2014,
because prices increased 1284.4% over that period, an average of
2.96% a year.
$100 in 1924 has
the same buying power as
$1,384
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1284.4%
Average inflation rate
2.96% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,384
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,284
CPI in 1924
17.1
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1924
0.00%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1924 → 2014
$1,384
$100 in 2014 → 1924
$7.22
What happened to prices between 1924 and 2014
Between 1924 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1284.4%, which works out to an average of
2.96% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1924 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2014: the 1924 dollar
lost 92.8% of its purchasing power over
these 90 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 2014 at the same ratio, 13.84: $1,000 becomes
$13,844, and $10,000 becomes $138,442.
Amount in 1924
Value in 2014
$1.00
$13.84
$5.00
$69.22
$10.00
$138
$20.00
$277
$50.00
$692
$100
$1,384
$500
$6,922
$1,000
$13,844
$5,000
$69,221
$10,000
$138,442
$100,000
$1,384,421
$1,000,000
$13,844,211
Inflation by spending category, 1924–2014
Between 1924 and 2014, food rose the most, up 1496.9%, while apparel rose the least, up 375.8%, against 1284.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1924
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1924 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.96%
$1,384
Food
3.13%
$1,597
Apparel
1.75%
$476
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 2014
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 1924–2014 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,275
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$1,384
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1924
$100 from 1924 had already become $215 by
1969, on its way to $1,384 in 2014; 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: 2014
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1924 had the buying
power of $1,384; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1924 to 2014: $100 is worth $1,384 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1924 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2014/