U.S. inflation · 1924–2024

Value of $100 in 1924, adjusted to 2024

$100 in 1924 is worth $1,834 in 2024, because prices increased 1734.4% over that period, an average of 2.95% a year.

$100 in 1924 has the same buying power as

$1,834

in 2024

$76$955$1.8k19241949197419992024$100 · 1924$1.8k · 2024
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change1734.4%
Average inflation rate2.95% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)$1,834
Price difference ($100 base)$1,734
CPI in 192417.1
CPI in 2024313.689
Inflation in 19240.00%
Inflation in 20242.95%
$100 in 1924 → 2024$1,834
$100 in 2024 → 1924$5.45

What happened to prices between 1924 and 2024

Between 1924 and 2024, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 313.689. Cumulatively, prices increased 1734.4%, which works out to an average of 2.95% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1924 bought what $0.05 buys in 2024: the 1924 dollar lost 94.5% of its purchasing power over these 100 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 2024

Every 1924 amount converts to 2024 at the same ratio, 18.34: $1,000 becomes $18,344, and $10,000 becomes $183,444.

Amount in 1924Value in 2024
$1.00$18.34
$5.00$91.72
$10.00$183
$20.00$367
$50.00$917
$100$1,834
$500$9,172
$1,000$18,344
$5,000$91,722
$10,000$183,444
$100,000$1,834,439
$1,000,000$18,344,386

Inflation by spending category, 1924–2024

Between 1924 and 2024, food rose the most, up 2072.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 390.6%, against 1734.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1924 spending costs in 2024, by category:

Category Avg. yearly inflation $100 in 1924 →
All items (CPI-U) 2.95% $1,834
Food 3.13% $2,173
Apparel 1.60% $491

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 2024

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 1924–2024 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
2010–2020 1.73% 18.7% $1,514
2020–2024 4.93% 21.2% $1,834

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

$100 from 1924 had already become $288 by 1974, on its way to $1,834 in 2024; 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
2004 188.9 2.7% $1,105
2009 214.537 -0.4% $1,255
2014 236.736 1.6% $1,384
2019 255.657 1.8% $1,495
2024 313.689 2.9% $1,834

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

The destination year: 2024

In 2024, prices rose 2.9% and $100 from 1924 had the buying power of $1,834; the year's average CPI of 313.689 is the level behind every 2024 figure on this page.

2024 brought inflation close to normal without fully reaching it. Consumer prices rose 2.9% on average, the smallest yearly increase since 2020, and the December-to-December rate was also 2.9%. Gasoline averaged $3.30 a gallon, below 2023’s $3.52. Shelter stayed the biggest driver of the index, so the pace of price growth in categories that households can’t easily avoid, such as rent and insurance, lagged the drop in goods and energy costs.

The Federal Reserve declared progress in September, cutting its policy rate by half a point, the first reduction since the pandemic emergency, and then by a quarter point in November and again in December. Mortgage rates near 7% kept the housing market frozen for many would-be buyers.

Median household income was $83,730, the federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp rose to 73 cents in July. After the November election, attention turned to how announced tariffs and tax policy might affect prices in 2025.

More about inflation in 2024 →

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1924 to 2024: $100 is worth $1,834 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2024/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1924 to 2024. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1924-to-2024/

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.