$100 in 1925 is worth $1,331 in 2013,
because prices increased 1231.2% over that period, an average of
2.99% a year.
$100 in 1925 has
the same buying power as
$1,331
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1231.2%
Average inflation rate
2.99% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,331
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,231
CPI in 1925
17.5
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1925
2.34%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1925 → 2013
$1,331
$100 in 2013 → 1925
$7.51
What happened to prices between 1925 and 2013
Between 1925 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.5 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1231.2%, which works out to an average of
2.99% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1925 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2013: the 1925 dollar
lost 92.5% of its purchasing power over
these 88 years.
Consumer prices rose 2.3% in 1925, the CPI’s largest single-year increase
since the deflationary swings of the early 1920s, though still mild next to
the double-digit inflation of the World War I years. The country’s cultural
fault lines were on full display that summer in Dayton, Tennessee, where
high school teacher John Scopes was tried July 10-21 for violating a state
law against teaching evolution, a case that drew national press coverage and
pitted prosecutor William Jennings Bryan against defense attorney Clarence
Darrow. Real estate speculation, meanwhile, peaked in Florida, where buyers
flipped undeveloped land in the Miami area on thin down payments, driving
prices far above what the land itself could support; the bubble would
collapse the following year. Detroit reshuffled that June too: Walter
Chrysler reorganized the struggling Maxwell Motor Company into Chrysler
Corporation, the start of what would become one of the American auto
industry’s “Big Three.” First-class postage held at 2 cents for the sixth
straight year.
Every 1925 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 13.31: $1,000 becomes
$13,312, and $10,000 becomes $133,118.
Amount in 1925
Value in 2013
$1.00
$13.31
$5.00
$66.56
$10.00
$133
$20.00
$266
$50.00
$666
$100
$1,331
$500
$6,656
$1,000
$13,312
$5,000
$66,559
$10,000
$133,118
$100,000
$1,331,183
$1,000,000
$13,311,829
Inflation by spending category, 1925–2013
Between 1925 and 2013, food rose the most, up 1336.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 384.5%, against 1231.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1925
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1925 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.99%
$1,331
Food
3.07%
$1,437
Apparel
1.81%
$484
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1925: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1925 to 2013
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 1925–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1925, at end
1925–1930
-0.93%
-4.6%
$95.43
1930–1940
-1.75%
-16.2%
$80.00
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$138
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$169
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$222
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$471
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$747
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$984
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,246
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$1,331
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1925
$100 from 1925 had already become $222 by
1970, on its way to $1,331 in 2013; 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: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1925 had the buying
power of $1,331; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1925 to 2013: $100 is worth $1,331 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1925-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1925 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1925-to-2013/