$100 in 1928 is worth $84.21 in 1937,
because prices declined 15.8% over that period, an average of
1.89% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$84.21
in 1937
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
-15.8%
Average inflation rate
-1.89% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$84.21
Price difference ($100 base)
-$15.79
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1937
14.4
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1937
3.60%
$100 in 1928 → 1937
$84.21
$100 in 1937 → 1928
$119
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1937
Between 1928 and 1937, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 14.4.
Cumulatively, prices declined 15.8%, which works out to an average of
-1.89% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$1.19 buys in 1937: the 1928 dollar
gained 18.8% in purchasing power over
these 9 years.
Consumer prices fell 1.7% in 1928, the second straight year of mild decline
even as the stock market climbed sharply, a widening gap between asset
prices and the cost of living that later economists pointed to as an early
warning sign. The Federal Reserve tightened policy repeatedly over the year,
raising its discount rate in an effort to slow the flood of borrowed money
pouring into stock purchases without derailing the broader economy, a
balancing act it ultimately failed to manage. Herbert Hoover won the
presidential election that November, defeating Democrat Al Smith on a
platform built around continuing the prosperity of the Coolidge years; few
voters or policymakers anticipated how quickly that prosperity would end.
First-class postage remained at 2 cents, a price that had now held for nine
straight years.
Every 1928 amount converts to 1937 at the same ratio, 0.84: $1,000 becomes
$842, and $10,000 becomes $8,421.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1937
$1.00
$0.84
$5.00
$4.21
$10.00
$8.42
$20.00
$16.84
$50.00
$42.11
$100
$84.21
$500
$421
$1,000
$842
$5,000
$4,211
$10,000
$8,421
$100,000
$84,211
$1,000,000
$842,105
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1937
Every category fell between 1928 and 1937: food the most, down 19.6%, and apparel the least, down 12.0%. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1937, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
-1.89%
$84.21
Apparel
-1.41%
$88.00
Food
-2.40%
$80.37
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1928: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1928 to 1937
Prices fell throughout this span: most slowly in the 1920s (1.2% a year) and fastest in the 1930s (2.1% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1937 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1928, at end
1928–1930
-1.18%
-2.3%
$97.66
1930–1937
-2.09%
-13.8%
$84.21
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $80.12 by
1932, on its way to $84.21 in 1937; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 3.6% in 1937, and prices fell 9.9% in 1932, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 1937, prices rose 3.6% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $84.21; the year's average CPI of 14.4 is the level
behind every 1937 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 3.6% in 1937, the fastest pace since before the
Depression and the fourth straight year of gains, leaving prices 10.8% above
their 1933 trough though still 15.8% below the
1929 peak. The recovery did not last the year. The National
Bureau of Economic Research dates a new business cycle peak to that May, the
start of what became known as the Recession of 1937-38. Policy tightened on
two fronts at once: the Federal Reserve had doubled bank reserve
requirements over the preceding year to head off inflation it worried was
building, and the federal government pulled back its own spending even as
new Social Security payroll taxes began draining money from paychecks
months before the first benefit checks went out. Together they choked off a
recovery that had not yet reached its pre-Depression footing. Not every
milestone that year was economic. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic
on May 27 after four years of construction, at the time the longest
suspension bridge span in the world, a rare bright spot in a year that would
end with the economy sliding backward again. First-class postage held at 3
cents.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1937: $100 is worth $84.21 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1937/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1937. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1937/