$100 in 1928 is worth $95.32 in 1942,
because prices declined 4.7% over that period, an average of
0.34% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$95.32
in 1942
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
-4.7%
Average inflation rate
-0.34% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$95.32
Price difference ($100 base)
-$4.68
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1942
16.3
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1942
10.88%
$100 in 1928 → 1942
$95.32
$100 in 1942 → 1928
$105
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1942
Between 1928 and 1942, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 16.3.
Cumulatively, prices declined 4.7%, which works out to an average of
-0.34% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$1.05 buys in 1942: the 1928 dollar
gained 4.9% in purchasing power over
these 14 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 1942 at the same ratio, 0.95: $1,000 becomes
$953, and $10,000 becomes $9,532.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1942
$1.00
$0.95
$5.00
$4.77
$10.00
$9.53
$20.00
$19.06
$50.00
$47.66
$100
$95.32
$500
$477
$1,000
$953
$5,000
$4,766
$10,000
$9,532
$100,000
$95,322
$1,000,000
$953,216
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1942
Between 1928 and 1942, apparel rose the most, up 6.8%, while food fell 5.5%, against 4.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1942, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
-0.34%
$95.32
Apparel
0.47%
$107
Food
-0.40%
$94.48
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 1942
Prices climbed fastest in the 1940s, averaging 7.90% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1942 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1928, at end
1928–1930
-1.18%
-2.3%
$97.66
1930–1940
-1.75%
-16.2%
$81.87
1940–1942
7.90%
16.4%
$95.32
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $80.12 by
1935, on its way to $95.32 in 1942; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 10.9% in 1942, and prices fell 9.9% in 1932, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 1942, prices rose 10.9% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $95.32; the year's average CPI of 16.3 is the level
behind every 1942 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 10.9% in 1942, up from 1941’s already
rapid 5.0% and the fastest increase since 1920, as the economy’s crash
conversion to war production collided with shrinking supplies of civilian
goods. The government tried to contain it: the General Maximum Price
Regulation, effective May 18 and known as “General Max,” froze most retail
prices at their highest March level, the broadest price control Washington
had ever attempted. Rationing followed close behind. Sugar rationing began
that May and gasoline rationing went nationwide in December, the leading
edge of a system that would eventually cover meat, coffee, shoes, tires, and
dozens of other goods before the war ended. The year’s other defining
wartime measure had nothing to do with prices. Executive Order 9066, signed
February 19, authorized the military to remove more than 110,000 Japanese
Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, from the West Coast and hold them in
inland internment camps for the war’s duration, one of the era’s starkest
violations of civil liberties. Even with price controls in place, consumer
prices climbed more than 10% for the first time since 1920, leaving the CPI
64.6% above its 1913 level. First-class postage held at 3
cents, and the minimum wage stayed at 30 cents an hour.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1942: $100 is worth $95.32 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1942/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1942. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1942/