$100 in 1928 is worth $157 in 1954,
because prices increased 57.3% over that period, an average of
1.76% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$157
in 1954
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
57.3%
Average inflation rate
1.76% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$157
Price difference ($100 base)
$57.31
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1954
26.9
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1954
0.75%
$100 in 1928 → 1954
$157
$100 in 1954 → 1928
$63.57
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1954
Between 1928 and 1954, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 26.9.
Cumulatively, prices increased 57.3%, which works out to an average of
1.76% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.64 buys in 1954: the 1928 dollar
lost 36.4% of its purchasing power over
these 26 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 1954 at the same ratio, 1.57: $1,000 becomes
$1,573, and $10,000 becomes $15,731.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1954
$1.00
$1.57
$5.00
$7.87
$10.00
$15.73
$20.00
$31.46
$50.00
$78.65
$100
$157
$500
$787
$1,000
$1,573
$5,000
$7,865
$10,000
$15,731
$100,000
$157,310
$1,000,000
$1,573,099
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1954
Between 1928 and 1954, food rose the most, up 73.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 72.4%, against 57.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1954, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.76%
$157
Food
2.13%
$173
Apparel
2.12%
$172
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 1954
Prices climbed fastest in the 1940s, averaging 5.58% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1954 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
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$141
1950–1954
2.79%
11.6%
$157
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $85.96 by
1941, on its way to $157 in 1954; 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.
In 1954, prices rose 0.7% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $157; the year's average CPI of 26.9 is the level
behind every 1954 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 0.7% in 1954, extending 1953’s 0.8%
slowdown even as the economy tipped into recession, an early example of
prices continuing to rise through a downturn rather than falling with it.
The National Bureau of Economic Research dates that recession from July
1953 to May 1954, as defense spending fell after the Korean War armistice
and the tighter monetary policy of the year before worked its way through
the economy. The Supreme Court reshaped a different part of American life
that spring: its unanimous May 17 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
held that “separate but equal” public schools violated the Constitution,
overturning the legal basis for segregated education. Washington also
closed the book on a different fight that year. Following the televised
Army-McCarthy hearings that spring, the Senate voted 67 to 22 on December
2 to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy’s conduct, ending his dominance of
American politics after four years of anti-communist investigations.
Consumer prices finished 1954 171.7% above their 1913
level, essentially flat with 1953 as the mild recession
held the cost of living in check. First-class postage held at 3 cents,
and the minimum wage stayed at 75 cents an hour.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1954: $100 is worth $157 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1954/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1954. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1954/