$100 in 1928 is worth $189 in 1966,
because prices increased 89.5% over that period, an average of
1.70% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$189
in 1966
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
89.5%
Average inflation rate
1.70% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$189
Price difference ($100 base)
$89.47
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1966
32.4
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1966
2.86%
$100 in 1928 → 1966
$189
$100 in 1966 → 1928
$52.78
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1966
Between 1928 and 1966, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 32.4.
Cumulatively, prices increased 89.5%, which works out to an average of
1.70% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.53 buys in 1966: the 1928 dollar
lost 47.2% of its purchasing power over
these 38 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 1966 at the same ratio, 1.89: $1,000 becomes
$1,895, and $10,000 becomes $18,947.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1966
$1.00
$1.89
$5.00
$9.47
$10.00
$18.95
$20.00
$37.89
$50.00
$94.74
$100
$189
$500
$947
$1,000
$1,895
$5,000
$9,474
$10,000
$18,947
$100,000
$189,474
$1,000,000
$1,894,737
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1966
Between 1928 and 1966, food rose the most, up 107.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 96.0%, against 89.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1966, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
1.70%
$189
Food
1.94%
$207
Apparel
1.79%
$196
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 1966
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 1928–1966 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
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$173
1960–1966
1.52%
9.5%
$189
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $114 by
1946, on its way to $189 in 1966; 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 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 1966
In 1966, prices rose 2.9% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $189; the year's average CPI of 32.4 is the level
behind every 1966 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 2.9% in 1966, nearly double 1965’s
1.6% as Vietnam War spending kept climbing without an offsetting tax
increase, pushing the economy closer to capacity and prices higher along
with it. Medicare coverage took effect that July 1, extending federal
health insurance to roughly 19 million Americans age 65 and older under
the program signed into law the year before. The Federal Reserve had
already moved to cool the overheating economy, raising its discount rate
the previous December over White House objections; the tightening carried
into 1966 as the first postwar credit crunch, freezing parts of the
housing and municipal bond markets even as inflation kept climbing. Congress widened
the wage floor’s reach that September 23, when the Fair Labor Standards
Amendments of 1966 set a $1.40 minimum wage effective the following
February and extended coverage to roughly 9 million more workers in
retail, hospitals, schools, and other services not previously covered.
Consumer prices finished 1966 227.3% above their 1913
level. First-class postage held at 5 cents, and the minimum wage stayed at
$1.25 an hour for the rest of the year.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1966: $100 is worth $189 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1966/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1966. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1966/