$100 in 1928 is worth $260 in 1973,
because prices increased 159.6% over that period, an average of
2.14% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$260
in 1973
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
159.6%
Average inflation rate
2.14% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$260
Price difference ($100 base)
$160
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1973
44.4
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1973
6.22%
$100 in 1928 → 1973
$260
$100 in 1973 → 1928
$38.51
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1973
Between 1928 and 1973, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 44.4.
Cumulatively, prices increased 159.6%, which works out to an average of
2.14% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.39 buys in 1973: the 1928 dollar
lost 61.5% of its purchasing power over
these 45 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 1973 at the same ratio, 2.60: $1,000 becomes
$2,596, and $10,000 becomes $25,965.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1973
$1.00
$2.60
$5.00
$12.98
$10.00
$25.96
$20.00
$51.93
$50.00
$130
$100
$260
$500
$1,298
$1,000
$2,596
$5,000
$12,982
$10,000
$25,965
$100,000
$259,649
$1,000,000
$2,596,491
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1973
Between 1928 and 1973, food rose the most, up 195.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 158.4%, against 159.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1973, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.14%
$260
Food
2.44%
$296
Apparel
2.13%
$258
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 1973
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 1928–1973 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
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$227
1970–1973
4.60%
14.4%
$260
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $141 by
1950, on its way to $260 in 1973; 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: 1973
In 1973, prices rose 6.2% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $260; the year's average CPI of 44.4 is the level
behind every 1973 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 6.2% in 1973, nearly double 1972’s 3.2%,
as Nixon’s wage and price controls were phased out through the year and
pressure the controls had been holding back broke loose. The bigger shock
arrived that October, when Arab oil-producing states embargoed exports to the
United States and other supporters of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Crude
oil, which had traded around $3 a barrel, approached $12 by early 1974, and
gas lines became a fixture outside filling stations nationwide. Earlier in
the year, the Paris Peace Accords, signed that January 27, ended direct
American combat in Vietnam and set a 60-day deadline for withdrawing
remaining U.S. troops, even as fighting between North and South Vietnam went
on. Financial markets read the year correctly as a turning point: the Dow
Jones Industrial Average peaked at 1,051.70 on January 11, a level it would
not reach again until 1980, before the oil shock and rising interest rates
dragged it into a two-year bear market. A median household earned $10,512 in
1973, a new home sold for a median $32,500, and gas averaged 38.5 cents a
gallon, still under half of what the embargo’s effects would bring the
following year. Consumer prices stood 348.5% above their
1913 level by year’s end, with the decade’s worst inflation
still ahead.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1973: $100 is worth $260 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1973/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1973. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1973/