$100 in 1928 is worth $288 in 1974,
because prices increased 188.3% over that period, an average of
2.33% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$288
in 1974
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
188.3%
Average inflation rate
2.33% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$288
Price difference ($100 base)
$188
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1974
49.3
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1974
11.04%
$100 in 1928 → 1974
$288
$100 in 1974 → 1928
$34.69
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1974
Between 1928 and 1974, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 49.3.
Cumulatively, prices increased 188.3%, which works out to an average of
2.33% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.35 buys in 1974: the 1928 dollar
lost 65.3% of its purchasing power over
these 46 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 1974 at the same ratio, 2.88: $1,000 becomes
$2,883, and $10,000 becomes $28,830.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1974
$1.00
$2.88
$5.00
$14.42
$10.00
$28.83
$20.00
$57.66
$50.00
$144
$100
$288
$500
$1,442
$1,000
$2,883
$5,000
$14,415
$10,000
$28,830
$100,000
$288,304
$1,000,000
$2,883,041
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1974
Between 1928 and 1974, food rose the most, up 238.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 177.6%, against 188.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1974, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.33%
$288
Food
2.68%
$338
Apparel
2.24%
$278
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 1974
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 6.17% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1974 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
1970–1974
6.17%
27.1%
$288
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $141 by
1950, on its way to $288 in 1974; 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: 1974
In 1974, prices rose 11.0% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $288; the year's average CPI of 49.3 is the level
behind every 1974 figure on this page.
1974 was the year the postwar economy broke its old rules. Consumer prices
rose 11.0%, the fastest annual increase since 1947, as the Arab oil embargo
that ran from October 1973 to March 1974 roughly quadrupled the price of
crude oil worldwide. Gasoline, which had averaged 38.5 cents a gallon in
1973, jumped to 53.2 cents, and shortages forced many states into odd-even
rationing at the pump. Nixon’s wage and price controls, in place in some form
since 1971, expired at the end of April, removing the last brake on prices
just as the oil shock hit. Nixon himself resigned in August over Watergate,
and Gerald Ford’s response to inflation, a voluntary “Whip Inflation Now”
campaign built around lapel buttons, became a symbol of how little
conventional politics could do against the problem. Prices kept climbing even
as the economy weakened: a recession that started in November 1973 dragged
on, the Dow fell to a bear-market bottom of 577.60 in December, and
unemployment was already rising toward the 9% it would reach in 1975. The
combination of rising prices and a shrinking economy gave the decade its
name: stagflation.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1974: $100 is worth $288 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1974/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1974. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1974/