$100 in 1928 is worth $354 in 1977,
because prices increased 254.4% over that period, an average of
2.62% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$354
in 1977
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
254.4%
Average inflation rate
2.62% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$354
Price difference ($100 base)
$254
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1977
60.6
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1977
6.50%
$100 in 1928 → 1977
$354
$100 in 1977 → 1928
$28.22
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1977
Between 1928 and 1977, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 60.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 254.4%, which works out to an average of
2.62% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.28 buys in 1977: the 1928 dollar
lost 71.8% of its purchasing power over
these 49 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 1977 at the same ratio, 3.54: $1,000 becomes
$3,544, and $10,000 becomes $35,439.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1977
$1.00
$3.54
$5.00
$17.72
$10.00
$35.44
$20.00
$70.88
$50.00
$177
$100
$354
$500
$1,772
$1,000
$3,544
$5,000
$17,719
$10,000
$35,439
$100,000
$354,386
$1,000,000
$3,543,860
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1977
Between 1928 and 1977, food rose the most, up 301.8%, while apparel rose the least, up 214.4%, against 254.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1977, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
2.62%
$354
Food
2.88%
$402
Apparel
2.37%
$314
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 1977
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 6.58% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1977 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
1970–1977
6.58%
56.2%
$354
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $155 by
1952, on its way to $354 in 1977; 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: 1977
In 1977, prices rose 6.5% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $354; the year's average CPI of 60.6 is the level
behind every 1977 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 6.5% in 1977, ticking back up from 1976’s
5.8% as the economic recovery strengthened, wages climbed, and energy costs
pushed higher again. The year opened with a warning about that energy
dependence: record cold across the Midwest and Northeast in January and
February strained natural gas supplies so badly that schools and factories in
several states shut down for days to conserve fuel. Jimmy Carter, inaugurated
that January, made energy policy a centerpiece of his presidency, and
Congress created the cabinet-level Department of Energy that August to
consolidate programs built up piecemeal since the 1973 oil embargo. Culture
offered some relief from the anxiety: released that May, Star Wars became the
highest-grossing film in history to that point, drawing lines around theater
blocks for months. The year also closed an era in a different way. Elvis
Presley was found dead at his Graceland home on August 16 at age 42, drawing
tens of thousands of mourners to Memphis. A median household earned $13,572
in 1977, a new home sold for a median $48,800, and gas averaged 62 cents a
gallon. Consumer prices stood 512.1% above their 1913 level,
with the energy anxieties of the year setting up the harder shocks of 1978
and 1979.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1977: $100 is worth $354 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1977/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1977. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1977/