$100 in 1928 is worth $482 in 1980,
because prices increased 381.9% over that period, an average of
3.07% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$482
in 1980
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
381.9%
Average inflation rate
3.07% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$482
Price difference ($100 base)
$382
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1980
82.4
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1980
13.50%
$100 in 1928 → 1980
$482
$100 in 1980 → 1928
$20.75
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1980
Between 1928 and 1980, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 82.4.
Cumulatively, prices increased 381.9%, which works out to an average of
3.07% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.21 buys in 1980: the 1928 dollar
lost 79.2% of its purchasing power over
these 52 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 1980 at the same ratio, 4.82: $1,000 becomes
$4,819, and $10,000 becomes $48,187.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1980
$1.00
$4.82
$5.00
$24.09
$10.00
$48.19
$20.00
$96.37
$50.00
$241
$100
$482
$500
$2,409
$1,000
$4,819
$5,000
$24,094
$10,000
$48,187
$100,000
$481,871
$1,000,000
$4,818,713
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1980
Between 1928 and 1980, food rose the most, up 432.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 263.6%, against 381.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1980, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.07%
$482
Food
3.27%
$533
Apparel
2.51%
$364
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 1980
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1980 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
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$482
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $157 by
1954, on its way to $482 in 1980; 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: 1980
In 1980, prices rose 13.5% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $482; the year's average CPI of 82.4 is the level
behind every 1980 figure on this page.
1980 sat at the very peak of the Great Inflation. Prices rose 13.5% in that
single year, mortgage rates were climbing toward 16%, and the Federal Reserve
under Paul Volcker was administering the painful interest-rate medicine that
would finally break the inflationary spiral, at the cost of the deep 1981–82
recession. No single year looms larger in how Americans think about inflation.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1980: $100 is worth $482 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1980/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1980. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1980/