$100 in 1928 is worth $532 in 1981,
because prices increased 431.6% over that period, an average of
3.20% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$532
in 1981
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
431.6%
Average inflation rate
3.20% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$532
Price difference ($100 base)
$432
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1981
90.9
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1981
10.32%
$100 in 1928 → 1981
$532
$100 in 1981 → 1928
$18.81
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1981
Between 1928 and 1981, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 90.9.
Cumulatively, prices increased 431.6%, which works out to an average of
3.20% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.19 buys in 1981: the 1928 dollar
lost 81.2% of its purchasing power over
these 53 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 1981 at the same ratio, 5.32: $1,000 becomes
$5,316, and $10,000 becomes $53,158.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1981
$1.00
$5.32
$5.00
$26.58
$10.00
$53.16
$20.00
$106
$50.00
$266
$100
$532
$500
$2,658
$1,000
$5,316
$5,000
$26,579
$10,000
$53,158
$100,000
$531,579
$1,000,000
$5,315,789
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1981
Between 1928 and 1981, food rose the most, up 474.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 281.2%, against 431.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1981, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.20%
$532
Food
3.35%
$574
Apparel
2.56%
$381
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 1981
Prices climbed fastest in the 1980s, averaging 10.32% a year, and fell in the 1930s (1.7% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1928–1981 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
1980–1981
10.32%
10.3%
$532
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $157 by
1954, on its way to $532 in 1981; 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: 1981
In 1981, prices rose 10.3% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $532; the year's average CPI of 90.9 is the level
behind every 1981 figure on this page.
1981 was the year the inflation fever finally broke, at an extraordinary price.
Consumer prices rose 10.3%, the second year of back-to-back double-digit
inflation and the last time the U.S. would see one. To end it, Paul Volcker’s
Federal Reserve drove its policy rate above 19% and let borrowing costs go
where they may: a 30-year mortgage cost more than 18% by autumn, car loans and
business credit froze, and homebuilders mailed the Fed two-by-fours in protest.
The squeeze tipped the economy into recession in July, the deep 1981–82
downturn that would push unemployment past 10%. But it worked. Inflation fell
by nearly half within a year and to under 4% by 1983, the disinflation that
defined the following two decades. Even the price of mailing a letter told the
year’s story: postage went up twice in eight months.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1981: $100 is worth $532 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1981/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1981. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1981/