$100 in 1928 is worth $641 in 1986,
because prices increased 540.9% over that period, an average of
3.25% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$641
in 1986
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
540.9%
Average inflation rate
3.25% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$641
Price difference ($100 base)
$541
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1986
109.6
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1986
1.86%
$100 in 1928 → 1986
$641
$100 in 1986 → 1928
$15.60
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1986
Between 1928 and 1986, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 109.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 540.9%, which works out to an average of
3.25% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.16 buys in 1986: the 1928 dollar
lost 84.4% of its purchasing power over
these 58 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 1986 at the same ratio, 6.41: $1,000 becomes
$6,409, and $10,000 becomes $64,094.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1986
$1.00
$6.41
$5.00
$32.05
$10.00
$64.09
$20.00
$128
$50.00
$320
$100
$641
$500
$3,205
$1,000
$6,409
$5,000
$32,047
$10,000
$64,094
$100,000
$640,936
$1,000,000
$6,409,357
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1986
Between 1928 and 1986, food rose the most, up 568.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 323.6%, against 540.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1986, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.25%
$641
Food
3.33%
$669
Apparel
2.52%
$424
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 1986
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 1928–1986 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
1980–1986
4.87%
33.0%
$641
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $159 by
1956, on its way to $641 in 1986; 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: 1986
In 1986, prices rose 1.9% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $641; the year's average CPI of 109.6 is the level
behind every 1986 figure on this page.
1986 delivered the decade’s biggest one-year drop in inflation, and it came
almost entirely from a single source: oil. Saudi Arabia abandoned its policy
of restraining output to prop up prices, and world crude collapsed from
about $27 a barrel to under $10 by midyear. Gasoline, which had averaged
$1.12 a gallon in 1985, fell to 86 cents. With energy costs plunging,
headline CPI inflation for the year came in at just 1.9%, the lowest annual
rate since 1965 and a striking bookend to 1980’s 13.5% peak. The relief was
uneven: prices for most goods and services outside energy kept rising at a
moderate pace, so households that didn’t drive much or heat with oil felt
less of the difference. In October, Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of
1986, a bipartisan overhaul that cut the top individual income tax rate from
50% to 28% while closing many deductions and shelters, the broadest rewrite
of the federal tax code since World War II. Between cheap gas and falling
interest rates, 1986 read like proof that the inflationary 1970s were a
closed chapter, six years after the U.S. economy had felt anything but
calm.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1986: $100 is worth $641 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1986/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1986. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1986/