$100 in 1928 is worth $664 in 1987,
because prices increased 564.3% over that period, an average of
3.26% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$664
in 1987
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
564.3%
Average inflation rate
3.26% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$664
Price difference ($100 base)
$564
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1987
113.6
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1987
3.65%
$100 in 1928 → 1987
$664
$100 in 1987 → 1928
$15.05
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1987
Between 1928 and 1987, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 113.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 564.3%, which works out to an average of
3.26% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.15 buys in 1987: the 1928 dollar
lost 84.9% of its purchasing power over
these 59 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 1987 at the same ratio, 6.64: $1,000 becomes
$6,643, and $10,000 becomes $66,433.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1987
$1.00
$6.64
$5.00
$33.22
$10.00
$66.43
$20.00
$133
$50.00
$332
$100
$664
$500
$3,322
$1,000
$6,643
$5,000
$33,216
$10,000
$66,433
$100,000
$664,327
$1,000,000
$6,643,275
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1987
Between 1928 and 1987, food rose the most, up 596.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 342.4%, against 564.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1987, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.26%
$664
Food
3.34%
$696
Apparel
2.55%
$442
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 1987
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 1928–1987 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
1980–1987
4.69%
37.9%
$664
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $169 by
1958, on its way to $664 in 1987; 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: 1987
In 1987, prices rose 3.6% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $664; the year's average CPI of 113.6 is the level
behind every 1987 figure on this page.
1987 tested whether the disinflation of the 1980s could survive its first
real shock. Paul Volcker, who had run the Federal Reserve since 1979 and
driven inflation down from 13.5% to routine mid-single digits, handed the
chairmanship to Alan Greenspan in August. Inflation for the year came in at
3.6%, edging up as the expansion entered its fifth year and a weaker
dollar, following 1985’s Plaza Accord, pushed up the price of imported
goods. Then, on October 19, the stock market delivered Greenspan’s first
crisis: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6% in a single session,
still the largest one-day percentage drop in its history, as computer-driven
“portfolio insurance” trading amplified a global sell-off that had started
days earlier. The Fed responded within 24 hours, publicly pledging to
supply whatever liquidity the banking system needed, and the panic did not
spread to the broader economy. Growth continued and unemployment kept
falling through the rest of the year. It was an early demonstration of what
became known as the “Greenspan put,” a Fed willing to move fast and loosen
policy to contain financial shocks even while still watching inflation,
that shaped central banking for the next two decades.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1987: $100 is worth $664 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1987/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1987. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1987/