$100 in 1928 is worth $764 in 1990,
because prices increased 664.3% over that period, an average of
3.33% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$764
in 1990
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
664.3%
Average inflation rate
3.33% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$764
Price difference ($100 base)
$664
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1990
130.7
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1990
5.40%
$100 in 1928 → 1990
$764
$100 in 1990 → 1928
$13.08
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1990
Between 1928 and 1990, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 130.7.
Cumulatively, prices increased 664.3%, which works out to an average of
3.33% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.13 buys in 1990: the 1928 dollar
lost 86.9% of its purchasing power over
these 62 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 1990 at the same ratio, 7.64: $1,000 becomes
$7,643, and $10,000 becomes $76,433.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1990
$1.00
$7.64
$5.00
$38.22
$10.00
$76.43
$20.00
$153
$50.00
$382
$100
$764
$500
$3,822
$1,000
$7,643
$5,000
$38,216
$10,000
$76,433
$100,000
$764,327
$1,000,000
$7,643,275
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1990
Between 1928 and 1990, food rose the most, up 712.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 396.4%, against 664.3% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1990, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.33%
$764
Food
3.44%
$812
Apparel
2.62%
$496
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 1990
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 1928–1990 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
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$764
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $169 by
1958, on its way to $764 in 1990; 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 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 1990
In 1990, prices rose 5.4% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $764; the year's average CPI of 130.7 is the level
behind every 1990 figure on this page.
In 1990, the median U.S. household earned about $29,900, gas averaged $1.15 a
gallon, and mailing a letter cost a quarter. Inflation ran hot at 5.4% for the
year, its highest rate since 1982, pushed up by an oil shock after Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait, and the economy tipped into recession that summer. It was
the last gasp of elevated inflation before the long calm of the 1990s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1990: $100 is worth $764 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1990/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1990. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1990/