$100 in 1928 is worth $939 in 1997,
because prices increased 838.6% over that period, an average of
3.30% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$939
in 1997
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
838.6%
Average inflation rate
3.30% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$939
Price difference ($100 base)
$839
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 1997
160.5
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 1997
2.29%
$100 in 1928 → 1997
$939
$100 in 1997 → 1928
$10.65
What happened to prices between 1928 and 1997
Between 1928 and 1997, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 160.5.
Cumulatively, prices increased 838.6%, which works out to an average of
3.30% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.11 buys in 1997: the 1928 dollar
lost 89.3% of its purchasing power over
these 69 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 1997 at the same ratio, 9.39: $1,000 becomes
$9,386, and $10,000 becomes $93,860.
Amount in 1928
Value in 1997
$1.00
$9.39
$5.00
$46.93
$10.00
$93.86
$20.00
$188
$50.00
$469
$100
$939
$500
$4,693
$1,000
$9,386
$5,000
$46,930
$10,000
$93,860
$100,000
$938,596
$1,000,000
$9,385,965
Inflation by spending category, 1928–1997
Between 1928 and 1997, food rose the most, up 865.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 431.6%, against 838.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 1997, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.30%
$939
Food
3.34%
$965
Apparel
2.45%
$532
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 1997
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 1928–1997 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
1990–1997
2.98%
22.8%
$939
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $179 by
1963, on its way to $939 in 1997; 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: 1997
In 1997, prices rose 2.3% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $939; the year's average CPI of 160.5 is the level
behind every 1997 figure on this page.
The median household earned about $37,000 in 1997, gas averaged $1.23 a gallon, and a new home
cost roughly $146,000. Inflation ran at 2.3% for the year, its lowest reading since the
mid-1980s, as a strong dollar and falling import prices helped keep costs in check at home even
as trouble built abroad. In July, Thailand devalued the baht, and the currency collapse that
followed spread within months to Indonesia, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian economies,
forcing IMF bailouts and years of recession across the region, though the crisis had little
immediate effect on U.S. prices. At home, Washington had a calmer year: in August, President
Clinton and Congress agreed on the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer Relief Act, which cut
capital gains tax rates, created the Roth IRA, and set the federal budget on a path to its first
surplus in nearly three decades. In September, the federal minimum wage completed a two-step
rise to $5.15 an hour, where it would stay for a decade. Low inflation, a firming budget picture,
and a crisis unfolding an ocean away made 1997 a year the U.S. economy looked stronger than much
of the rest of the world’s.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 1997: $100 is worth $939 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1997/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 1997. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-1997/