$100 in 1928 is worth $1,007 in 2000,
because prices increased 907.0% over that period, an average of
3.26% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,007
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
907.0%
Average inflation rate
3.26% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,007
Price difference ($100 base)
$907
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1928 → 2000
$1,007
$100 in 2000 → 1928
$9.93
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2000
Between 1928 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 907.0%, which works out to an average of
3.26% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.10 buys in 2000: the 1928 dollar
lost 90.1% of its purchasing power over
these 72 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 2000 at the same ratio, 10.07: $1,000 becomes
$10,070, and $10,000 becomes $100,702.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2000
$1.00
$10.07
$5.00
$50.35
$10.00
$101
$20.00
$201
$50.00
$504
$100
$1,007
$500
$5,035
$1,000
$10,070
$5,000
$50,351
$10,000
$100,702
$100,000
$1,007,018
$1,000,000
$10,070,175
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2000
Between 1928 and 2000, food rose the most, up 929.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 418.4%, against 907.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.26%
$1,007
Food
3.29%
$1,029
Apparel
2.31%
$518
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 2000
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 1928–2000 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
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$1,007
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $179 by
1963, on its way to $1,007 in 2000; 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: 2000
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,007; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2000: $100 is worth $1,007 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2000/