What is $100 in 1928 worth in 2003?

$100 in 1928 has the purchasing power of about $1,076 in 2003, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1928 and 2003?

Prices rose 976.0% in total between 1928 and 2003, an average of 3.22% per year.

How much is $1 in 1928 worth today?

$1 in 1928 is equivalent to about $10.76 in 2003. Equivalently, a 2003 dollar buys what $0.09 bought in 1928.

U.S. inflation · 1928–2003

Value of $100 in 1928, adjusted to 2003

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1928 has the same buying power as

$1,076

in 2003

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	976.0%
Average inflation rate	3.22% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$1,076
Price difference ($100 base)	$976
CPI in 1928	17.1
CPI in 2003	184
Inflation in 1928	-1.72%
Inflation in 2003	2.28%
$100 in 1928 → 2003	$1,076
$100 in 2003 → 1928	$9.29

What happened to prices between 1928 and 2003

Between 1928 and 2003, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 184. Cumulatively, prices increased 976.0%, which works out to an average of 3.22% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what $0.09 buys in 2003.

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.

More about inflation in 1928 →

Common amounts: 1928 dollars in 2003

Amount in 1928	Value in 2003
$1.00	$10.76
$5.00	$53.80
$10.00	$108
$20.00	$215
$50.00	$538
$100	$1,076
$500	$5,380
$1,000	$10,760
$5,000	$53,801
$10,000	$107,602
$100,000	$1,076,023
$1,000,000	$10,760,234

Inflation by spending category, 1928–2003

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1928 spending costs in 2003, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)	3.22%	$1,076
Food	3.25%	$1,104
Apparel	2.12%	$484

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–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1928
1928	17.1	-1.7%	$100
1933	13	-5.1%	$76.02
1938	14.1	-2.1%	$82.46
1943	17.3	6.1%	$101
1948	24.1	8.1%	$141
1953	26.7	0.8%	$156
1958	28.9	2.8%	$169
1963	30.6	1.3%	$179
1968	34.8	4.2%	$204
1973	44.4	6.2%	$260
1978	65.2	7.6%	$381
1983	99.6	3.2%	$582
1988	118.3	4.1%	$692
1993	144.5	3.0%	$845
1998	163	1.6%	$953
2003	184	2.3%	$1,076

Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2003: $100 is worth $1,076 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2003/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2003. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2003/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.