$100 in 1928 is worth $1,213 in 2007,
because prices increased 1112.5% over that period, an average of
3.21% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,213
in 2007
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1112.5%
Average inflation rate
3.21% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,213
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,113
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2007
207.342
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2007
2.85%
$100 in 1928 → 2007
$1,213
$100 in 2007 → 1928
$8.25
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2007
Between 1928 and 2007, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 207.342.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1112.5%, which works out to an average of
3.21% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2007: the 1928 dollar
lost 91.8% of its purchasing power over
these 79 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 2007 at the same ratio, 12.13: $1,000 becomes
$12,125, and $10,000 becomes $121,253.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2007
$1.00
$12.13
$5.00
$60.63
$10.00
$121
$20.00
$243
$50.00
$606
$100
$1,213
$500
$6,063
$1,000
$12,125
$5,000
$60,626
$10,000
$121,253
$100,000
$1,212,526
$1,000,000
$12,125,263
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2007
Between 1928 and 2007, food rose the most, up 1144.9%, while apparel rose the least, up 376.0%, against 1112.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2007, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.21%
$1,213
Food
3.24%
$1,245
Apparel
1.99%
$476
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 2007
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 1928–2007 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
2000–2007
2.69%
20.4%
$1,213
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $204 by
1968, on its way to $1,213 in 2007; 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: 2007
In 2007, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,213; the year's average CPI of 207.342 is the level
behind every 2007 figure on this page.
Inflation was 2.8% in 2007, with gasoline averaging $2.80 a gallon, but the year is better
known for what began underneath prices. In August, French bank BNP Paribas froze funds tied to
U.S. subprime mortgages, and credit between banks tightened. The Federal Reserve responded with
a half-point cut on September 18, its first in four years, and took the policy rate from 5.25% to
4.25% by December. The economy peaked that month, by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s
dating, and the Great Recession followed. The median household earned about $50,200, and the
median new home cost $247,900. Congress ended the decade-long freeze on the federal minimum wage
in May, with the first of three steps to $5.85 in July. A first-class stamp cost 41 cents.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2007: $100 is worth $1,213 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2007/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2007. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2007/