$100 in 1928 is worth $1,275 in 2010,
because prices increased 1175.2% over that period, an average of
3.15% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,275
in 2010
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1175.2%
Average inflation rate
3.15% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,275
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,175
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2010
218.056
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2010
1.64%
$100 in 1928 → 2010
$1,275
$100 in 2010 → 1928
$7.84
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2010
Between 1928 and 2010, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 218.056.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1175.2%, which works out to an average of
3.15% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2010: the 1928 dollar
lost 92.2% of its purchasing power over
these 82 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 2010 at the same ratio, 12.75: $1,000 becomes
$12,752, and $10,000 becomes $127,518.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2010
$1.00
$12.75
$5.00
$63.76
$10.00
$128
$20.00
$255
$50.00
$638
$100
$1,275
$500
$6,376
$1,000
$12,752
$5,000
$63,759
$10,000
$127,518
$100,000
$1,275,181
$1,000,000
$12,751,813
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2010
Between 1928 and 2010, food rose the most, up 1247.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 378.0%, against 1175.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2010, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.15%
$1,275
Food
3.22%
$1,347
Apparel
1.93%
$478
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 2010
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 1928–2010 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,275
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $204 by
1968, on its way to $1,275 in 2010; 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: 2010
In 2010, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,275; the year's average CPI of 218.056 is the level
behind every 2010 figure on this page.
2010 was a year of recovery without much price pressure. The CPI rose 1.6%, a
return to growth after 2009’s deflation, with gasoline averaging $2.78 a
gallon as energy prices climbed back from their recession lows. Housing costs
barely moved: millions of foreclosed and vacant homes kept rents soft, and the
median new home sold for about $221,800. The federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, the level set in July 2009, and a first-class stamp cost 44 cents.
The Federal Reserve was more worried about too little inflation than too
much. Its policy rate sat at 0–0.25%, and in November it announced a further
$600 billion of Treasury purchases to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in July to tighten financial regulation,
while a 110 billion euro rescue of Greece in May showed that the crisis had
moved from American mortgages to European government debt. For anyone
comparing dollars across the decade, 2010 is a useful baseline: prices were
still close to their 2008 levels, and the years ahead brought a slow, steady
climb.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2010: $100 is worth $1,275 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2010/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2010. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2010/