$100 in 1928 is worth $1,343 in 2012,
because prices increased 1242.7% over that period, an average of
3.14% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,343
in 2012
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1242.7%
Average inflation rate
3.14% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,343
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,243
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2012
229.594
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2012
2.07%
$100 in 1928 → 2012
$1,343
$100 in 2012 → 1928
$7.45
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2012
Between 1928 and 2012, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 229.594.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1242.7%, which works out to an average of
3.14% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2012: the 1928 dollar
lost 92.6% of its purchasing power over
these 84 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 2012 at the same ratio, 13.43: $1,000 becomes
$13,427, and $10,000 becomes $134,265.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2012
$1.00
$13.43
$5.00
$67.13
$10.00
$134
$20.00
$269
$50.00
$671
$100
$1,343
$500
$6,713
$1,000
$13,427
$5,000
$67,133
$10,000
$134,265
$100,000
$1,342,655
$1,000,000
$13,426,550
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2012
Between 1928 and 2012, food rose the most, up 1334.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 405.1%, against 1242.7% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2012, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.14%
$1,343
Food
3.22%
$1,434
Apparel
1.95%
$505
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 2012
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 1928–2012 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
2010–2012
2.61%
5.3%
$1,343
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $204 by
1968, on its way to $1,343 in 2012; 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: 2012
In 2012, prices rose 2.1% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,343; the year's average CPI of 229.594 is the level
behind every 2012 figure on this page.
2012 put a number on what the Federal Reserve was aiming for. In January the
Fed announced a 2% inflation target, and consumer prices rose 2.1% for the
year, almost exactly on it. Gasoline averaged $3.62 a gallon, another annual
high, but the pace of increase cooled from 2011’s 3.2% as food and core prices
grew more slowly.
The bigger story was housing and jobs. Home prices began to recover, and the
median new home sold for about $245,200, up from $227,200 the year before.
Median household income was $51,017. The federal minimum wage held at $7.25,
and a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents.
In September the Fed started a third round of asset purchases, this one with
no fixed end date, aimed at lowering unemployment. Overseas, the European
Central Bank’s July pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro calmed
bond markets. A summer drought across the Midwest drove corn and soybean
prices to records, a shock that reached grocery shelves only partly, because
most of what shoppers pay for food covers processing and transport rather than
raw crops.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2012: $100 is worth $1,343 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2012/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2012. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2012/