$100 in 1928 is worth $1,384 in 2014,
because prices increased 1284.4% over that period, an average of
3.10% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,384
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1284.4%
Average inflation rate
3.10% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,384
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,284
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1928 → 2014
$1,384
$100 in 2014 → 1928
$7.22
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2014
Between 1928 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1284.4%, which works out to an average of
3.10% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2014: the 1928 dollar
lost 92.8% of its purchasing power over
these 86 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 2014 at the same ratio, 13.84: $1,000 becomes
$13,844, and $10,000 becomes $138,442.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2014
$1.00
$13.84
$5.00
$69.22
$10.00
$138
$20.00
$277
$50.00
$692
$100
$1,384
$500
$6,922
$1,000
$13,844
$5,000
$69,221
$10,000
$138,442
$100,000
$1,384,421
$1,000,000
$13,844,211
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2014
Between 1928 and 2014, food rose the most, up 1389.1%, while apparel rose the least, up 410.1%, against 1284.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.10%
$1,384
Food
3.19%
$1,489
Apparel
1.91%
$510
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 2014
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 1928–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$1,384
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $260 by
1973, on its way to $1,384 in 2014; 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: 2014
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,384; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2014: $100 is worth $1,384 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2014/