$100 in 1928 is worth $1,404 in 2016,
because prices increased 1303.5% over that period, an average of
3.05% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,404
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1303.5%
Average inflation rate
3.05% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,404
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,304
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1928 → 2016
$1,404
$100 in 2016 → 1928
$7.12
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2016
Between 1928 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1303.5%, which works out to an average of
3.05% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2016: the 1928 dollar
lost 92.9% of its purchasing power over
these 88 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 2016 at the same ratio, 14.04: $1,000 becomes
$14,035, and $10,000 becomes $140,355.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2016
$1.00
$14.04
$5.00
$70.18
$10.00
$140
$20.00
$281
$50.00
$702
$100
$1,404
$500
$7,018
$1,000
$14,035
$5,000
$70,177
$10,000
$140,355
$100,000
$1,403,550
$1,000,000
$14,035,497
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2016
Between 1928 and 2016, food rose the most, up 1421.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 404.2%, against 1303.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.05%
$1,404
Food
3.14%
$1,521
Apparel
1.86%
$504
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 2016
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 1928–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$1,404
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $260 by
1973, on its way to $1,404 in 2016; 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: 2016
In 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,404; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2016: $100 is worth $1,404 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2016/