$100 in 1928 is worth $1,943 in 2026,
because prices increased 1842.9% over that period, an average of
3.07% a year.
$100 in 1928 has
the same buying power as
$1,943
in 2026
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1842.9%
Average inflation rate
3.07% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,943
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,843
CPI in 1928
17.1
CPI in 2026
332.243
Inflation in 1928
-1.72%
Inflation in 2026
3.20%
$100 in 1928 → 2026
$1,943
$100 in 2026 → 1928
$5.15
Uses a partial-year average for the current year; updates with each CPI release.
What happened to prices between 1928 and 2026
Between 1928 and 2026, the Consumer Price Index went from 17.1 to 332.243.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1842.9%, which works out to an average of
3.07% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1928 bought what
$0.05 buys in 2026: the 1928 dollar
lost 94.9% of its purchasing power over
these 98 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 2026 at the same ratio, 19.43: $1,000 becomes
$19,429, and $10,000 becomes $194,294.
Amount in 1928
Value in 2026
$1.00
$19.43
$5.00
$97.15
$10.00
$194
$20.00
$389
$50.00
$971
$100
$1,943
$500
$9,715
$1,000
$19,429
$5,000
$97,147
$10,000
$194,294
$100,000
$1,942,942
$1,000,000
$19,429,415
Inflation by spending category, 1928–2026
Between 1928 and 2026, food rose the most, up 2038.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 445.7%, against 1842.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1928
spending costs in 2026, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1928 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.07%
$1,943
Food
3.17%
$2,139
Apparel
1.75%
$546
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 2026
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 1928–2026 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
2010–2020
1.73%
18.7%
$1,514
2020–2026
4.25%
28.4%
$1,943
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1928
$100 from 1928 had already become $381 by
1978, on its way to $1,943 in 2026; 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: 2026
In 2026, prices rose 3.2% and $100 from 1928 had the buying
power of $1,943; the year's average CPI of 332.243 is the level
behind every 2026 figure on this page.
Cite this page
MLA: “Inflation from 1928 to 2026: $100 is worth $1,943 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2026/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1928 to 2026. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1928-to-2026/