What is $100 in 1932 worth in 1939?

$100 in 1932 has the purchasing power of about $101 in 1939, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1932 and 1939?

Prices rose 1.5% in total between 1932 and 1939, an average of 0.21% per year.

How much is $1 in 1932 worth today?

$1 in 1932 is equivalent to about $1.01 in 1939. Equivalently, a 1939 dollar buys what $0.99 bought in 1932.

U.S. inflation · 1932–1939

Value of $100 in 1932, adjusted to 1939

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1932 has the same buying power as

$101

in 1939

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	1.5%
Average inflation rate	0.21% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$101
Price difference ($100 base)	$1.46
CPI in 1932	13.7
CPI in 1939	13.9
Inflation in 1932	-9.87%
Inflation in 1939	-1.42%
$100 in 1932 → 1939	$101
$100 in 1939 → 1932	$98.56

What happened to prices between 1932 and 1939

Between 1932 and 1939, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.7 to 13.9. Cumulatively, prices increased 1.5%, which works out to an average of 0.21% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1932 bought what $0.99 buys in 1939.

Common amounts: 1932 dollars in 1939

Amount in 1932	Value in 1939
$1.00	$1.01
$5.00	$5.07
$10.00	$10.15
$20.00	$20.29
$50.00	$50.73
$100	$101
$500	$507
$1,000	$1,015
$5,000	$5,073
$10,000	$10,146
$100,000	$101,460
$1,000,000	$1,014,599

Inflation by spending category, 1932–1939

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1932 spending costs in 1939, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1932 →
All items (CPI-U)	0.21%	$101
Apparel	1.47%	$111
Food	1.41%	$110

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1932: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), medical care (1935–), transportation (1935–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1932

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1932
1932	13.7	-9.9%	$100
1933	13	-5.1%	$94.89
1934	13.4	3.1%	$97.81
1935	13.7	2.2%	$100
1936	13.9	1.5%	$101
1937	14.4	3.6%	$105
1938	14.1	-2.1%	$103
1939	13.9	-1.4%	$101

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1932 to 1939: $100 is worth $101 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-1939/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1932 to 1939. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-1939/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.