$100 in 1932 is worth $1,572 in 2008,
because prices increased 1471.6% over that period, an average of
3.69% a year.
$100 in 1932 has
the same buying power as
$1,572
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1471.6%
Average inflation rate
3.69% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,572
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,472
CPI in 1932
13.7
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1932
-9.87%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1932 → 2008
$1,572
$100 in 2008 → 1932
$6.36
What happened to prices between 1932 and 2008
Between 1932 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.7 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1471.6%, which works out to an average of
3.69% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1932 bought what
$0.06 buys in 2008: the 1932 dollar
lost 93.6% of its purchasing power over
these 76 years.
Consumer prices fell 9.9% in 1932, the steepest single-year drop in the
CPI’s history to that point and the third straight year of decline following
1930 and 1931. Wages, farm incomes, and
industrial output all kept falling, and Congress tried to arrest the credit
collapse by creating the Reconstruction Finance Corporation that January,
capitalized at $500 million with authority to borrow up to $1.5 billion to
lend directly to banks, railroads, and other struggling businesses. Relief
did not reach ordinary households as quickly. That summer, tens of thousands
of World War I veterans and their families camped in Washington demanding
early payment of a service bonus not due until 1945; in July, U.S. Army
troops under General Douglas MacArthur forcibly dispersed the encampment, an
episode that badly damaged the Hoover administration’s standing months
before an election it was already losing. Voters delivered their verdict on
November 8, electing Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide over the
incumbent Hoover on a promise of relief and a “new deal for the American
people.” Roosevelt would not take office until the following March, leaving
a long and difficult transition during the depths of the crisis. First-class
postage rose from 2 cents to 3 cents on July 6, the first change to the rate
since 1919.
Every 1932 amount converts to 2008 at the same ratio, 15.72: $1,000 becomes
$15,716, and $10,000 becomes $157,155.
Amount in 1932
Value in 2008
$1.00
$15.72
$5.00
$78.58
$10.00
$157
$20.00
$314
$50.00
$786
$100
$1,572
$500
$7,858
$1,000
$15,716
$5,000
$78,578
$10,000
$157,155
$100,000
$1,571,555
$1,000,000
$15,715,547
Inflation by spending category, 1932–2008
Between 1932 and 2008, food rose the most, up 1901.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 509.8%, against 1471.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1932
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1932 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.69%
$1,572
Food
4.02%
$2,001
Apparel
2.41%
$610
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–).
Decade by decade: 1932 to 2008
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and slowest in the 1930s (0.27% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1932–2008 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1932, at end
1932–1940
0.27%
2.2%
$102
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$176
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$216
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$283
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$601
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$954
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$1,257
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$1,572
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1932
$100 from 1932 had already become $305 by
1972, on its way to $1,572 in 2008; 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 5.1% in 1933, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2008
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1932 had the buying
power of $1,572; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1932 to 2008: $100 is worth $1,572 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1932 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2008/