$100 in 1932 is worth $1,700 in 2013,
because prices increased 1600.4% over that period, an average of
3.56% a year.
$100 in 1932 has
the same buying power as
$1,700
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1600.4%
Average inflation rate
3.56% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,700
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,600
CPI in 1932
13.7
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1932
-9.87%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1932 → 2013
$1,700
$100 in 2013 → 1932
$5.88
What happened to prices between 1932 and 2013
Between 1932 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.7 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1600.4%, which works out to an average of
3.56% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1932 bought what
$0.06 buys in 2013: the 1932 dollar
lost 94.1% of its purchasing power over
these 81 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 2013 at the same ratio, 17.00: $1,000 becomes
$17,004, and $10,000 becomes $170,042.
Amount in 1932
Value in 2013
$1.00
$17.00
$5.00
$85.02
$10.00
$170
$20.00
$340
$50.00
$850
$100
$1,700
$500
$8,502
$1,000
$17,004
$5,000
$85,021
$10,000
$170,042
$100,000
$1,700,416
$1,000,000
$17,004,161
Inflation by spending category, 1932–2013
Between 1932 and 2013, food rose the most, up 2115.3%, while apparel rose the least, up 553.4%, against 1600.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1932
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1932 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.56%
$1,700
Food
3.90%
$2,215
Apparel
2.34%
$653
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 2013
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 1932–2013 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,592
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$1,700
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1932
$100 from 1932 had already become $305 by
1972, on its way to $1,700 in 2013; 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: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1932 had the buying
power of $1,700; the year's average CPI of 232.957 is the level
behind every 2013 figure on this page.
2013 was a low-inflation year with a lot of noise around the Federal Reserve.
Consumer prices rose 1.5%, below the Fed’s 2% target, and gasoline eased to an
average of $3.51 a gallon. Housing was the exception: the median new home sold
for about $268,900, up sharply from $245,200 in 2012, as the market recovered
from its post-crisis bottom.
The Fed dominated the news. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s May comments about slowing
bond purchases pushed long-term interest rates up by roughly a percentage
point that summer, and mortgages became more expensive within weeks. In
December the Fed finally announced a first small cut to its purchases while
promising to keep short-term rates near zero for a long time.
Washington added its own disruption. A 16-day government shutdown in October
delayed data releases and left a hole in that month’s CPI collection. Median
household income was reported at $53,585, the federal minimum wage stayed at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp cost 46 cents. The decade’s pattern was taking
shape: slow price growth, ultra-low interest rates, and a labor market that
improved gradually.
MLA: “Inflation from 1932 to 2013: $100 is worth $1,700 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1932 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2013/