$100 in 1932 is worth $1,728 in 2014,
because prices increased 1628.0% over that period, an average of
3.54% a year.
$100 in 1932 has
the same buying power as
$1,728
in 2014
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1628.0%
Average inflation rate
3.54% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,728
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,628
CPI in 1932
13.7
CPI in 2014
236.736
Inflation in 1932
-9.87%
Inflation in 2014
1.62%
$100 in 1932 → 2014
$1,728
$100 in 2014 → 1932
$5.79
What happened to prices between 1932 and 2014
Between 1932 and 2014, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.7 to 236.736.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1628.0%, which works out to an average of
3.54% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1932 bought what
$0.06 buys in 2014: the 1932 dollar
lost 94.2% of its purchasing power over
these 82 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 2014 at the same ratio, 17.28: $1,000 becomes
$17,280, and $10,000 becomes $172,800.
Amount in 1932
Value in 2014
$1.00
$17.28
$5.00
$86.40
$10.00
$173
$20.00
$346
$50.00
$864
$100
$1,728
$500
$8,640
$1,000
$17,280
$5,000
$86,400
$10,000
$172,800
$100,000
$1,728,000
$1,000,000
$17,280,000
Inflation by spending category, 1932–2014
Between 1932 and 2014, food rose the most, up 2168.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 553.9%, against 1628.0% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1932
spending costs in 2014, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1932 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.54%
$1,728
Food
3.88%
$2,268
Apparel
2.32%
$654
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 2014
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 1932–2014 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
2010–2014
2.08%
8.6%
$1,728
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1932
$100 from 1932 had already become $305 by
1972, on its way to $1,728 in 2014; 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: 2014
In 2014, prices rose 1.6% and $100 from 1932 had the buying
power of $1,728; the year's average CPI of 236.736 is the level
behind every 2014 figure on this page.
2014 ended with the sharpest oil price drop in years. Consumer prices rose
1.6% for the year, close to 2013’s pace, but the annual figure hid a shift at
the pump: crude oil fell from above $100 a barrel in June to below $60 in
December, and gasoline finished the year near $2.25 a gallon after averaging
$3.37 across 2014. The drop reflected record U.S. shale output, softer
global demand, and OPEC’s decision in November to keep producing.
For households, cheaper fuel arrived just as the labor market strengthened.
Median household income was $53,657, essentially flat on the prior year, and
the median new home sold for about $288,500. The federal minimum wage stayed
at $7.25 for a fifth year, and a first-class stamp rose to 49 cents.
The Federal Reserve ended its bond purchases in October but left its policy
rate at zero. A stronger dollar helped hold down import prices. Because
energy weighs heavily in the CPI, the late-year slide carried into 2015, which
posted the smallest annual increase of the decade.
MLA: “Inflation from 1932 to 2014: $100 is worth $1,728 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2014/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1932 to 2014. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2014/