$100 in 1932 is worth $1,730 in 2015,
because prices increased 1630.1% over that period, an average of
3.49% a year.
$100 in 1932 has
the same buying power as
$1,730
in 2015
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1630.1%
Average inflation rate
3.49% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,730
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,630
CPI in 1932
13.7
CPI in 2015
237.017
Inflation in 1932
-9.87%
Inflation in 2015
0.12%
$100 in 1932 → 2015
$1,730
$100 in 2015 → 1932
$5.78
What happened to prices between 1932 and 2015
Between 1932 and 2015, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.7 to 237.017.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1630.1%, which works out to an average of
3.49% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1932 bought what
$0.06 buys in 2015: the 1932 dollar
lost 94.2% of its purchasing power over
these 83 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 2015 at the same ratio, 17.30: $1,000 becomes
$17,301, and $10,000 becomes $173,005.
Amount in 1932
Value in 2015
$1.00
$17.30
$5.00
$86.50
$10.00
$173
$20.00
$346
$50.00
$865
$100
$1,730
$500
$8,650
$1,000
$17,301
$5,000
$86,503
$10,000
$173,005
$100,000
$1,730,051
$1,000,000
$17,300,511
Inflation by spending category, 1932–2015
Between 1932 and 2015, food rose the most, up 2210.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 545.7%, against 1630.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1932
spending costs in 2015, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1932 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.49%
$1,730
Food
3.86%
$2,311
Apparel
2.27%
$646
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 2015
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 1932–2015 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
2010–2015
1.68%
8.7%
$1,730
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1932
$100 from 1932 had already become $305 by
1972, on its way to $1,730 in 2015; 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: 2015
In 2015, prices rose 0.1% and $100 from 1932 had the buying
power of $1,730; the year's average CPI of 237.017 is the level
behind every 2015 figure on this page.
2015 was almost a year with no inflation at all. Consumer prices rose 0.1%,
the smallest increase since the 2009 decline, because energy prices kept
falling. Gasoline averaged $2.45 a gallon, down from $3.37 in 2014, and a
strong dollar made imported goods cheaper. The picture was different outside
food and energy: core prices rose about 1.8% as rents and medical costs
climbed.
Incomes finally showed real progress. Median household income reached $56,516,
a large jump from $53,657, and the median new home sold for about $296,400. The
federal minimum wage stayed at $7.25, and a first-class stamp stayed at 49
cents.
The Federal Reserve chose December to end its zero-rate policy, raising the
target range to 0.25–0.50% for the first time since 2006. It moved even
though headline inflation was far under 2%, arguing that the drag from
energy was temporary. Earlier, a currency shift in China in August had shaken
global markets and pushed oil below $40 a barrel. Prices in 2015 ended
the year barely above their 2014 level.
MLA: “Inflation from 1932 to 2015: $100 is worth $1,730 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2015/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1932 to 2015. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1932-to-2015/