What is $100 in 1934 worth in 1940?

$100 in 1934 has the purchasing power of about $104 in 1940, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1934 and 1940?

Prices rose 4.5% in total between 1934 and 1940, an average of 0.73% per year.

How much is $1 in 1934 worth today?

$1 in 1934 is equivalent to about $1.04 in 1940. Equivalently, a 1940 dollar buys what $0.96 bought in 1934.

U.S. inflation · 1934–1940

Value of $100 in 1934, adjusted to 1940

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1934 has the same buying power as

$104

in 1940

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	4.5%
Average inflation rate	0.73% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$104
Price difference ($100 base)	$4.48
CPI in 1934	13.4
CPI in 1940	14
Inflation in 1934	3.08%
Inflation in 1940	0.72%
$100 in 1934 → 1940	$104
$100 in 1940 → 1934	$95.71

What happened to prices between 1934 and 1940

Between 1934 and 1940, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.4 to 14. Cumulatively, prices increased 4.5%, which works out to an average of 0.73% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1934 bought what $0.96 buys in 1940.

Common amounts: 1934 dollars in 1940

Amount in 1934	Value in 1940
$1.00	$1.04
$5.00	$5.22
$10.00	$10.45
$20.00	$20.90
$50.00	$52.24
$100	$104
$500	$522
$1,000	$1,045
$5,000	$5,224
$10,000	$10,448
$100,000	$104,478
$1,000,000	$1,044,776

Inflation by spending category, 1934–1940

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1934 spending costs in 1940, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1934 →
All items (CPI-U)	0.73%	$104
Apparel	0.95%	$106
Food	0.57%	$103

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1934: 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 1934

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1934
1934	13.4	3.1%	$100
1935	13.7	2.2%	$102
1936	13.9	1.5%	$104
1937	14.4	3.6%	$107
1938	14.1	-2.1%	$105
1939	13.9	-1.4%	$104
1940	14	0.7%	$104

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1934 to 1940: $100 is worth $104 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1934-to-1940/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1934 to 1940. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1934-to-1940/

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.