$100 in 1937 is worth $1,196 in 2000,
because prices increased 1095.8% over that period, an average of
4.02% a year.
$100 in 1937 has
the same buying power as
$1,196
in 2000
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1095.8%
Average inflation rate
4.02% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,196
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,096
CPI in 1937
14.4
CPI in 2000
172.2
Inflation in 1937
3.60%
Inflation in 2000
3.36%
$100 in 1937 → 2000
$1,196
$100 in 2000 → 1937
$8.36
What happened to prices between 1937 and 2000
Between 1937 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index went from 14.4 to 172.2.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1095.8%, which works out to an average of
4.02% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1937 bought what
$0.08 buys in 2000: the 1937 dollar
lost 91.6% of its purchasing power over
these 63 years.
Consumer prices rose 3.6% in 1937, the fastest pace since before the
Depression and the fourth straight year of gains, leaving prices 10.8% above
their 1933 trough though still 15.8% below the
1929 peak. The recovery did not last the year. The National
Bureau of Economic Research dates a new business cycle peak to that May, the
start of what became known as the Recession of 1937-38. Policy tightened on
two fronts at once: the Federal Reserve had doubled bank reserve
requirements over the preceding year to head off inflation it worried was
building, and the federal government pulled back its own spending even as
new Social Security payroll taxes began draining money from paychecks
months before the first benefit checks went out. Together they choked off a
recovery that had not yet reached its pre-Depression footing. Not every
milestone that year was economic. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic
on May 27 after four years of construction, at the time the longest
suspension bridge span in the world, a rare bright spot in a year that would
end with the economy sliding backward again. First-class postage held at 3
cents.
Every 1937 amount converts to 2000 at the same ratio, 11.96: $1,000 becomes
$11,958, and $10,000 becomes $119,583.
Amount in 1937
Value in 2000
$1.00
$11.96
$5.00
$59.79
$10.00
$120
$20.00
$239
$50.00
$598
$100
$1,196
$500
$5,979
$1,000
$11,958
$5,000
$59,792
$10,000
$119,583
$100,000
$1,195,833
$1,000,000
$11,958,333
Inflation by spending category, 1937–2000
Between 1937 and 2000, medical care rose the most, up 2432.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 489.1%, against 1095.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1937
spending costs in 2000, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1937 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.02%
$1,196
Medical care
5.26%
$2,532
Food
4.13%
$1,281
Transportation
3.81%
$1,057
Apparel
2.85%
$589
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1937: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1937 to 2000
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and fell in the 1930s (0.9% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1937–2000 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1937, at end
1937–1940
-0.93%
-2.8%
$97.22
1940–1950
5.58%
72.1%
$167
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$206
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$269
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$572
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$908
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$1,196
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1937
$100 from 1937 had already become $232 by
1967, on its way to $1,196 in 2000; 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 2.1% in 1938, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2000
In 2000, prices rose 3.4% and $100 from 1937 had the buying
power of $1,196; the year's average CPI of 172.2 is the level
behind every 2000 figure on this page.
Inflation ran at 3.4% in 2000, the highest annual rate since 1991, as an economy growing
above 4% and a rise in oil prices pushed the CPI up. The median household earned about
$42,100, gas averaged $1.51 a gallon, and a new home cost roughly $169,000. The Federal
Reserve had raised interest rates six times since mid-1999 and stopped at 6.5% in May. By
then the stock market had already turned: the Nasdaq hit its record of 5,048 on March 10 and
lost about 39% of its value by December. Consumer prices did not reflect the slowdown yet,
which is why the Fed held rates high through the year even as technology companies began to
fail. In October, Congress granted China permanent normal trade relations, a decision that
would help hold down the price of manufactured goods for years. A first-class stamp cost 33
cents and the federal minimum wage was $5.15. The recession of 2001 brought inflation back
down.
MLA: “Inflation from 1937 to 2000: $100 is worth $1,196 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1937-to-2000/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1937 to 2000. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1937-to-2000/