$100 in 1937 is worth $1,618 in 2013,
because prices increased 1517.8% over that period, an average of
3.73% a year.
$100 in 1937 has
the same buying power as
$1,618
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1517.8%
Average inflation rate
3.73% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,618
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,518
CPI in 1937
14.4
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1937
3.60%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1937 → 2013
$1,618
$100 in 2013 → 1937
$6.18
What happened to prices between 1937 and 2013
Between 1937 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 14.4 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1517.8%, which works out to an average of
3.73% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1937 bought what
$0.06 buys in 2013: the 1937 dollar
lost 93.8% of its purchasing power over
these 76 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 2013 at the same ratio, 16.18: $1,000 becomes
$16,178, and $10,000 becomes $161,776.
Amount in 1937
Value in 2013
$1.00
$16.18
$5.00
$80.89
$10.00
$162
$20.00
$324
$50.00
$809
$100
$1,618
$500
$8,089
$1,000
$16,178
$5,000
$80,888
$10,000
$161,776
$100,000
$1,617,757
$1,000,000
$16,177,569
Inflation by spending category, 1937–2013
Between 1937 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 4027.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 479.1%, against 1517.8% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1937
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1937 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.73%
$1,618
Medical care
5.02%
$4,128
Food
3.88%
$1,809
Transportation
3.63%
$1,499
Apparel
2.34%
$579
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 2013
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 1937–2013 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,514
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$1,618
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1937
$100 from 1937 had already become $421 by
1977, on its way to $1,618 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 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: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1937 had the buying
power of $1,618; 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 1937 to 2013: $100 is worth $1,618 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1937-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1937 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1937-to-2013/