What is $100 in 1938 worth in 1943?

$100 in 1938 has the purchasing power of about $123 in 1943, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1938 and 1943?

Prices rose 22.7% in total between 1938 and 1943, an average of 4.18% per year.

How much is $1 in 1938 worth today?

$1 in 1938 is equivalent to about $1.23 in 1943. Equivalently, a 1943 dollar buys what $0.82 bought in 1938.

U.S. inflation · 1938–1943

Value of $100 in 1938, adjusted to 1943

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1938 has the same buying power as

$123

in 1943

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	22.7%
Average inflation rate	4.18% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$123
Price difference ($100 base)	$22.70
CPI in 1938	14.1
CPI in 1943	17.3
Inflation in 1938	-2.08%
Inflation in 1943	6.13%
$100 in 1938 → 1943	$123
$100 in 1943 → 1938	$81.50

What happened to prices between 1938 and 1943

Between 1938 and 1943, the Consumer Price Index went from 14.1 to 17.3. Cumulatively, prices increased 22.7%, which works out to an average of 4.18% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1938 bought what $0.82 buys in 1943.

Common amounts: 1938 dollars in 1943

Amount in 1938	Value in 1943
$1.00	$1.23
$5.00	$6.13
$10.00	$12.27
$20.00	$24.54
$50.00	$61.35
$100	$123
$500	$613
$1,000	$1,227
$5,000	$6,135
$10,000	$12,270
$100,000	$122,695
$1,000,000	$1,226,950

Inflation by spending category, 1938–1943

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1938 spending costs in 1943, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1938 →
All items (CPI-U)	4.18%	$123
Food	7.16%	$141
Apparel	4.89%	$127
Transportation	1.72%	$109
Medical care	1.69%	$109

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1938: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1938

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1938
1938	14.1	-2.1%	$100
1939	13.9	-1.4%	$98.58
1940	14	0.7%	$99.29
1941	14.7	5.0%	$104
1942	16.3	10.9%	$116
1943	17.3	6.1%	$123

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1938 to 1943: $100 is worth $123 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1938-to-1943/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1938 to 1943. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1938-to-1943/

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.