U.S. inflation · 1939–2009
$100 in 1939 has the same buying power as
$1,543
in 2009
| Cumulative price change | 1443.4% |
|---|---|
| Average inflation rate | 3.99% per year |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $1,543 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $1,443 |
| CPI in 1939 | 13.9 |
| CPI in 2009 | 214.537 |
| Inflation in 1939 | -1.42% |
| Inflation in 2009 | -0.36% |
| $100 in 1939 → 2009 | $1,543 |
| $100 in 2009 → 1939 | $6.48 |
Between 1939 and 2009, the Consumer Price Index went from 13.9 to 214.537. Cumulatively, prices increased 1443.4%, which works out to an average of 3.99% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1939 bought what $0.06 buys in 2009.
| Amount in 1939 | Value in 2009 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $15.43 |
| $5.00 | $77.17 |
| $10.00 | $154 |
| $20.00 | $309 |
| $50.00 | $772 |
| $100 | $1,543 |
| $500 | $7,717 |
| $1,000 | $15,434 |
| $5,000 | $77,172 |
| $10,000 | $154,343 |
| $100,000 | $1,543,432 |
| $1,000,000 | $15,434,317 |
The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1939 spending costs in 2009, by category:
| Category | Avg. yearly inflation | $100 in 1939 → |
|---|---|---|
| All items (CPI-U) | 3.99% | $1,543 |
| Medical care | 5.27% | $3,647 |
| Food | 4.25% | $1,847 |
| Transportation | 3.68% | $1,254 |
| Apparel | 2.48% | $556 |
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1939: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
| Year | CPI | Inflation rate | $100 from 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 13.9 | -1.4% | $100 |
| 1944 | 17.6 | 1.7% | $127 |
| 1949 | 23.8 | -1.2% | $171 |
| 1954 | 26.9 | 0.7% | $194 |
| 1959 | 29.1 | 0.7% | $209 |
| 1964 | 31 | 1.3% | $223 |
| 1969 | 36.7 | 5.5% | $264 |
| 1974 | 49.3 | 11.0% | $355 |
| 1979 | 72.6 | 11.3% | $522 |
| 1984 | 103.9 | 4.3% | $747 |
| 1989 | 124 | 4.8% | $892 |
| 1994 | 148.2 | 2.6% | $1,066 |
| 1999 | 166.6 | 2.2% | $1,199 |
| 2004 | 188.9 | 2.7% | $1,359 |
| 2009 | 214.537 | -0.4% | $1,543 |
Long periods are sampled every 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
2009 is the rarest kind of year in the modern price data: one where the cost of living went down. The CPI fell 0.4%, the first full-year deflation since 1955, as the Great Recession hollowed out demand and oil unwound from its $147 spike the summer before. Gasoline that had cost over $4 a gallon in July 2008 averaged $2.35 in 2009, and that energy collapse dragged the 12-month inflation rate to −2.1% by July, the deepest reading since 1950. Policymakers treated falling prices not as relief but as a warning: deflation raises the real weight of debt precisely when households are drowning in it, which is why the Federal Reserve pinned interest rates near zero, began buying bonds by the hundreds of billions, and Washington passed a $787 billion stimulus. The medicine took: prices stabilized within a year, and 2009 remains the textbook case of why central banks fear deflation more than moderate inflation.
MLA: “Inflation from 1939 to 2009: $100 is worth $1,543 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1939-to-2009/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1939 to 2009. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1939-to-2009/
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.