What is $100 in 1940 worth in 1942?

$100 in 1940 has the purchasing power of about $116 in 1942, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1940 and 1942?

Prices rose 16.4% in total between 1940 and 1942, an average of 7.90% per year.

How much is $1 in 1940 worth today?

$1 in 1940 is equivalent to about $1.16 in 1942. Equivalently, a 1942 dollar buys what $0.86 bought in 1940.

U.S. inflation · 1940–1942

Value of $100 in 1940, adjusted to 1942

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1940 has the same buying power as

$116

in 1942

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	16.4%
Average inflation rate	7.90% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$116
Price difference ($100 base)	$16.43
CPI in 1940	14
CPI in 1942	16.3
Inflation in 1940	0.72%
Inflation in 1942	10.88%
$100 in 1940 → 1942	$116
$100 in 1942 → 1940	$85.89

What happened to prices between 1940 and 1942

Between 1940 and 1942, the Consumer Price Index went from 14 to 16.3. Cumulatively, prices increased 16.4%, which works out to an average of 7.90% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1940 bought what $0.86 buys in 1942.

Common amounts: 1940 dollars in 1942

Amount in 1940	Value in 1942
$1.00	$1.16
$5.00	$5.82
$10.00	$11.64
$20.00	$23.29
$50.00	$58.21
$100	$116
$500	$582
$1,000	$1,164
$5,000	$5,821
$10,000	$11,643
$100,000	$116,429
$1,000,000	$1,164,286

Inflation by spending category, 1940–1942

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1940 spending costs in 1942, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1940 →
All items (CPI-U)	7.90%	$116
Food	13.28%	$128
Apparel	10.67%	$122
Transportation	6.15%	$113
Medical care	1.43%	$103

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1940: 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 1940

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1940
1940	14	0.7%	$100
1941	14.7	5.0%	$105
1942	16.3	10.9%	$116

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1940 to 1942: $100 is worth $116 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1940-to-1942/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1940 to 1942. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1940-to-1942/

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.