$100 in 1942 is worth $1,429 in 2013,
because prices increased 1329.2% over that period, an average of
3.82% a year.
$100 in 1942 has
the same buying power as
$1,429
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
1329.2%
Average inflation rate
3.82% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$1,429
Price difference ($100 base)
$1,329
CPI in 1942
16.3
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1942
10.88%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1942 → 2013
$1,429
$100 in 2013 → 1942
$7.00
What happened to prices between 1942 and 2013
Between 1942 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 16.3 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 1329.2%, which works out to an average of
3.82% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1942 bought what
$0.07 buys in 2013: the 1942 dollar
lost 93.0% of its purchasing power over
these 71 years.
Consumer prices rose 10.9% in 1942, up from 1941’s already
rapid 5.0% and the fastest increase since 1920, as the economy’s crash
conversion to war production collided with shrinking supplies of civilian
goods. The government tried to contain it: the General Maximum Price
Regulation, effective May 18 and known as “General Max,” froze most retail
prices at their highest March level, the broadest price control Washington
had ever attempted. Rationing followed close behind. Sugar rationing began
that May and gasoline rationing went nationwide in December, the leading
edge of a system that would eventually cover meat, coffee, shoes, tires, and
dozens of other goods before the war ended. The year’s other defining
wartime measure had nothing to do with prices. Executive Order 9066, signed
February 19, authorized the military to remove more than 110,000 Japanese
Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, from the West Coast and hold them in
inland internment camps for the war’s duration, one of the era’s starkest
violations of civil liberties. Even with price controls in place, consumer
prices climbed more than 10% for the first time since 1920, leaving the CPI
64.6% above its 1913 level. First-class postage held at 3
cents, and the minimum wage stayed at 30 cents an hour.
Every 1942 amount converts to 2013 at the same ratio, 14.29: $1,000 becomes
$14,292, and $10,000 becomes $142,918.
Amount in 1942
Value in 2013
$1.00
$14.29
$5.00
$71.46
$10.00
$143
$20.00
$286
$50.00
$715
$100
$1,429
$500
$7,146
$1,000
$14,292
$5,000
$71,459
$10,000
$142,918
$100,000
$1,429,184
$1,000,000
$14,291,840
Inflation by spending category, 1942–2013
Between 1942 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 3873.2%, while apparel rose the least, up 377.2%, against 1329.2% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1942
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1942 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.82%
$1,429
Medical care
5.32%
$3,973
Food
3.93%
$1,539
Transportation
3.74%
$1,359
Apparel
2.23%
$477
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1942: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1942 to 2013
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and slowest in the 1950s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1942–2013 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1942, at end
1942–1950
5.01%
47.9%
$148
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$182
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$238
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$506
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$802
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$1,056
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$1,338
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$1,429
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1942
$100 from 1942 had already become $372 by
1977, on its way to $1,429 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 1.2% in 1949, 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 1942 had the buying
power of $1,429; 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 1942 to 2013: $100 is worth $1,429 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1942-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1942 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1942-to-2013/