$100 in 1950 is worth $236 in 1976,
because prices increased 136.1% over that period, an average of
3.36% a year.
$100 in 1950 has
the same buying power as
$236
in 1976
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
136.1%
Average inflation rate
3.36% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$236
Price difference ($100 base)
$136
CPI in 1950
24.1
CPI in 1976
56.9
Inflation in 1950
1.26%
Inflation in 1976
5.76%
$100 in 1950 → 1976
$236
$100 in 1976 → 1950
$42.36
What happened to prices between 1950 and 1976
Between 1950 and 1976, the Consumer Price Index went from 24.1 to 56.9.
Cumulatively, prices increased 136.1%, which works out to an average of
3.36% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1950 bought what
$0.42 buys in 1976: the 1950 dollar
lost 57.6% of its purchasing power over
these 26 years.
Consumer prices rose 1.3% in 1950, up from 1949’s 1.2%
decline, a mild gain that hid a sharp turn partway through the year. The
cost of living had been roughly flat through the spring, then jumped after
North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, setting off a wave of hoarding
and defense buying reminiscent of World War II shortages. The United
States entered the war within days under a United Nations mandate;
American and South Korean forces were pushed back to the Pusan Perimeter
that summer before a landing at Inchon that September reversed the front,
and China’s entry into the war that November turned it into a longer
stalemate. Congress moved to put the economy on a war footing that
September, passing the Defense Production Act, which gave the president
authority to direct industrial output toward the military and, if prices
kept climbing, to impose formal wage and price controls. Domestic policy
also expanded that year: the Social Security Amendments of 1950, signed
August 28, raised benefits across the board and extended coverage to
roughly 10 million more workers, the program’s first major expansion since
it began in 1935. Consumer prices finished 1950 143.4% above their
1913 level, matching 1948’s postwar high
after 1949’s brief decline. First-class postage held at 3 cents, and the
minimum wage stood at 75 cents an hour after January’s increase.
Every 1950 amount converts to 1976 at the same ratio, 2.36: $1,000 becomes
$2,361, and $10,000 becomes $23,610.
Amount in 1950
Value in 1976
$1.00
$2.36
$5.00
$11.80
$10.00
$23.61
$20.00
$47.22
$50.00
$118
$100
$236
$500
$1,180
$1,000
$2,361
$5,000
$11,805
$10,000
$23,610
$100,000
$236,100
$1,000,000
$2,360,996
Inflation by spending category, 1950–1976
Between 1950 and 1976, medical care rose the most, up 244.4%, while apparel rose the least, up 86.6%, against 136.1% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1950
spending costs in 1976, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1950 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.36%
$236
Medical care
4.87%
$344
Transportation
3.47%
$243
Food
3.47%
$243
Apparel
2.43%
$187
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1950: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1950 to 1976
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 6.59% a year, and slowest in the 1950s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1950–1976 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1950, at end
1950–1960
2.08%
22.8%
$123
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$161
1970–1976
6.59%
46.6%
$236
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1950
$100 from 1950 had already become $127 by
1963, on its way to $236 in 1976; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 11.0% in 1974, and prices fell 0.4% in 1955, the deepest deflation of the period.
In 1976, prices rose 5.8% and $100 from 1950 had the buying
power of $236; the year's average CPI of 56.9 is the level
behind every 1976 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 5.8% in 1976, the calmest pace since 1972,
as the economy pulled out of the 1973-75 recession and price growth settled
to roughly half its 1974 peak. The recovery gave Americans
room to celebrate: tall ships filled New York Harbor and fireworks lit cities
nationwide on July 4 for the country’s bicentennial, a rare moment of shared
celebration after Vietnam and Watergate. Politically, Jimmy Carter, a former
Georgia governor running as a Washington outsider, defeated incumbent Gerald
Ford that November, campaigning on restoring trust in government and bringing
down inflation and unemployment together. In a California garage, Steve
Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer that April to
sell the Apple I, a bare circuit board aimed at electronics hobbyists, a
business that looked far from consequential at the time. First-class
postage, which had risen to 13 cents that past December 31, held there
through the year, the longest stretch without a rate change since the Postal
Service’s creation. A median household earned $12,686 in 1976, a new home
sold for a median $44,200, and gas averaged 59 cents a gallon. Consumer
prices stood 474.7% above their 1913 level, a calm interlude
before inflation turned back up.
MLA: “Inflation from 1950 to 1976: $100 is worth $236 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-1976/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1950 to 1976. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-1976/