$100 in 1950 is worth $251 in 1977,
because prices increased 151.5% over that period, an average of
3.47% a year.
$100 in 1950 has
the same buying power as
$251
in 1977
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
151.5%
Average inflation rate
3.47% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$251
Price difference ($100 base)
$151
CPI in 1950
24.1
CPI in 1977
60.6
Inflation in 1950
1.26%
Inflation in 1977
6.50%
$100 in 1950 → 1977
$251
$100 in 1977 → 1950
$39.77
What happened to prices between 1950 and 1977
Between 1950 and 1977, the Consumer Price Index went from 24.1 to 60.6.
Cumulatively, prices increased 151.5%, which works out to an average of
3.47% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1950 bought what
$0.40 buys in 1977: the 1950 dollar
lost 60.2% of its purchasing power over
these 27 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 1977 at the same ratio, 2.51: $1,000 becomes
$2,515, and $10,000 becomes $25,145.
Amount in 1950
Value in 1977
$1.00
$2.51
$5.00
$12.57
$10.00
$25.15
$20.00
$50.29
$50.00
$126
$100
$251
$500
$1,257
$1,000
$2,515
$5,000
$12,573
$10,000
$25,145
$100,000
$251,452
$1,000,000
$2,514,523
Inflation by spending category, 1950–1977
Between 1950 and 1977, medical care rose the most, up 277.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 95.0%, against 151.5% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1950
spending costs in 1977, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1950 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.47%
$251
Medical care
5.04%
$377
Transportation
3.60%
$260
Food
3.57%
$258
Apparel
2.51%
$195
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 1977
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 6.58% a year, and slowest in the 1950s (2.08% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1950–1977 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
1970–1977
6.58%
56.2%
$251
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1950
$100 from 1950 had already become $127 by
1963, on its way to $251 in 1977; 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 1977, prices rose 6.5% and $100 from 1950 had the buying
power of $251; the year's average CPI of 60.6 is the level
behind every 1977 figure on this page.
Consumer prices rose 6.5% in 1977, ticking back up from 1976’s
5.8% as the economic recovery strengthened, wages climbed, and energy costs
pushed higher again. The year opened with a warning about that energy
dependence: record cold across the Midwest and Northeast in January and
February strained natural gas supplies so badly that schools and factories in
several states shut down for days to conserve fuel. Jimmy Carter, inaugurated
that January, made energy policy a centerpiece of his presidency, and
Congress created the cabinet-level Department of Energy that August to
consolidate programs built up piecemeal since the 1973 oil embargo. Culture
offered some relief from the anxiety: released that May, Star Wars became the
highest-grossing film in history to that point, drawing lines around theater
blocks for months. The year also closed an era in a different way. Elvis
Presley was found dead at his Graceland home on August 16 at age 42, drawing
tens of thousands of mourners to Memphis. A median household earned $13,572
in 1977, a new home sold for a median $48,800, and gas averaged 62 cents a
gallon. Consumer prices stood 512.1% above their 1913 level,
with the energy anxieties of the year setting up the harder shocks of 1978
and 1979.
MLA: “Inflation from 1950 to 1977: $100 is worth $251 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-1977/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1950 to 1977. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-1977/