$100 in 1950 is worth $893 in 2008,
because prices increased 793.4% over that period, an average of
3.85% a year.
$100 in 1950 has
the same buying power as
$893
in 2008
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
793.4%
Average inflation rate
3.85% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$893
Price difference ($100 base)
$793
CPI in 1950
24.1
CPI in 2008
215.303
Inflation in 1950
1.26%
Inflation in 2008
3.84%
$100 in 1950 → 2008
$893
$100 in 2008 → 1950
$11.19
What happened to prices between 1950 and 2008
Between 1950 and 2008, the Consumer Price Index went from 24.1 to 215.303.
Cumulatively, prices increased 793.4%, which works out to an average of
3.85% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1950 bought what
$0.11 buys in 2008: the 1950 dollar
lost 88.8% of its purchasing power over
these 58 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 2008 at the same ratio, 8.93: $1,000 becomes
$8,934, and $10,000 becomes $89,337.
Amount in 1950
Value in 2008
$1.00
$8.93
$5.00
$44.67
$10.00
$89.34
$20.00
$179
$50.00
$447
$100
$893
$500
$4,467
$1,000
$8,934
$5,000
$44,669
$10,000
$89,337
$100,000
$893,373
$1,000,000
$8,933,734
Inflation by spending category, 1950–2008
Between 1950 and 2008, medical care rose the most, up 2311.0%, while apparel rose the least, up 195.1%, against 793.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1950
spending costs in 2008, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1950 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.85%
$893
Medical care
5.64%
$2,411
Transportation
3.78%
$861
Food
3.74%
$843
Apparel
1.88%
$295
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 2008
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 1950–2008 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
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$342
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$542
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$715
2000–2008
2.83%
25.0%
$893
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1950
$100 from 1950 had already become $271 by
1978, on its way to $893 in 2008; each row shows the CPI, that
year's inflation rate, and the running value.
Within the span, inflation peaked at 13.5% in 1980, and prices fell 0.4% in 1955, the deepest deflation of the period.
Long periods are sampled every 2 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2008
In 2008, prices rose 3.8% and $100 from 1950 had the buying
power of $893; the year's average CPI of 215.303 is the level
behind every 2008 figure on this page.
Inflation averaged 3.8% in 2008, but that figure hides a swing. The 12-month rate reached 5.6% in
July, when oil hit $147 a barrel and gasoline passed $4 a gallon, then fell to 0.1% by December
as crude dropped near $40. For the year, gas averaged $3.27, the highest yet. The financial
system broke in the fall: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, Congress
created the $700 billion TARP bank rescue on October 3, and the Federal Reserve cut its policy
rate to a range of 0–0.25% in December. The median household earned about $50,300, barely
above 2007, and the median new home price fell to $232,100. The minimum wage rose to $6.55 in
July, and a first-class stamp cost 42 cents. The price collapse at the end of 2008 set up the
deflation of 2009.
MLA: “Inflation from 1950 to 2008: $100 is worth $893 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2008/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1950 to 2008. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2008/