$100 in 1950 is worth $967 in 2013,
because prices increased 866.6% over that period, an average of
3.67% a year.
$100 in 1950 has
the same buying power as
$967
in 2013
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
866.6%
Average inflation rate
3.67% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$967
Price difference ($100 base)
$867
CPI in 1950
24.1
CPI in 2013
232.957
Inflation in 1950
1.26%
Inflation in 2013
1.46%
$100 in 1950 → 2013
$967
$100 in 2013 → 1950
$10.35
What happened to prices between 1950 and 2013
Between 1950 and 2013, the Consumer Price Index went from 24.1 to 232.957.
Cumulatively, prices increased 866.6%, which works out to an average of
3.67% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1950 bought what
$0.10 buys in 2013: the 1950 dollar
lost 89.7% of its purchasing power over
these 63 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 2013 at the same ratio, 9.67: $1,000 becomes
$9,666, and $10,000 becomes $96,663.
Amount in 1950
Value in 2013
$1.00
$9.67
$5.00
$48.33
$10.00
$96.66
$20.00
$193
$50.00
$483
$100
$967
$500
$4,833
$1,000
$9,666
$5,000
$48,331
$10,000
$96,663
$100,000
$966,627
$1,000,000
$9,666,266
Inflation by spending category, 1950–2013
Between 1950 and 2013, medical care rose the most, up 2715.5%, while apparel rose the least, up 216.2%, against 866.6% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1950
spending costs in 2013, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1950 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.67%
$967
Medical care
5.44%
$2,815
Transportation
3.65%
$958
Food
3.61%
$933
Apparel
1.84%
$316
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 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 1950–2013 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
2000–2010
2.39%
26.6%
$905
2010–2013
2.23%
6.8%
$967
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1950
$100 from 1950 had already become $342 by
1980, on its way to $967 in 2013; 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 5 years; the calculator above covers any pair of years.
The destination year: 2013
In 2013, prices rose 1.5% and $100 from 1950 had the buying
power of $967; 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 1950 to 2013: $100 is worth $967 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2013/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1950 to 2013. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2013/