$100 in 1950 is worth $996 in 2016,
because prices increased 895.9% over that period, an average of
3.54% a year.
$100 in 1950 has
the same buying power as
$996
in 2016
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
895.9%
Average inflation rate
3.54% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$996
Price difference ($100 base)
$896
CPI in 1950
24.1
CPI in 2016
240.007
Inflation in 1950
1.26%
Inflation in 2016
1.26%
$100 in 1950 → 2016
$996
$100 in 2016 → 1950
$10.04
What happened to prices between 1950 and 2016
Between 1950 and 2016, the Consumer Price Index went from 24.1 to 240.007.
Cumulatively, prices increased 895.9%, which works out to an average of
3.54% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1950 bought what
$0.10 buys in 2016: the 1950 dollar
lost 90.0% of its purchasing power over
these 66 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 2016 at the same ratio, 9.96: $1,000 becomes
$9,959, and $10,000 becomes $99,588.
Amount in 1950
Value in 2016
$1.00
$9.96
$5.00
$49.79
$10.00
$99.59
$20.00
$199
$50.00
$498
$100
$996
$500
$4,979
$1,000
$9,959
$5,000
$49,794
$10,000
$99,588
$100,000
$995,880
$1,000,000
$9,958,797
Inflation by spending category, 1950–2016
Between 1950 and 2016, medical care rose the most, up 2970.7%, while apparel rose the least, up 212.8%, against 895.9% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1950
spending costs in 2016, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1950 →
All items (CPI-U)
3.54%
$996
Medical care
5.33%
$3,071
Food
3.51%
$976
Transportation
3.31%
$859
Apparel
1.74%
$313
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 2016
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and slowest in the 2010s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1950–2016 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
2010–2016
1.61%
10.1%
$996
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1950
$100 from 1950 had already become $446 by
1985, on its way to $996 in 2016; 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: 2016
In 2016, prices rose 1.3% and $100 from 1950 had the buying
power of $996; the year's average CPI of 240.007 is the level
behind every 2016 figure on this page.
2016 opened with the cheapest oil in more than a decade and closed with a
change in political direction. Crude fell to about $26 a barrel in February,
and gasoline averaged $2.14 a gallon for the year, its lowest annual
average since 2004. Headline inflation was 1.3%, a modest rebound from 2015’s
0.1%, though prices excluding food and energy rose faster, driven by rents and
health care.
Median household income rose to $59,039, the second large gain in a row, and
the median new home sold for about $307,800. The federal minimum wage held at
$7.25, and a first-class stamp fell to 47 cents after a January rate cut, a
rare decrease.
Two votes changed the outlook. Britain’s June decision to leave the European
Union unsettled currency markets, and the U.S. election in November raised
expectations of tax cuts, deficits, and faster growth, sending long-term
interest rates higher. OPEC’s November output cut ended the oil slump, and the
Federal Reserve made its second rate increase in December, to 0.50–0.75%.
MLA: “Inflation from 1950 to 2016: $100 is worth $996 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2016/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1950 to 2016. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1950-to-2016/