$100 in 1954 is worth $658 in 2001,
because prices increased 558.4% over that period, an average of
4.09% a year.
$100 in 1954 has
the same buying power as
$658
in 2001
Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change
558.4%
Average inflation rate
4.09% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)
$658
Price difference ($100 base)
$558
CPI in 1954
26.9
CPI in 2001
177.1
Inflation in 1954
0.75%
Inflation in 2001
2.85%
$100 in 1954 → 2001
$658
$100 in 2001 → 1954
$15.19
What happened to prices between 1954 and 2001
Between 1954 and 2001, the Consumer Price Index went from 26.9 to 177.1.
Cumulatively, prices increased 558.4%, which works out to an average of
4.09% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1954 bought what
$0.15 buys in 2001: the 1954 dollar
lost 84.8% of its purchasing power over
these 47 years.
Consumer prices rose 0.7% in 1954, extending 1953’s 0.8%
slowdown even as the economy tipped into recession, an early example of
prices continuing to rise through a downturn rather than falling with it.
The National Bureau of Economic Research dates that recession from July
1953 to May 1954, as defense spending fell after the Korean War armistice
and the tighter monetary policy of the year before worked its way through
the economy. The Supreme Court reshaped a different part of American life
that spring: its unanimous May 17 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
held that “separate but equal” public schools violated the Constitution,
overturning the legal basis for segregated education. Washington also
closed the book on a different fight that year. Following the televised
Army-McCarthy hearings that spring, the Senate voted 67 to 22 on December
2 to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy’s conduct, ending his dominance of
American politics after four years of anti-communist investigations.
Consumer prices finished 1954 171.7% above their 1913
level, essentially flat with 1953 as the mild recession
held the cost of living in check. First-class postage held at 3 cents,
and the minimum wage stayed at 75 cents an hour.
Every 1954 amount converts to 2001 at the same ratio, 6.58: $1,000 becomes
$6,584, and $10,000 becomes $65,836.
Amount in 1954
Value in 2001
$1.00
$6.58
$5.00
$32.92
$10.00
$65.84
$20.00
$132
$50.00
$329
$100
$658
$500
$3,292
$1,000
$6,584
$5,000
$32,918
$10,000
$65,836
$100,000
$658,364
$1,000,000
$6,583,643
Inflation by spending category, 1954–2001
Between 1954 and 2001, medical care rose the most, up 1432.6%, while apparel rose the least, up 195.4%, against 558.4% for all items. The headline number is an average; here is what $100 of 1954
spending costs in 2001, by category:
Category
Avg. yearly inflation
$100 in 1954 →
All items (CPI-U)
4.09%
$658
Medical care
5.98%
$1,533
Food
3.94%
$614
Transportation
3.85%
$591
Apparel
2.33%
$295
Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1954: core (all items less food & energy) (1957–), energy (1957–), housing (1967–), recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).
Decade by decade: 1954 to 2001
Prices climbed fastest in the 1970s, averaging 7.82% a year, and slowest in the 1950s (1.61% a year). Each step below chains into the full 1954–2001 change:
Years
Avg. yearly inflation
Price change
$100 from 1954, at end
1954–1960
1.61%
10.0%
$110
1960–1970
2.74%
31.1%
$144
1970–1980
7.82%
112.4%
$306
1980–1990
4.72%
58.6%
$486
1990–2000
2.80%
31.8%
$640
2000–2001
2.85%
2.8%
$658
Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1954
$100 from 1954 had already become $242 by
1978, on its way to $658 in 2001; 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: 2001
In 2001, prices rose 2.8% and $100 from 1954 had the buying
power of $658; the year's average CPI of 177.1 is the level
behind every 2001 figure on this page.
Inflation fell to 2.8% in 2001 from 3.4% the year before, as a recession that began in March
cut demand and gasoline slid to an average of $1.46 a gallon. The median household earned about
$42,200, roughly flat from 2000, and a new home cost about $175,200. The Federal Reserve cut its
policy rate 11 times over the year, from 6.5% to 1.75%, the lowest since 1961. After the
September 11 attacks, U.S. stock markets closed for four trading days, and air travel dropped
sharply until the following year. Congress had already passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut in June,
which included rebate checks of up to $600. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the
recession’s end at November, but unemployment kept rising into 2003. A first-class stamp went to
34 cents in January, and the federal minimum wage stayed at $5.15. The Fed’s cuts were the
first step in a long period of very cheap borrowing that would fuel the housing boom.
MLA: “Inflation from 1954 to 2001: $100 is worth $658 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1954-to-2001/
APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1954 to 2001. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1954-to-2001/