What is $100 in 1976 worth in 1979?

$100 in 1976 has the purchasing power of about $128 in 1979, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).

What was the average inflation rate between 1976 and 1979?

Prices rose 27.6% in total between 1976 and 1979, an average of 8.46% per year.

How much is $1 in 1976 worth today?

$1 in 1976 is equivalent to about $1.28 in 1979. Equivalently, a 1979 dollar buys what $0.78 bought in 1976.

U.S. inflation · 1976–1979

Value of $100 in 1976, adjusted to 1979

Amount From year To year

$100 in 1976 has the same buying power as

$128

in 1979

Detailed inflation statistics
Cumulative price change	27.6%
Average inflation rate	8.46% per year
Converted amount ($100 base)	$128
Price difference ($100 base)	$27.59
CPI in 1976	56.9
CPI in 1979	72.6
Inflation in 1976	5.76%
Inflation in 1979	11.35%
$100 in 1976 → 1979	$128
$100 in 1979 → 1976	$78.37

What happened to prices between 1976 and 1979

Between 1976 and 1979, the Consumer Price Index went from 56.9 to 72.6. Cumulatively, prices increased 27.6%, which works out to an average of 8.46% per year. Put differently, a dollar in 1976 bought what $0.78 buys in 1979.

Common amounts: 1976 dollars in 1979

Amount in 1976	Value in 1979
$1.00	$1.28
$5.00	$6.38
$10.00	$12.76
$20.00	$25.52
$50.00	$63.80
$100	$128
$500	$638
$1,000	$1,276
$5,000	$6,380
$10,000	$12,759
$100,000	$127,592
$1,000,000	$1,275,923

Inflation by spending category, 1976–1979

The headline number is an average. Individual categories moved very differently over this period. Here is what $100 of 1976 spending costs in 1979, by category:

Category	Avg. yearly inflation	$100 in 1976 →
All items (CPI-U)	8.46%	$128
Energy	13.36%	$146
Housing	9.22%	$130
Medical care	9.09%	$130
Food	9.06%	$130
Transportation	8.56%	$128
Core (all items less food & energy)	7.80%	$125
Apparel	4.13%	$113

Not shown because the BLS began these indexes after 1976: recreation (1993–), education & communication (1993–).

Year by year: CPI and the value of $100 from 1976

Year	CPI	Inflation rate	$100 from 1976
1976	56.9	5.8%	$100
1977	60.6	6.5%	$107
1978	65.2	7.6%	$115
1979	72.6	11.3%	$128

Cite this page

MLA: “Inflation from 1976 to 1979: $100 is worth $128 today.” InflationCalculator.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data, https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1976-to-1979/

APA: InflationCalculator.com. Inflation from 1976 to 1979. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U data. Retrieved from https://inflationcalculator.com/inflation/1976-to-1979/

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (series CUUR0000SA0; category indexes listed on the data sources page). See how these numbers are calculated.