Consumer prices fell another 6.1% in 1922, the second straight year of decline, even as the broader economy climbed out of the Depression of 1920-21 and industrial production rebounded. The CPI had now given back roughly a third of its wartime runup, though it stayed well above the 1913 baseline. Congress moved to shield that recovery from foreign competition: the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act, signed September 21, raised duties on hundreds of imported goods to some of the highest levels in U.S. history, a policy meant to protect farmers and manufacturers still adjusting to postwar prices. Labor tension flared even as prices fell. Roughly half a million bituminous coal miners struck that April over wage cuts employers had imposed as prices dropped, and hundreds of thousands of railroad shop workers walked out in July in a separate dispute over pay and work rules, together the largest strike wave since 1919. Both disputes dragged on for months and drew federal mediation before ending without full concessions for the workers. First-class postage remained at 2 cents.
Year in review
Inflation in 1922
The U.S. inflation rate in 1922 was -6.1% (CPI: 16.8). Convert 1922 dollars to today →
-6.1% 1922 inflation rate
0.1% 1920s average
-2.3% peak month (Dec)
-11.1% lowest month (Jan)
What things cost in 1922
| First-class stamp | $0.02 |
|---|
What $100 from 1922 was worth later
| In 1930 | $99.40 |
|---|---|
| In 1940 | $83.33 |
| In 1950 | $143 |
| In 1960 | $176 |
| In 1970 | $231 |
| In 1980 | $490 |
| In 1990 | $778 |
| In 2000 | $1,025 |
| In 2010 | $1,298 |
| In 2020 | $1,541 |
| In 2026 | $1,974 |
Inflation in 1922, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 16.9 | -11.1% |
| February | 16.9 | -8.2% |
| March | 16.7 | -8.7% |
| April | 16.7 | -7.7% |
| May | 16.7 | -5.6% |
| June | 16.7 | -5.1% |
| July | 16.8 | -5.1% |
| August | 16.6 | -6.2% |
| September | 16.6 | -5.1% |
| October | 16.7 | -4.6% |
| November | 16.8 | -3.4% |
| December | 16.9 | -2.3% |
Economic events of 1922
- Consumer prices fall 6.1%, the second straight year of deflation Prices kept working off the wartime run-up even as the broader economy recovered from the Depression of 1920-21. By year's end the CPI had given back nearly a third of the increase it had piled up since 1913, though it remained well above prewar levels.
- Congress passes the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act Signed September 21, 1922, the law raised import duties on hundreds of goods to some of the highest levels in U.S. history, aimed at protecting farmers and manufacturers from postwar European competition. It shaped U.S. trade policy for the rest of the decade.
- Coal and rail strikes disrupt the economy Roughly half a million bituminous coal miners struck in April over pay cuts, and hundreds of thousands of railroad shop workers walked out that July in a separate dispute, together the largest wave of labor unrest since the strikes of 1919.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions; Library of Congress, Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.