Consumer prices held flat in 1924, the CPI’s annual average unchanged from 1923 after swinging from a sharp postwar drop to a modest rise the year before. That stability, extending the calm that had settled in after the deflation of 1921 and 1922, became a defining feature of the rest of the decade. Congress tightened immigration policy further with the Immigration Act of 1924, signed May 26, which cut the national-origins quota from 3% of each nationality’s 1910 census population to 2% of its 1890 population, shifting admissions further toward northern and western Europe and effectively excluding most immigration from Asia. Abroad, the U.S.-backed Dawes Plan, adopted that August, reorganized Germany’s war reparations payments and opened the way for American loans into the German economy, helping stabilize European currencies after the hyperinflation that had peaked in 1923. At home, Calvin Coolidge, who had served out the remainder of Warren Harding’s term after his death the previous year, won a full term of his own that November, campaigning on continued prosperity and limited government. First-class postage remained at 2 cents, a price unchanged since mid-1919.
Year in review
Inflation in 1924
The U.S. inflation rate in 1924 was 0.0% (CPI: 17.1). Convert 1924 dollars to today →
0.0% 1924 inflation rate
0.1% 1920s average
3.0% peak month (Jan)
-0.6% lowest month (Aug)
What things cost in 1924
| First-class stamp | $0.02 |
|---|
What $100 from 1924 was worth later
| In 1930 | $97.66 |
|---|---|
| In 1940 | $81.87 |
| In 1950 | $141 |
| In 1960 | $173 |
| In 1970 | $227 |
| In 1980 | $482 |
| In 1990 | $764 |
| In 2000 | $1,007 |
| In 2010 | $1,275 |
| In 2020 | $1,514 |
| In 2026 | $1,940 |
Inflation in 1924, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 17.3 | 3.0% |
| February | 17.2 | 2.4% |
| March | 17.1 | 1.8% |
| April | 17 | 0.6% |
| May | 17 | 0.6% |
| June | 17 | 0.0% |
| July | 17.1 | -0.6% |
| August | 17 | -0.6% |
| September | 17.1 | -0.6% |
| October | 17.2 | -0.6% |
| November | 17.2 | -0.6% |
| December | 17.3 | 0.0% |
Economic events of 1924
- Consumer prices hold flat for the year The CPI's annual average was unchanged from 1923, capping three years in which inflation had swung from a sharp drop to a modest rise to no change at all, a stability that stood in sharp relief against the previous decade's wartime price surge.
- The Immigration Act of 1924 tightens quotas further Signed May 26, the Johnson-Reed Act cut the national quota formula from 3% of each nationality's 1910 census population to 2% of its 1890 population, shifting the mix further toward northern and western Europe and effectively barring most immigration from Asia.
- The Dawes Plan restructures Germany's war reparations Adopted that August, the U.S.-backed plan reorganized Germany's reparations payments and opened the way for American loans to flow into the German economy, helping stabilize European currencies after the hyperinflation of the previous year.
- Calvin Coolidge wins election in his own right Coolidge, who had served out the remainder of Harding's term, won a full term of his own that November on a platform of continued prosperity and limited government.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; Library of Congress, Immigration Act of 1924; Federal Reserve History, Dawes Plan; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.