Consumer prices rose 2.3% in 1925, the CPI’s largest single-year increase since the deflationary swings of the early 1920s, though still mild next to the double-digit inflation of the World War I years. The country’s cultural fault lines were on full display that summer in Dayton, Tennessee, where high school teacher John Scopes was tried July 10-21 for violating a state law against teaching evolution, a case that drew national press coverage and pitted prosecutor William Jennings Bryan against defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Real estate speculation, meanwhile, peaked in Florida, where buyers flipped undeveloped land in the Miami area on thin down payments, driving prices far above what the land itself could support; the bubble would collapse the following year. Detroit reshuffled that June too: Walter Chrysler reorganized the struggling Maxwell Motor Company into Chrysler Corporation, the start of what would become one of the American auto industry’s “Big Three.” First-class postage held at 2 cents for the sixth straight year.
Year in review
Inflation in 1925
The U.S. inflation rate in 1925 was 2.3% (CPI: 17.5). Convert 1925 dollars to today →
2.3% 1925 inflation rate
0.1% 1920s average
4.7% peak month (Nov)
0.0% lowest month (Jan)
What things cost in 1925
| First-class stamp | $0.02 |
|---|
What $100 from 1925 was worth later
| In 1930 | $95.43 |
|---|---|
| In 1940 | $80.00 |
| In 1950 | $138 |
| In 1960 | $169 |
| In 1970 | $222 |
| In 1980 | $471 |
| In 1990 | $747 |
| In 2000 | $984 |
| In 2010 | $1,246 |
| In 2020 | $1,479 |
| In 2026 | $1,895 |
Inflation in 1925, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 17.3 | 0.0% |
| February | 17.2 | 0.0% |
| March | 17.3 | 1.2% |
| April | 17.2 | 1.2% |
| May | 17.3 | 1.8% |
| June | 17.5 | 2.9% |
| July | 17.7 | 3.5% |
| August | 17.7 | 4.1% |
| September | 17.7 | 3.5% |
| October | 17.7 | 2.9% |
| November | 18 | 4.7% |
| December | 17.9 | 3.5% |
Economic events of 1925
- Consumer prices rise 2.3% The CPI's largest single-year increase since the deflationary readjustment of the early 1920s, though still modest next to the double-digit inflation of the World War I years.
- The Scopes Trial puts evolution on trial in Dayton, Tennessee John Scopes, a high school teacher, was tried July 10-21 for violating a state law against teaching evolution, in a case that drew national press coverage and pitted William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow.
- The Florida land boom reaches its peak Speculative buying and reselling of undeveloped Florida real estate, often on thin down payments, drove prices in the Miami area far above anything the underlying land could support, a bubble that would collapse the following year.
- Chrysler Corporation is founded Walter Chrysler reorganized the struggling Maxwell Motor Company into Chrysler Corporation that June, the start of what would become one of the "Big Three" American automakers.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; Library of Congress, Scopes Trial; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.