Consumer prices rose 1.1% in 1926, a third straight year of mild inflation and part of the price stability that defined the middle of the decade. Florida’s real estate boom, which had peaked the previous year on speculative buying of undeveloped land, ended abruptly that September when the Great Miami Hurricane made landfall near the city, killing hundreds and wrecking the market for land whose value had rested on continued speculation rather than anything underneath it. In Detroit, Henry Ford moved his company to a five-day, 40-hour work week without cutting pay, a break from the standard six-day schedule that other large employers would gradually adopt over the following decades; Ford argued publicly that workers with more leisure time would also become better customers for the cars his factories built. Consumer prices remained low enough by historical standards that a first-class stamp still cost just 2 cents, the same price it had held since mid-1919.
Year in review
Inflation in 1926
The U.S. inflation rate in 1926 was 1.1% (CPI: 17.7). Convert 1926 dollars to today →
1.1% 1926 inflation rate
0.1% 1920s average
4.1% peak month (Feb)
-1.7% lowest month (Aug)
What things cost in 1926
| First-class stamp | $0.02 |
|---|
What $100 from 1926 was worth later
| In 1930 | $94.35 |
|---|---|
| In 1940 | $79.10 |
| In 1950 | $136 |
| In 1960 | $167 |
| In 1970 | $219 |
| In 1980 | $466 |
| In 1990 | $738 |
| In 2000 | $973 |
| In 2010 | $1,232 |
| In 2020 | $1,462 |
| In 2026 | $1,874 |
Inflation in 1926, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 17.9 | 3.5% |
| February | 17.9 | 4.1% |
| March | 17.8 | 2.9% |
| April | 17.9 | 4.1% |
| May | 17.8 | 2.9% |
| June | 17.7 | 1.1% |
| July | 17.5 | -1.1% |
| August | 17.4 | -1.7% |
| September | 17.5 | -1.1% |
| October | 17.6 | -0.6% |
| November | 17.7 | -1.7% |
| December | 17.7 | -1.1% |
Economic events of 1926
- Consumer prices rise 1.1% A third straight year of mild inflation, part of the general price stability that defined the middle of the decade.
- The Great Miami Hurricane bursts the Florida land boom The storm made landfall near Miami on September 18, killing hundreds and destroying much of the speculative real estate market that had driven Florida land prices to unsustainable highs the year before.
- Ford Motor Company adopts the five-day, 40-hour work week Henry Ford's decision to cut the standard week from six days to five, without cutting pay, became a template that other large employers gradually followed over the following decades.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; NOAA, Great Miami Hurricane of 1926; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.