Consumer prices rose 3.6% in 1937, the fastest pace since before the Depression and the fourth straight year of gains, leaving prices 10.8% above their 1933 trough though still 15.8% below the 1929 peak. The recovery did not last the year. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates a new business cycle peak to that May, the start of what became known as the Recession of 1937-38. Policy tightened on two fronts at once: the Federal Reserve had doubled bank reserve requirements over the preceding year to head off inflation it worried was building, and the federal government pulled back its own spending even as new Social Security payroll taxes began draining money from paychecks months before the first benefit checks went out. Together they choked off a recovery that had not yet reached its pre-Depression footing. Not every milestone that year was economic. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 27 after four years of construction, at the time the longest suspension bridge span in the world, a rare bright spot in a year that would end with the economy sliding backward again. First-class postage held at 3 cents.
Year in review
Inflation in 1937
The U.S. inflation rate in 1937 was 3.6% (CPI: 14.4). Convert 1937 dollars to today →
3.6% 1937 inflation rate
-1.9% 1930s average
5.1% peak month (May)
2.2% lowest month (Jan)
What things cost in 1937
| First-class stamp | $0.03 |
|---|
What $100 from 1937 was worth later
| In 1940 | $97.22 |
|---|---|
| In 1950 | $167 |
| In 1960 | $206 |
| In 1970 | $269 |
| In 1980 | $572 |
| In 1990 | $908 |
| In 2000 | $1,196 |
| In 2010 | $1,514 |
| In 2020 | $1,797 |
| In 2026 | $2,303 |
Inflation in 1937, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 14.1 | 2.2% |
| February | 14.1 | 2.2% |
| March | 14.2 | 3.6% |
| April | 14.3 | 4.4% |
| May | 14.4 | 5.1% |
| June | 14.4 | 4.3% |
| July | 14.5 | 4.3% |
| August | 14.5 | 3.6% |
| September | 14.6 | 4.3% |
| October | 14.6 | 4.3% |
| November | 14.5 | 3.6% |
| December | 14.4 | 2.9% |
Economic events of 1937
- Consumer prices rise 3.6%, the fastest pace since before the Depression The increase capped four straight years of recovery from the 1933 trough; prices had risen 10.8% since then but still sat below the 1929 peak.
- The Recession of 1937-38 begins The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the business cycle peak to May 1937. A combination of the Federal Reserve doubling bank reserve requirements over the prior year and the government's own budget tightening, including the start of Social Security payroll tax collections without matching benefit payouts yet, pulled the still fragile economy back into contraction.
- The Golden Gate Bridge opens to traffic San Francisco's bridge across the Golden Gate strait opened May 27 after four years of construction, at the time the longest suspension bridge span in the world.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions; Federal Reserve History; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.