Consumer prices rose 6.1% in 1943, a slower pace than 1942’s surge but still well above anything the country had seen before the war. The slowdown owed largely to the “Hold the Line” order, issued that April, which froze most wages, prices, and rents at their current levels after the previous year’s jump showed how far demand had outrun the existing controls. Rationing grew more sophisticated alongside the freeze: starting in February, a points system split scarce goods into red points for meat, butter, and other fats and blue points for canned and processed foods, letting households budget across categories instead of simply going without once a flat quota ran dry. The government also changed how it collected the taxes paying for all of it. The Current Tax Payment Act, signed June 9, required employers to withhold federal income tax directly from paychecks for the first time, smoothing the flow of wartime revenue and creating the pay-as-you-go system still used today. Consumer prices stood 74.7% above their 1913 level and 33.1% above 1933’s Depression-era low. First-class postage held at 3 cents, and the minimum wage stayed at 30 cents an hour.
Year in review
Inflation in 1943
The U.S. inflation rate in 1943 was 6.1% (CPI: 17.3). Convert 1943 dollars to today →
6.1% 1943 inflation rate
5.6% 1940s average
8.1% peak month (Apr)
3.0% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1943
| First-class stamp | $0.03 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $0.30 |
What $100 from 1943 was worth later
| In 1950 | $139 |
|---|---|
| In 1960 | $171 |
| In 1970 | $224 |
| In 1980 | $476 |
| In 1990 | $755 |
| In 2000 | $995 |
| In 2010 | $1,260 |
| In 2020 | $1,496 |
| In 2026 | $1,917 |
Inflation in 1943, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 16.9 | 7.6% |
| February | 16.9 | 7.0% |
| March | 17.2 | 7.5% |
| April | 17.4 | 8.1% |
| May | 17.5 | 7.4% |
| June | 17.5 | 7.4% |
| July | 17.4 | 6.1% |
| August | 17.3 | 4.8% |
| September | 17.4 | 5.5% |
| October | 17.4 | 4.2% |
| November | 17.4 | 3.6% |
| December | 17.4 | 3.0% |
Economic events of 1943
- Consumer prices rise 6.1% as the "Hold the Line" order takes effect Issued that April, the order froze most wages, prices, and rents at current levels, an attempt to slow inflation that had run into double digits the year before.
- A points-based rationing system replaces flat rationing Beginning in February, red points covered meat, butter, and other fats while blue points covered canned and processed foods, letting households budget scarce goods rather than simply going without once a flat quota ran out.
- Congress creates payroll tax withholding The Current Tax Payment Act, signed June 9, required employers to withhold federal income tax directly from wages for the first time, smoothing collection of the taxes needed to finance the war and establishing the pay-as-you-go system still in use today.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; Federal Reserve History (wartime price and wage controls); Internal Revenue Service, history of the income tax.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.