Consumer prices rose 1.5% in 1956, a return to mild inflation after they had fallen 0.4% in 1955, the only annual decline of the decade. The two years sat in the calmest stretch of the postwar index, a lull between the Korean War price surge earlier in the 1950s and the acceleration that would return in the 1970s. Congress had already raised the wage floor into that calm: the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1955, signed the previous August, took effect March 1 and lifted the federal minimum wage from 75 cents to $1 an hour, the first increase since 1950. Eisenhower signed a longer-lasting commitment on June 29, the Federal-Aid Highway Act, funding 41,000 miles of controlled-access highway at 90% federal cost to build the Interstate System, the largest public-works program the country had undertaken. He won a second term that November, carrying 41 states and about 57% of the popular vote in a rematch against Adlai Stevenson. Abroad, the Suez Crisis broke the calm on the supply side: Egypt nationalized the canal on July 26, and after Israel invaded the Sinai on October 29 with British and French forces following, the canal’s closure and damaged pipelines squeezed oil shipments to Western Europe for months. Consumer prices stood 174.7% above their 1913 level by 1956, up 94% since 1940 alone, even after a decade that had barely moved the index. First-class postage held at 3 cents, unchanged since 1932.
Year in review
Inflation in 1956
The U.S. inflation rate in 1956 was 1.5% (CPI: 27.2). Convert 1956 dollars to today →
1.5% 1956 inflation rate
2.1% 1950s average
3.0% peak month (Dec)
0.4% lowest month (Jan)
What things cost in 1956
| First-class stamp | $0.03 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.00 |
What $100 from 1956 was worth later
| In 1960 | $109 |
|---|---|
| In 1970 | $143 |
| In 1980 | $303 |
| In 1990 | $481 |
| In 2000 | $633 |
| In 2010 | $802 |
| In 2020 | $952 |
| In 2026 | $1,219 |
Inflation in 1956, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 26.8 | 0.4% |
| February | 26.8 | 0.4% |
| March | 26.8 | 0.4% |
| April | 26.9 | 0.7% |
| May | 27 | 1.1% |
| June | 27.2 | 1.9% |
| July | 27.4 | 2.2% |
| August | 27.3 | 1.9% |
| September | 27.4 | 1.9% |
| October | 27.5 | 2.2% |
| November | 27.5 | 2.2% |
| December | 27.6 | 3.0% |
Economic events of 1956
- Congress raises the federal minimum wage to $1 an hour The Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1955, signed August 12, 1955, took effect March 1, 1956, lifting the wage floor from 75 cents, its first increase since the 1950 amendments.
- Eisenhower signs the Federal-Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate System Signed June 29, the act funded 41,000 miles of controlled-access highway at 90% federal cost through a new Highway Trust Fund, the largest public-works commitment in the country's history to that point.
- Eisenhower wins reelection in a landslide over Adlai Stevenson Eisenhower carried 41 states and about 57% of the popular vote on November 6, a repeat of his 1952 victory over the same opponent.
- The Suez Crisis shuts the canal and squeezes European oil supplies Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company on July 26; Israel invaded the Sinai on October 29, followed by British and French intervention. The canal's closure and sabotaged pipelines cut oil shipments to Western Europe for months.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; U.S. Department of Labor, history of the Fair Labor Standards Act; Federal Highway Administration, Interstate System history; U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian (Suez Crisis); National Archives and Records Administration, Electoral College results.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.