Consumer prices rose 3.3% in 1957, up from 1956’s 1.5% and the sharpest increase since the Korean War price surge of 1951. The jump fed a growing debate among economists over “cost-push” inflation, prices climbing from rising wages and material costs rather than excess demand, a debate that would recur for the next quarter century. The Federal Reserve tightened policy to fight it, and by August the tighter money combined with falling business investment to tip the economy into a recession, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s dating. The Cold War took a technological turn that October, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, on the 4th, stunning the American public and setting off both the Space Race and a surge in federal science and defense spending the following year. Civil rights reached a crisis that September in Little Rock, Arkansas: after Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block nine Black students from Central High School, Eisenhower federalized the Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the Supreme Court’s desegregation order. Consumer prices finished 1957 183.8% above their 1913 level. First-class postage held at 3 cents, and the minimum wage stood at $1.00 an hour.
Year in review
Inflation in 1957
The U.S. inflation rate in 1957 was 3.3% (CPI: 28.1). Convert 1957 dollars to today →
3.3% 1957 inflation rate
2.1% 1950s average
3.7% peak month (Mar)
2.9% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1957
| First-class stamp | $0.03 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.00 |
What $100 from 1957 was worth later
| In 1960 | $105 |
|---|---|
| In 1970 | $138 |
| In 1980 | $293 |
| In 1990 | $465 |
| In 2000 | $613 |
| In 2010 | $776 |
| In 2020 | $921 |
| In 2026 | $1,180 |
Inflation in 1957, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 27.6 | 3.0% |
| February | 27.7 | 3.4% |
| March | 27.8 | 3.7% |
| April | 27.9 | 3.7% |
| May | 28 | 3.7% |
| June | 28.1 | 3.3% |
| July | 28.3 | 3.3% |
| August | 28.3 | 3.7% |
| September | 28.3 | 3.3% |
| October | 28.3 | 2.9% |
| November | 28.4 | 3.3% |
| December | 28.4 | 2.9% |
Economic events of 1957
- Consumer prices rise 3.3%, the sharpest increase since 1951 The jump, faster than any year since the Korean War price surge, fed a growing debate among economists over "cost-push" inflation, prices rising from wage and material costs rather than excess demand.
- A recession begins that August The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the start of a downturn to August, as the Federal Reserve's tightening to fight the year's inflation combined with falling business investment to slow the economy.
- The Soviet Union launches Sputnik The October 4 launch of the first artificial satellite stunned the American public and government, setting off the Space Race and a surge in federal spending on science and defense the following year.
- Eisenhower sends troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock After Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block nine Black students from Little Rock Central High School, Eisenhower federalized the Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation order that September.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions; NASA History Office (Sputnik and the Space Race); National Archives (Little Rock Nine).
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.