Consumer prices rose 2.8% in 1958, down only slightly from 1957’s 3.3% even as the country sank into the sharpest postwar recession to that point, an early sign that inflation and a shrinking economy could coexist rather than trade off against each other. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the downturn’s trough to that April, with unemployment peaking near 7.5% that summer, the worst reading since the 1930s. The Post Office raised first-class postage to 4 cents that August 1, up from 3 cents, the rate’s first change since 1932. Washington answered the Soviet Union’s technological lead that summer too: Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, establishing NASA, which opened for business that October 1 to compete with the Soviet space program after the shock of Sputnik the year before. Consumer prices finished 1958 191.9% above their 1913 level. The minimum wage held at $1.00 an hour, and first-class postage rose to 4 cents that August, the first increase since 1932.
Year in review
Inflation in 1958
The U.S. inflation rate in 1958 was 2.8% (CPI: 28.9). Convert 1958 dollars to today →
2.8% 1958 inflation rate
2.1% 1950s average
3.6% peak month (Jan)
1.8% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1958
| First-class stamp | $0.04 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.00 |
What $100 from 1958 was worth later
| In 1960 | $102 |
|---|---|
| In 1970 | $134 |
| In 1980 | $285 |
| In 1990 | $452 |
| In 2000 | $596 |
| In 2010 | $755 |
| In 2020 | $896 |
| In 2026 | $1,148 |
Inflation in 1958, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 28.6 | 3.6% |
| February | 28.6 | 3.2% |
| March | 28.8 | 3.6% |
| April | 28.9 | 3.6% |
| May | 28.9 | 3.2% |
| June | 28.9 | 2.8% |
| July | 29 | 2.5% |
| August | 28.9 | 2.1% |
| September | 28.9 | 2.1% |
| October | 28.9 | 2.1% |
| November | 29 | 2.1% |
| December | 28.9 | 1.8% |
Economic events of 1958
- Consumer prices rise 2.8% even as the recession deepens Prices kept climbing through the sharpest postwar downturn to that point, an early sign that inflation and recession could coexist rather than trade off against each other.
- Unemployment peaks at its highest rate since the Depression The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the recession's trough to April, with unemployment peaking near 7.5% that summer, the worst reading since the 1930s.
- First-class postage rises to 4 cents The August 1 increase, from 3 cents, was the first change in the first-class rate since 1932.
- NASA is created in response to Sputnik Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act July 29, establishing NASA, which opened for business that October 1 to compete with the Soviet space program.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions; USPS historical postage rates; NASA History Office.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.