Inflation Record
$100 in 1915 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$3,286.82
+3186.8% cumulative inflation · 1915–2026
Your $100 in 1915 would have the purchasing power of $3,286.82 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1915 had the same average buying power as $3,286.82 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 3186.8% across this 111-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 97.0%.
- This measures the broad basket of consumer goods and services (CPI-U). Individual expenses — housing, medical care, tuition — moved at different rates.
What this means in other amounts
| In 1915 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $32.87 |
| $5 | $164.34 |
| $10 | $328.68 |
| $20 | $657.36 |
| $50 | $1,643.41 |
| $100 | $3,286.82 |
| $500 | $16,434.09 |
| $1,000 | $32,868.18 |
| $10,000 | $328,681.84 |
| $100,000 | $3,286,818.36 |
Key facts about 1915
- Consumer prices rose 0.9% in 1915 — the 93rd-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1915, Food rose the most: 2994.1% cumulatively to 2025.
- In the decade after 1915, prices rose 73.5% in total.
$100 in 1915, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | $173.54 | +73.5% |
| 1935 | $135.78 | +35.8% |
| 1945 | $177.99 | +78.0% |
| 1955 | $264.88 | +164.9% |
| 1965 | $311.71 | +211.7% |
| 1975 | $532.40 | +432.4% |
| 1985 | $1,064.14 | +964.1% |
| 1995 | $1,507.50 | +1407.5% |
| 2005 | $1,931.99 | +1832.0% |
| 2015 | $2,344.77 | +2244.8% |
| 2025 | $3,184.93 | +3084.9% |
| 2026 | $3,286.82 | +3186.8% |
Monthly CPI in 1915
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 10.100 | 1.0% |
| February | 10.000 | 1.0% |
| March | 9.900 | 0.0% |
| April | 10.000 | 2.0% |
| May | 10.100 | 2.0% |
| June | 10.100 | 2.0% |
| July | 10.100 | 1.0% |
| August | 10.100 | -1.0% |
| September | 10.100 | -1.0% |
| October | 10.200 | 1.0% |
| November | 10.300 | 1.0% |
| December | 10.300 | 2.0% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1915: 10.108.
Verify this calculation
Series: CUUR0000SA0 (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, All Items, U.S. City Average; Not seasonally adjusted (NSA); base 1982-84=100).
Index (1915 annual average): 10.108 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 32.8682
Formula: amount × (indexend / indexstart). Formula v1.0 — annual-average CPI, NSA (per-country basis on each methodology page). Source: BLS data finder.
Cite this page
← $100 in 1914 · All years · $100 in 1916 →
The same year elsewhere: Canada