Inflation Record
$100 in 1931 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$2,184.61
+2084.6% cumulative inflation · 1931–2026
Your $100 in 1931 would have the purchasing power of $2,184.61 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1931 had the same average buying power as $2,184.61 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 2084.6% across this 95-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 95.4%.
- 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 1931 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $21.85 |
| $5 | $109.23 |
| $10 | $218.46 |
| $20 | $436.92 |
| $50 | $1,092.30 |
| $100 | $2,184.61 |
| $500 | $10,923.04 |
| $1,000 | $21,846.09 |
| $10,000 | $218,460.86 |
| $100,000 | $2,184,608.58 |
Key facts about 1931
- 1931 was one of only 13 years since 1913 in which consumer prices fell on an annual-average basis (-8.9%).
- Among the major categories tracked since 1931, Food rose the most: 2312.6% cumulatively to 2025.
- In the decade after 1931, prices fell 3.2% in total — a deflation decade.
$100 in 1931, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | $96.82 | -3.2% |
| 1951 | $170.68 | +70.7% |
| 1961 | $196.55 | +96.5% |
| 1971 | $266.25 | +166.2% |
| 1981 | $597.86 | +497.9% |
| 1991 | $895.51 | +795.5% |
| 2001 | $1,164.27 | +1064.3% |
| 2011 | $1,479.05 | +1379.1% |
| 2021 | $1,781.72 | +1681.7% |
| 2026 | $2,184.61 | +2084.6% |
Monthly CPI in 1931
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 15.900 | -7.0% |
| February | 15.700 | -7.6% |
| March | 15.600 | -7.7% |
| April | 15.500 | -8.8% |
| May | 15.300 | -9.5% |
| June | 15.100 | -10.1% |
| July | 15.100 | -9.0% |
| August | 15.100 | -8.5% |
| September | 15.000 | -9.6% |
| October | 14.900 | -9.7% |
| November | 14.700 | -10.4% |
| December | 14.600 | -9.3% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1931: 15.208.
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 (1931 annual average): 15.208 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 21.8461
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 1930 · All years · $100 in 1932 →
The same year elsewhere: Canada