Inflation Record$100 in 1973 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$748.29
+648.3% cumulative inflation · 1973–2026
Your $100 in 1973 would have the purchasing power of $748.29 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1973 had the same average buying power as $748.29 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 648.3% across this 53-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 86.6%.
- 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 1973 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $7.48 |
| $5 | $37.41 |
| $10 | $74.83 |
| $20 | $149.66 |
| $50 | $374.15 |
| $100 | $748.29 |
| $500 | $3,741.47 |
| $1,000 | $7,482.94 |
| $10,000 | $74,829.40 |
| $100,000 | $748,294.04 |
Key facts about 1973
- Consumer prices rose 6.2% in 1973 — the 19th-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1973, Medical care rose the most: 1272.0% cumulatively to 2025.
- In the decade after 1973, prices rose 124.3% in total.
$100 in 1973, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | $224.32 | +124.3% |
| 1993 | $325.36 | +225.4% |
| 2003 | $414.32 | +314.3% |
| 2013 | $524.68 | +424.7% |
| 2023 | $686.26 | +586.3% |
| 2026 | $748.29 | +648.3% |
Monthly CPI in 1973
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 42.600 | 3.6% |
| February | 42.900 | 3.9% |
| March | 43.300 | 4.6% |
| April | 43.600 | 5.1% |
| May | 43.900 | 5.5% |
| June | 44.200 | 6.0% |
| July | 44.300 | 5.7% |
| August | 45.100 | 7.4% |
| September | 45.200 | 7.4% |
| October | 45.600 | 7.8% |
| November | 45.900 | 8.3% |
| December | 46.200 | 8.7% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1973: 44.400.
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 (1973 annual average): 44.400 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 7.4829
Formula: amount × (indexend / indexstart). Formula v1.0 — annual-average CPI, NSA (per-country basis on each methodology page). Source: BLS data finder.