Inflation Record
$100 in 1979 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$457.79
+357.8% cumulative inflation · 1979–2026
Your $100 in 1979 would have the purchasing power of $457.79 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1979 had the same average buying power as $457.79 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 357.8% across this 47-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 78.2%.
- 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 1979 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $4.58 |
| $5 | $22.89 |
| $10 | $45.78 |
| $20 | $91.56 |
| $50 | $228.90 |
| $100 | $457.79 |
| $500 | $2,288.96 |
| $1,000 | $4,577.92 |
| $10,000 | $45,779.20 |
| $100,000 | $457,792.02 |
Key facts about 1979
- Consumer prices rose 11.3% in 1979 — the 7th-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1979, Medical care rose the most: 688.0% cumulatively to 2025.
- A gallon of regular gasoline averaged $0.90 in 1979 — about $4.14 in 2026 dollars.
- In the decade after 1979, prices rose 70.8% in total.
$100 in 1979, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | $170.81 | +70.8% |
| 1999 | $229.52 | +129.5% |
| 2009 | $295.61 | +195.6% |
| 2019 | $352.27 | +252.3% |
| 2026 | $457.79 | +357.8% |
Monthly CPI in 1979
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68.300 | 9.3% |
| February | 69.100 | 9.9% |
| March | 69.800 | 10.1% |
| April | 70.600 | 10.5% |
| May | 71.500 | 10.9% |
| June | 72.300 | 10.9% |
| July | 73.100 | 11.3% |
| August | 73.800 | 11.8% |
| September | 74.600 | 12.2% |
| October | 75.200 | 12.1% |
| November | 75.900 | 12.6% |
| December | 76.700 | 13.3% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1979: 72.575.
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 (1979 annual average): 72.575 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 4.5779
Formula: amount × (indexend / indexstart). Formula v1.0 — annual-average CPI, NSA (per-country basis on each methodology page). Source: BLS data finder.