$100 in 1913 is worth $3,408 today (CPI)
$3,408
Updated June 1, 2026 · BLS / FRED (CPIAUCSL)
$100 in 1913 is worth $3,407.67 in today's dollars, adjusted by the official U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), which rose 3,308% since then. BLS/FRED data through June 1, 2026.
One hundred dollars in 1913 was a substantial sum — the kind of figure a family might hold as savings rather than spend in a week. Carried from the founding year of the Fed to today, the adjustment measures only how far the dollar fell, not any growth. It answers a single question: what today's dollars match the buying power that $100 commanded then.
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Year by year
| Year | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| 1920 | $198 |
| 1930 | $164 |
| 1940 | $144 |
| 1950 | $255 |
| 1960 | $304 |
| 1970 | $406 |
| 1980 | $881 |
| 1990 | $1,365 |
| 2000 | $1,776 |
| 2010 | $2,237 |
| 2020 | $2,658 |
| 2026 | $3,408 |
Selected milestones; the math uses every month of the official series.
Put differently: what cost $100 in 1913 costs $3,407.67 today. A dollar from 1913 buys only 3% of what it bought then — prices multiplied 34.1× over the period.
1913 is where the official record begins: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking consumer prices the same year the Federal Reserve was created.
Frequently asked questions
How is the value of $100 from 1913 calculated?
We divide today's CPI-U index level by the 1913 level, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cumulative change is 3,308% — a factor of 34.08.
Which inflation measure is used?
CPI-U, the broadest official U.S. consumer price index (all urban consumers), the same series used by the BLS inflation calculator.
Does this include investment returns?
No. This is pure purchasing-power adjustment. Money invested in stocks or bonds over the same period would have grown far more than inflation.
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Descriptive, educational content computed from official public data. Not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.