$100 in 1920 is worth $1,730 today (CPI)
$1,730
Updated June 1, 2026 · BLS / FRED (CPIAUCSL)
$100 in 1920 is worth $1,730.32 in today's dollars, adjusted by the official U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), which rose 1,630% since then. BLS/FRED data through June 1, 2026.
One hundred dollars in 1920 landed at an unusual moment — prices were near a postwar peak just before a sharp deflation pulled them down for several years. At a household scale like this, the adjustment captures a full century from that high starting point, so the inflation gap reflects a dollar that was briefly worth less than it would be again soon after. The figure measures purchasing power, never a return.
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Year by year
| Year | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| 1920 | $101 |
| 1930 | $83 |
| 1940 | $73 |
| 1950 | $130 |
| 1960 | $154 |
| 1970 | $206 |
| 1980 | $447 |
| 1990 | $693 |
| 2000 | $902 |
| 2010 | $1,136 |
| 2020 | $1,350 |
| 2026 | $1,730 |
Selected milestones; the math uses every month of the official series.
Put differently: what cost $100 in 1920 costs $1,730.32 today. A dollar from 1920 buys only 6% of what it bought then — prices multiplied 17.3× over the period.
The 1920s opened with a sharp postwar deflation — one of the few periods in the series when prices actually fell for years.
Frequently asked questions
How is the value of $100 from 1920 calculated?
We divide today's CPI-U index level by the 1920 level, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cumulative change is 1,630% — a factor of 17.30.
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.