Inflation Record$100 in 1940 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$2,371.75
+2271.7% cumulative inflation · 1940–2026
Your $100 in 1940 would have the purchasing power of $2,371.75 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1940 had the same average buying power as $2,371.75 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 2271.7% across this 86-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 95.8%.
- 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 1940 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $23.72 |
| $5 | $118.59 |
| $10 | $237.17 |
| $20 | $474.35 |
| $50 | $1,185.87 |
| $100 | $2,371.75 |
| $500 | $11,858.75 |
| $1,000 | $23,717.49 |
| $10,000 | $237,174.94 |
| $100,000 | $2,371,749.36 |
Key facts about 1940
- Consumer prices rose 0.7% in 1940 — the 96th-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1940, Food rose the most: 2497.1% cumulatively to 2025.
- In the decade after 1940, prices rose 71.8% in total.
$100 in 1940, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $171.80 | +71.8% |
| 1960 | $211.12 | +111.1% |
| 1970 | $277.16 | +177.2% |
| 1980 | $588.28 | +488.3% |
| 1990 | $932.72 | +832.7% |
| 2000 | $1,229.27 | +1129.3% |
| 2010 | $1,556.61 | +1456.6% |
| 2020 | $1,847.55 | +1747.6% |
| 2026 | $2,371.75 | +2271.7% |
Monthly CPI in 1940
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 13.900 | -0.7% |
| February | 14.000 | 0.7% |
| March | 14.000 | 0.7% |
| April | 14.000 | 1.4% |
| May | 14.000 | 1.4% |
| June | 14.100 | 2.2% |
| July | 14.000 | 1.4% |
| August | 14.000 | 1.4% |
| September | 14.000 | -0.7% |
| October | 14.000 | 0.0% |
| November | 14.000 | 0.0% |
| December | 14.100 | 0.7% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1940: 14.008.
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 (1940 annual average): 14.008 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 23.7175
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 1939 · All years · $100 in 1941 →
The same year elsewhere: Canada