Inflation Record$100 in 1946 → Today
Official data verified · U.S. CPI-U · Annual average · NSA · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · Series CUUR0000SA0
$1,702.35
+1602.4% cumulative inflation · 1946–2026
Your $100 in 1946 would have the purchasing power of $1,702.35 today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1946 had the same average buying power as $1,702.35 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 1602.4% across this 80-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar fell by 94.1%.
- 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 1946 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $17.02 |
| $5 | $85.12 |
| $10 | $170.24 |
| $20 | $340.47 |
| $50 | $851.18 |
| $100 | $1,702.35 |
| $500 | $8,511.76 |
| $1,000 | $17,023.53 |
| $10,000 | $170,235.30 |
| $100,000 | $1,702,352.97 |
Key facts about 1946
- Consumer prices rose 8.5% in 1946 — the 12th-largest annual increase in the 1913–2026 record.
- Among the major categories tracked since 1946, Food rose the most: 1470.5% cumulatively to 2025.
- In the decade after 1946, prices rose 39.3% in total.
$100 in 1946, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | $139.28 | +39.3% |
| 1966 | $166.31 | +66.3% |
| 1976 | $291.59 | +191.6% |
| 1986 | $561.61 | +461.6% |
| 1996 | $803.67 | +703.7% |
| 2006 | $1,032.92 | +932.9% |
| 2016 | $1,229.75 | +1129.8% |
| 2026 | $1,702.35 | +1602.4% |
Monthly CPI in 1946
| Month | CPI-U index | Change vs same month, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 18.200 | 2.2% |
| February | 18.100 | 1.7% |
| March | 18.300 | 2.8% |
| April | 18.400 | 3.4% |
| May | 18.500 | 3.4% |
| June | 18.700 | 3.3% |
| July | 19.800 | 9.4% |
| August | 20.200 | 11.6% |
| September | 20.400 | 12.7% |
| October | 20.800 | 14.9% |
| November | 21.300 | 17.7% |
| December | 21.500 | 18.1% |
Annual average CPI-U for 1946: 19.517.
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 (1946 annual average): 19.517 · Index (2026 annual average): 332.243 · Ratio: 17.0235
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 1945 · All years · $100 in 1947 →
The same year elsewhere: Canada