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Value of 1937 US Dollars today

$100 in 1937
$2,197.99 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1937 and today has been 2,097.99%, which translates into a total increase of $2,097.99. This means that 100 dollars in 1937 are equivalent to 2,197.99 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1937 equals $2,197.99 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.62%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1937 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of $100 due to compound inflation and CPI changes. All values are equivalent in terms of purchasing power, which means that for each year the same goods or services could be bought with the indicated amount of money.

All calculations are performed in the local currency (USD) and using 6 decimal digits. Results show only up to 2 decimal digits to favour readability. Inflation data is provided by governments and international institutions on a monthly basis. Today's values were extrapolated from the latest 12-month rolling average official data.

The following table contains relevant indicators:

Indicator Value
Cumulative inflation 1937-2023 2,018.44%
Cumulative inflation 1937-today 2,097.99%
Avg. Annual inflation 1937-2023 3.61%
CPI 1937 14.38
CPI 2023 304.7
CPI 2024-09 (latest official data) 315.3
CPI today 316.14

How to calculate today's value of money after inflation?

There are several ways to calculate the time value of money. Depending on the data available, results can be obtained by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) formula or the compound interest formula.

Using the CPI formula

When we have both the start and end years, we can use the following formula:

Valuet =Value0 ×
CPIt/CPI0

To obtain the values equivalent in buying power between 1937 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1937 ×
CPI2023/CPI1937
=$ 100 ×
304.7/14.38
$2,118.44

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 316.14:

Valuetoday
=Value1937 ×
CPItoday/CPI1937
=$ 100 ×
316.14/14.38
$2,197.99

Alternative: Using the compound interest formula

Given that money changes with time as a result of an inflation rate that acts as compound interest, we can use the following formula: FV = PV × (1 + i)n, where:

  • FV: Future Value
  • PV: Present Value
  • i: Interest rate (inflation)
  • n: Number of times the interest is compounded (i.e. # of years)

In this case, the future value represents the final amount obtained after applying the inflation rate to our initial value. In other words, it indicates how much are $100 worth today. There are 86 years between 1937 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.6141%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.036141)86
$2,118.44

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1937 $21.18 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1937 $105.92 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1937 $211.84 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1937 $1,059.22 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1937 $2,118.44 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1937 $10,592.18 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1937 $21,184.35 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1937 $105,921.76 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1937 $211,843.51 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1937 $1,059,217.56 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1937 $2,118,435.11 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1937 $10,592,175.55 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1937 $21,184,351.1 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1937 2,097.99%
Avg. annual inflation From 1937 3.62%
CPI 1937 14.38
CPI today 316.14

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1937 100
1938 97.97
1939 96.7
1940 97.39
1941 102.38
1942 113.56
1943 120.34
1944 122.31
1945 125.09
1946 135.69
1947 155.21
1948 167.15
1949 165.53
1950 167.32
1951 180.48
1952 184.59
1953 186.1
1954 186.67
1955 186.15
1956 188.99
1957 195.31
1958 200.64
1959 202.67
1960 205.62
1961 207.82
1962 210.31
1963 212.92
1964 215.64
1965 219.06
1966 225.67
1967 231.92
1968 241.83
1969 255.04
1970 269.93
1971 281.52
1972 290.73
1973 308.69
1974 342.82
1975 374.16
1976 395.65
1977 421.38
1978 453.53
1979 504.58
1980 572.94
1981 632.16
1982 670.92
1983 692.47
1984 722.25
1985 747.86
1986 762.05
1987 789.98
1988 822.19
1989 861.88
1990 908.4
1991 946.87
1992 975.55
1993 1,004.35
1994 1,030.53
1995 1,059.44
1996 1,090.5
1997 1,115.99
1998 1,133.31
1999 1,158.11
2000 1,197.22
2001 1,231.05
2002 1,250.58
2003 1,278.97
2004 1,313.21
2005 1,357.76
2006 1,401.56
2007 1,441.55
2008 1,496.89
2009 1,491.57
2010 1,516.03
2011 1,563.89
2012 1,596.25
2013 1,619.63
2014 1,645.91
2015 1,647.86
2016 1,668.65
2017 1,704.19
2018 1,745.82
2019 1,777.46
2020 1,799.38
2021 1,883.91
2022 2,034.68
2023 2,118.44
2024-09 2,192.13
Today 2,197.99

All available years

Today's value of US dollars by year:

1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |

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