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Value of 1939 US Dollars today

$100 in 1939
$2,268.96 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1939 and today has been 2,168.96%, which translates into a total increase of $2,168.96. This means that 100 dollars in 1939 are equivalent to 2,268.96 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1939 equals $2,268.96 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.74%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1939 - 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 1939-2023 2,090.78%
Cumulative inflation 1939-today 2,168.96%
Avg. Annual inflation 1939-2023 3.74%
CPI 1939 13.91
CPI 2023 304.7
CPI 2024-09 (latest official data) 315.3
CPI today 315.58

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 1939 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1939 ×
CPI2023/CPI1939
=$ 100 ×
304.7/13.91
$2,190.78

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 315.58:

Valuetoday
=Value1939 ×
CPItoday/CPI1939
=$ 100 ×
315.58/13.91
$2,268.96

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 84 years between 1939 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.7432%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.037432)84
$2,190.78

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1939 $21.91 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1939 $109.54 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1939 $219.08 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1939 $1,095.39 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1939 $2,190.78 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1939 $10,953.92 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1939 $21,907.84 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1939 $109,539.22 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1939 $219,078.43 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1939 $1,095,392.15 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1939 $2,190,784.3 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1939 $10,953,921.51 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1939 $21,907,843.02 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1939 2,168.96%
Avg. annual inflation From 1939 3.74%
CPI 1939 13.91
CPI today 315.58

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1939 100
1940 100.72
1941 105.87
1942 117.44
1943 124.45
1944 126.48
1945 129.36
1946 140.32
1947 160.52
1948 172.86
1949 171.18
1950 173.04
1951 186.64
1952 190.89
1953 192.45
1954 193.05
1955 192.51
1956 195.45
1957 201.98
1958 207.49
1959 209.59
1960 212.64
1961 214.92
1962 217.5
1963 220.19
1964 223.01
1965 226.54
1966 233.37
1967 239.84
1968 250.09
1969 263.75
1970 279.15
1971 291.13
1972 300.66
1973 319.23
1974 354.52
1975 386.94
1976 409.17
1977 435.77
1978 469.02
1979 521.81
1980 592.51
1981 653.74
1982 693.83
1983 716.12
1984 746.91
1985 773.4
1986 788.08
1987 816.96
1988 850.27
1989 891.31
1990 939.42
1991 979.21
1992 1,008.87
1993 1,038.65
1994 1,065.73
1995 1,095.63
1996 1,127.74
1997 1,154.1
1998 1,172.02
1999 1,197.66
2000 1,238.11
2001 1,273.1
2002 1,293.29
2003 1,322.65
2004 1,358.06
2005 1,404.13
2006 1,449.43
2007 1,490.78
2008 1,548.01
2009 1,542.51
2010 1,567.8
2011 1,617.3
2012 1,650.77
2013 1,674.95
2014 1,702.12
2015 1,704.14
2016 1,725.64
2017 1,762.39
2018 1,805.44
2019 1,838.16
2020 1,860.84
2021 1,948.25
2022 2,104.17
2023 2,190.78
2024-09 2,266.99
Today 2,268.96

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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