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Value of 1946 US Dollars today

$100 in 1946
$1,621.21 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1946 and today has been 1,521.21%, which translates into a total increase of $1,521.21. This means that 100 dollars in 1946 are equivalent to 1,621.21 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1946 equals $1,621.21 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.64%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1946 - 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 1946-2023 1,461.24%
Cumulative inflation 1946-today 1,521.21%
Avg. Annual inflation 1946-2023 3.63%
CPI 1946 19.52
CPI 2023 304.7
CPI 2024-10 (latest official data) 315.66
CPI today 316.41

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 1946 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1946 ×
CPI2023/CPI1946
=$ 100 ×
304.7/19.52
$1,561.24

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 316.41:

Valuetoday
=Value1946 ×
CPItoday/CPI1946
=$ 100 ×
316.41/19.52
$1,621.21

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 77 years between 1946 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.6334%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.036334)77
$1,561.24

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1946 $15.61 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1946 $78.06 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1946 $156.12 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1946 $780.62 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1946 $1,561.24 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1946 $7,806.19 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1946 $15,612.38 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1946 $78,061.89 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1946 $156,123.78 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1946 $780,618.92 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1946 $1,561,237.83 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1946 $7,806,189.15 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1946 $15,612,378.31 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1946 1,521.21%
Avg. annual inflation From 1946 3.64%
CPI 1946 19.52
CPI today 316.41

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1946 100
1947 114.39
1948 123.19
1949 121.99
1950 123.31
1951 133.01
1952 136.04
1953 137.15
1954 137.57
1955 137.19
1956 139.28
1957 143.94
1958 147.87
1959 149.36
1960 151.54
1961 153.16
1962 155
1963 156.92
1964 158.92
1965 161.44
1966 166.31
1967 170.92
1968 178.22
1969 187.96
1970 198.93
1971 207.47
1972 214.26
1973 227.5
1974 252.65
1975 275.75
1976 291.59
1977 310.55
1978 334.24
1979 371.86
1980 422.25
1981 465.88
1982 494.45
1983 510.33
1984 532.28
1985 551.15
1986 561.61
1987 582.19
1988 605.94
1989 635.18
1990 669.47
1991 697.82
1992 718.96
1993 740.18
1994 759.48
1995 780.79
1996 803.67
1997 822.46
1998 835.23
1999 853.5
2000 882.32
2001 907.26
2002 921.65
2003 942.57
2004 967.81
2005 1,000.64
2006 1,032.92
2007 1,062.39
2008 1,103.17
2009 1,099.25
2010 1,117.28
2011 1,152.55
2012 1,176.4
2013 1,193.63
2014 1,212.99
2015 1,214.43
2016 1,229.75
2017 1,255.95
2018 1,286.63
2019 1,309.94
2020 1,326.1
2021 1,388.4
2022 1,499.51
2023 1,561.24
2024-10 1,617.41
Today 1,621.21

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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