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Value of 1970 US Dollars today

$100 in 1970
$800.54 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1970 and today has been 700.54%, which translates into a total increase of $700.54. This means that 100 dollars in 1970 are equivalent to 800.54 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1970 equals $800.54 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.93%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1970 - 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 1970-2023 684.81%
Cumulative inflation 1970-today 700.54%
Avg. Annual inflation 1970-2023 3.96%
CPI 1970 16.38
CPI 2023 128.56
CPI 2024-02 (latest official data) 130.93
CPI today 131.13

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 1970 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1970 ×
CPI2023/CPI1970
=$ 100 ×
128.56/16.38
$784.81

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 131.13:

Valuetoday
=Value1970 ×
CPItoday/CPI1970
=$ 100 ×
131.13/16.38
$800.54

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 53 years between 1970 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.9638%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.039638)53
$784.81

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1970 $7.85 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1970 $39.24 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1970 $78.48 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1970 $392.4 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1970 $784.81 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1970 $3,924.04 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1970 $7,848.08 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1970 $39,240.4 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1970 $78,480.81 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1970 $392,404.04 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1970 $784,808.08 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1970 $3,924,040.39 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1970 $7,848,080.79 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1970 700.54%
Avg. annual inflation From 1970 3.93%
CPI 1970 16.38
CPI today 131.13

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1970 100
1971 104.29
1972 107.71
1973 114.36
1974 127
1975 138.61
1976 146.58
1977 156.11
1978 168.02
1979 186.93
1980 212.26
1981 234.19
1982 248.55
1983 256.54
1984 267.57
1985 277.06
1986 282.31
1987 292.66
1988 304.59
1989 319.3
1990 336.53
1991 350.78
1992 361.41
1993 372.08
1994 381.78
1995 392.49
1996 403.99
1997 413.44
1998 419.85
1999 429.04
2000 443.53
2001 456.06
2002 463.3
2003 473.81
2004 486.5
2005 503.01
2006 519.23
2007 534.04
2008 554.55
2009 552.57
2010 561.64
2011 579.37
2012 591.36
2013 600.02
2014 609.75
2015 610.48
2016 618.18
2017 631.34
2018 646.77
2019 658.49
2020 666.61
2021 697.93
2022 753.78
2023 784.81
2024-02 799.29
Today 800.54

All available years

Today's value of US dollars by year:

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 |

Other currencies: