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Value of 1973 US Dollars today

$100 in 1973
$700.08 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1973 and today has been 600.08%, which translates into a total increase of $600.08. This means that 100 dollars in 1973 are equivalent to 700.08 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1973 equals $700.08 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.89%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1973 - 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 1973-2023 586.27%
Cumulative inflation 1973-today 600.08%
Avg. Annual inflation 1973-2023 3.93%
CPI 1973 18.73
CPI 2023 128.56
CPI 2024-02 (latest official data) 130.93
CPI today 131.14

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 1973 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1973 ×
CPI2023/CPI1973
=$ 100 ×
128.56/18.73
$686.27

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 131.14:

Valuetoday
=Value1973 ×
CPItoday/CPI1973
=$ 100 ×
131.14/18.73
$700.08

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 50 years between 1973 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.9273%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.039273)50
$686.27

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1973 $6.86 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1973 $34.31 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1973 $68.63 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1973 $343.13 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1973 $686.27 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1973 $3,431.33 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1973 $6,862.65 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1973 $34,313.26 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1973 $68,626.52 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1973 $343,132.62 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1973 $686,265.24 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1973 $3,431,326.18 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1973 $6,862,652.36 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1973 600.08%
Avg. annual inflation From 1973 3.89%
CPI 1973 18.73
CPI today 131.14

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1973 100
1974 111.05
1975 121.21
1976 128.17
1977 136.51
1978 146.92
1979 163.46
1980 185.6
1981 204.79
1982 217.34
1983 224.32
1984 233.97
1985 242.27
1986 246.87
1987 255.91
1988 266.35
1989 279.2
1990 294.28
1991 306.74
1992 316.03
1993 325.36
1994 333.84
1995 343.21
1996 353.27
1997 361.52
1998 367.14
1999 375.17
2000 387.84
2001 398.8
2002 405.12
2003 414.32
2004 425.41
2005 439.85
2006 454.04
2007 466.99
2008 484.92
2009 483.19
2010 491.12
2011 506.62
2012 517.1
2013 524.68
2014 533.19
2015 533.82
2016 540.56
2017 552.07
2018 565.56
2019 575.81
2020 582.91
2021 610.29
2022 659.13
2023 686.27
2024-02 698.93
Today 700.08

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 |

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