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Value of 1978 US Dollars today

$100 in 1978
$483.87 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1978 and today has been 383.87%, which translates into a total increase of $383.87. This means that 100 dollars in 1978 are equivalent to 483.87 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1978 equals $483.87 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.49%.

Inflation timeline in the United States (1978 - 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 1978-2023 367.09%
Cumulative inflation 1978-today 383.87%
Avg. Annual inflation 1978-2023 3.48%
CPI 1978 65.23
CPI 2023 304.7
CPI 2024-08 (latest official data) 314.8
CPI today 315.65

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 1978 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1978 ×
CPI2023/CPI1978
=$ 100 ×
304.7/65.23
$467.09

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 315.65:

Valuetoday
=Value1978 ×
CPItoday/CPI1978
=$ 100 ×
315.65/65.23
$483.87

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 45 years between 1978 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.4846%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.034846)45
$467.09

US inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1978 $4.67 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1978 $23.35 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1978 $46.71 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1978 $233.55 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1978 $467.09 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1978 $2,335.47 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1978 $4,670.95 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1978 $23,354.75 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1978 $46,709.49 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1978 $233,547.46 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1978 $467,094.92 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1978 $2,335,474.58 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1978 $4,670,949.16 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1978 383.87%
Avg. annual inflation From 1978 3.49%
CPI 1978 65.23
CPI today 315.65

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1978 100
1979 111.25
1980 126.33
1981 139.38
1982 147.93
1983 152.68
1984 159.25
1985 164.9
1986 168.03
1987 174.18
1988 181.29
1989 190.04
1990 200.29
1991 208.78
1992 215.1
1993 221.45
1994 227.22
1995 233.6
1996 240.44
1997 246.07
1998 249.89
1999 255.35
2000 263.98
2001 271.44
2002 275.74
2003 282
2004 289.55
2005 299.37
2006 309.03
2007 317.85
2008 330.05
2009 328.88
2010 334.27
2011 344.82
2012 351.96
2013 357.11
2014 362.91
2015 363.34
2016 367.92
2017 375.76
2018 384.94
2019 391.91
2020 396.75
2021 415.39
2022 448.63
2023 467.09
2024-08 482.57
Today 483.87

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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