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Value of 1978 US Dollars today

$103,000 in 1978
$499,729.42 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United States between 1978 and today has been 385.17%, which translates into a total increase of $396,729.42. This means that 103,000 dollars in 1978 are equivalent to 499,729.42 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $103,000 in 1978 equals $499,729.42 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 $103,000 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 385.17%
Avg. Annual inflation 1978-2023 3.48%
CPI 1978 65.23
CPI 2023 304.7
CPI 2024-10 (latest official data) 315.66
CPI today 316.5

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
=$ 103,000 ×
304.7/65.23
$481,107.76

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 316.5:

Valuetoday
=Value1978 ×
CPItoday/CPI1978
=$ 103,000 ×
316.5/65.23
$499,729.42

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 $103,000 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
=$103,000 × (1 + 0.034846)45
$481,107.76

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 385.17%
Avg. annual inflation From 1978 3.49%
CPI 1978 65.23
CPI today 316.5

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1978 103,000
1979 114,592.11
1980 130,118.42
1981 143,565.79
1982 152,368.42
1983 157,263.16
1984 164,026.32
1985 169,842.11
1986 173,065.79
1987 179,407.89
1988 186,723.68
1989 195,736.84
1990 206,302.63
1991 215,039.47
1992 221,552.63
1993 228,092.11
1994 234,039.47
1995 240,605.26
1996 247,657.89
1997 253,447.37
1998 257,381.58
1999 263,013.16
2000 271,894.74
2001 279,578.95
2002 284,013.16
2003 290,460.53
2004 298,236.84
2005 308,355.26
2006 318,302.63
2007 327,382.76
2008 339,951.32
2009 338,742.63
2010 344,298.16
2011 355,167.11
2012 362,516.71
2013 367,826.97
2014 373,793.95
2015 374,237.37
2016 378,958.68
2017 387,030.92
2018 396,484.47
2019 403,669.61
2020 408,649.21
2021 427,846.97
2022 462,086.71
2023 481,107.76
2024-10 498,416.84
Today 499,729.42

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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