$100 in 1931 has the buying power of $2,216.71 in September 2026. Prices are 2,116.7% higher, an average of 3.31% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 1931's average index was 15.2 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $4.51 did in 1931.
Inflation in 1931 was −9.0% (the change in the year's average CPI from 1930; December to December, −9.3%), the 3rd steepest fall in prices of the 13 years they fell since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 17.7 | +1.1% | $1,903.62 |
| 1927 | 17.4 | −1.7% | $1,936.44 |
| 1928 | 17.1 | −1.7% | $1,970.41 |
| 1929 | 17.1 | 0.0% | $1,970.41 |
| 1930 | 16.7 | −2.3% | $2,017.60 |
| 1931 | 15.2 | −9.0% | $2,216.71 |
| 1932 | 13.7 | −9.9% | $2,459.42 |
| 1933 | 13.0 | −5.1% | $2,591.85 |
| 1934 | 13.4 | +3.1% | $2,514.48 |
| 1935 | 13.7 | +2.2% | $2,459.42 |
| 1936 | 13.9 | +1.5% | $2,424.03 |
3.31% a year, compounded from the middle of 1931 to September 2026: prices are 2,116.7% higher in all, so a dollar from 1931 is worth $22.17 today.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, which runs back to January 1913. A year's figure is the average of its monthly indexes, as BLS computes annual averages; today's figure is the latest month, September 2026, so the answer moves each month when BLS publishes a new CPI.
1930 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 1932
Source: BLS CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted (FRED CPIAUCNS); through 2006, BLS's official annual averages. The answer moves each month, when BLS publishes a new CPI.