$100 in 1953 has the buying power of $1,261.95 in September 2026. Prices are 1,161.9% higher, an average of 3.52% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 1953's average index was 26.7 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $7.92 did in 1953.
Inflation in 1953 was 0.8% (the change in the year's average CPI from 1952; December to December, 0.7%), the 20th lowest of the 112 years since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 24.1 | +8.1% | $1,398.09 |
| 1949 | 23.8 | −1.2% | $1,415.71 |
| 1950 | 24.1 | +1.3% | $1,398.09 |
| 1951 | 26.0 | +7.9% | $1,295.92 |
| 1952 | 26.5 | +1.9% | $1,271.47 |
| 1953 | 26.7 | +0.8% | $1,261.95 |
| 1954 | 26.9 | +0.7% | $1,252.57 |
| 1955 | 26.8 | −0.4% | $1,257.24 |
| 1956 | 27.2 | +1.5% | $1,238.75 |
| 1957 | 28.1 | +3.3% | $1,199.07 |
| 1958 | 28.9 | +2.8% | $1,165.88 |
3.52% a year, compounded from the middle of 1953 to September 2026: prices are 1,161.9% higher in all, so a dollar from 1953 is worth $12.62 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.
1952 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 1954
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.