$100 in 1972 has the buying power of $806.08 in September 2026. Prices are 706.1% higher, an average of 3.93% a year, by the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U): 1972's average index was 41.8 and September 2026's is 336.940. Put the other way, $100 in September 2026 buys what $12.41 did in 1972.
Inflation in 1972 was 3.2% (the change in the year's average CPI from 1971; December to December, 3.4%), the 42nd highest of the 112 years since 1914.
| Year | Average CPI-U | Inflation | $100 then is worth today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 33.4 | +3.1% | $1,008.80 |
| 1968 | 34.8 | +4.2% | $968.22 |
| 1969 | 36.7 | +5.5% | $918.09 |
| 1970 | 38.8 | +5.7% | $868.40 |
| 1971 | 40.5 | +4.4% | $831.95 |
| 1972 | 41.8 | +3.2% | $806.08 |
| 1973 | 44.4 | +6.2% | $758.87 |
| 1974 | 49.3 | +11.0% | $683.45 |
| 1975 | 53.8 | +9.1% | $626.28 |
| 1976 | 56.9 | +5.8% | $592.16 |
| 1977 | 60.6 | +6.5% | $556.01 |
3.93% a year, compounded from the middle of 1972 to September 2026: prices are 706.1% higher in all, so a dollar from 1972 is worth $8.06 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.
1971 · Inflation calculator, any month since 1913 · 1973
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.