The Shrinking Value of the Dollar
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff 
The CPI inflation calculator uses the average Consumer Price Index for a given calendar year. This data represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. This index value has been calculated every year since 1913. For the current year, the latest monthly index value is used. In 2008, for example, it took $21.57 to buy what $1 bought in 1913. Note that in 1920, it cost $2.02, and declined in 1925 and through the 1930s, illustrating the effect of the Great Depression, when prices slumped. Prices did not pass $2 again until 1950.
| Year | Amount it took to equal $1 in 1913 |
|---|---|
| 1913 | $1.00 |
| 1920 | 2.02 |
| 1925 | 1.77 |
| 1930 | 1.69 |
| 1935 | 1.38 |
| 1940 | 1.41 |
| 1945 | $1.82 |
| 1950 | 2.43 |
| 1955 | 2.71 |
| 1960 | 2.99 |
| 1965 | 3.18 |
| 1970 | 3.92 |
| 1975 | $5.43 |
| 1980 | 8.32 |
| 1985 | 10.87 |
| 1990 | 13.20 |
| 1995 | 15.39 |
| 2000 | 17.39 |
| 2001 | $17.89 |
| 2002 | 18.17 |
| 2003 | 18.59 |
| 2004 | 19.08 |
| 2005 | 19.73 |
| 2006 | 20.18 |
| 2007 | 20.94 |
| 2008 | 21.57 |
| 2012 | 23.27 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web: http://stats.bls.gov/ .
