What is $1 from 1915 worth today?
$1 in 1915 is worth $33.36 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 3236% since 1915, an average of 3.20% a year over 111 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 5.1 times, and a dollar today buys 3.0% of what it bought in 1915.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1915 is worth $667.21, $100 is worth $3,336 and $1,000 is worth $33,360 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1915
The CPI-U averaged 10.1 in 1915, up 1.0% from 10 in 1914. From December 1914 to December 1915, prices rose 2.0%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1915 is number 92 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1910s, annual inflation averaged 9.7% a year (over the 6 years with data). The highest rate was 18.0% in 1918 and the lowest 1.0% in 1915, so 1915 had the decade's lowest inflation.
1915 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1915 money
If something cost $5 in 1915, the same buying power today is $166.80. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $3.00 bought in 1915, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $1,799 salary in 1915.
If your pay in 1915 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $33,360 a month in September 2026 to afford the same basket of goods and services. Remember that this is an average across consumer spending: some prices, such as housing, health care and tuition, have risen faster than the CPI, while others have risen more slowly.
How this 1915 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1915 annual average (10.1): 336.94 ÷ 10.1 = 33.3604. Multiply any 1915 amount by 33.3604 to convert it to September 2026 dollars. The data is the CPI for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted (BLS series CUUR0000SA0), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Use the calculator above to pick a specific month in 1915 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1914 and $1 in 1916. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.