What is $1 from 1916 worth today?
$1 in 1916 is worth $30.91 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 2991% since 1916, an average of 3.16% a year over 110 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 5.0 times, and a dollar today buys 3.2% of what it bought in 1916.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1916 is worth $618.24, $100 is worth $3,091 and $1,000 is worth $30,912 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1916
The CPI-U averaged 10.9 in 1916, up 7.9% from 10.1 in 1915. From December 1915 to December 1916, prices rose 12.6%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1916 is number 15 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.
1916 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1916 money
If something cost $5 in 1916, the same buying power today is $154.56. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $3.23 bought in 1916, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $1,941 salary in 1916.
If your pay in 1916 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $30,912 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 1916 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1916 annual average (10.9): 336.94 ÷ 10.9 = 30.9119. Multiply any 1916 amount by 30.9119 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 1916 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1915 and $1 in 1917. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.