What is $1 from 1920 worth today?
$1 in 1920 is worth $16.85 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1585% since 1920, an average of 2.69% a year over 106 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.1 times, and a dollar today buys 5.9% of what it bought in 1920.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1920 is worth $336.94, $100 is worth $1,685 and $1,000 is worth $16,847 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1920
The CPI-U averaged 20 in 1920, up 15.6% from 17.3 in 1919. From December 1919 to December 1920, prices rose 2.6%. This was the period of the post-war price spike. Ranked by annual inflation, 1920 is number 3 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1920s, annual inflation averaged -0.1% a year. The highest rate was 15.6% in 1920 and the lowest -10.5% in 1921, so 1920 had the decade's highest inflation.
1920 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1920 money
If something cost $5 in 1920, the same buying power today is $84.24. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $5.94 bought in 1920, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $3,561 salary in 1920.
If your pay in 1920 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $16,847 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 1920 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1920 annual average (20): 336.94 ÷ 20 = 16.8470. Multiply any 1920 amount by 16.8470 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 1920 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1919 and $1 in 1921. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.