What is $1 from 1926 worth today?
$1 in 1926 is worth $19.04 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1804% since 1926, an average of 2.98% a year over 100 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.3 times, and a dollar today buys 5.3% of what it bought in 1926.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1926 is worth $380.72, $100 is worth $1,904 and $1,000 is worth $19,036 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1926
The CPI-U averaged 17.7 in 1926, up 1.1% from 17.5 in 1925. From December 1925 to December 1926, prices fell 1.1%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1926 is number 88 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.
1926 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1926 money
If something cost $5 in 1926, the same buying power today is $95.18. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $5.25 bought in 1926, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $3,152 salary in 1926.
If your pay in 1926 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $19,036 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 1926 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1926 annual average (17.7): 336.94 ÷ 17.7 = 19.0362. Multiply any 1926 amount by 19.0362 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 1926 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1925 and $1 in 1927. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.