What is $1 from 1937 worth today?
$1 in 1937 is worth $23.40 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 2240% since 1937, an average of 3.60% a year over 89 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.5 times, and a dollar today buys 4.3% of what it bought in 1937.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1937 is worth $467.97, $100 is worth $2,340 and $1,000 is worth $23,399 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1937
The CPI-U averaged 14.4 in 1937, up 3.6% from 13.9 in 1936. From December 1936 to December 1937, prices rose 2.9%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1937 is number 37 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1930s, annual inflation averaged -2.1% a year. The highest rate was 3.6% in 1937 and the lowest -9.9% in 1932, so 1937 had the decade's highest inflation.
1937 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1937 money
If something cost $5 in 1937, the same buying power today is $116.99. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $4.27 bought in 1937, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $2,564 salary in 1937.
If your pay in 1937 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $23,399 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 1937 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1937 annual average (14.4): 336.94 ÷ 14.4 = 23.3986. Multiply any 1937 amount by 23.3986 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 1937 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1936 and $1 in 1938. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.