What is $1 from 1938 worth today?
$1 in 1938 is worth $23.90 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 2290% since 1938, an average of 3.66% a year over 88 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.6 times, and a dollar today buys 4.2% of what it bought in 1938.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1938 is worth $477.93, $100 is worth $2,390 and $1,000 is worth $23,896 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1938
The CPI-U averaged 14.1 in 1938, down 2.1% from 14.4 in 1937, so prices actually fell (deflation). From December 1937 to December 1938, prices fell 2.8%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1938 is number 106 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.
1938 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1938 money
If something cost $5 in 1938, the same buying power today is $119.48. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $4.18 bought in 1938, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $2,511 salary in 1938.
If your pay in 1938 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $23,896 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 1938 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1938 annual average (14.1): 336.94 ÷ 14.1 = 23.8965. Multiply any 1938 amount by 23.8965 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 1938 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1937 and $1 in 1939. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.