What is $1 from 1942 worth today?
$1 in 1942 is worth $20.67 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1967% since 1942, an average of 3.66% a year over 84 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.4 times, and a dollar today buys 4.8% of what it bought in 1942.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1942 is worth $413.42, $100 is worth $2,067 and $1,000 is worth $20,671 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1942
The CPI-U averaged 16.3 in 1942, up 10.9% from 14.7 in 1941. From December 1941 to December 1942, prices rose 9.0%. This was the period of the Second World War. Ranked by annual inflation, 1942 is number 9 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1940s, annual inflation averaged 5.5% a year. The highest rate was 14.4% in 1947 and the lowest -1.2% in 1949.
1942 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1942 money
If something cost $5 in 1942, the same buying power today is $103.36. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $4.84 bought in 1942, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $2,903 salary in 1942.
If your pay in 1942 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $20,671 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 1942 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1942 annual average (16.3): 336.94 ÷ 16.3 = 20.6712. Multiply any 1942 amount by 20.6712 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 1942 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1941 and $1 in 1943. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.