What is $1 from 1943 worth today?
$1 in 1943 is worth $19.48 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1848% since 1943, an average of 3.63% a year over 83 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 4.3 times, and a dollar today buys 5.1% of what it bought in 1943.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1943 is worth $389.53, $100 is worth $1,948 and $1,000 is worth $19,476 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1943
The CPI-U averaged 17.3 in 1943, up 6.1% from 16.3 in 1942. From December 1942 to December 1943, prices rose 3.0%. This was the period of the Second World War. Ranked by annual inflation, 1943 is number 21 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.
1943 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1943 money
If something cost $5 in 1943, the same buying power today is $97.38. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $5.13 bought in 1943, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $3,081 salary in 1943.
If your pay in 1943 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $19,476 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 1943 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1943 annual average (17.3): 336.94 ÷ 17.3 = 19.4763. Multiply any 1943 amount by 19.4763 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 1943 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1942 and $1 in 1944. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.