What is $1 from 1948 worth today?
$1 in 1948 is worth $13.98 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1298% since 1948, an average of 3.43% a year over 78 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.8 times, and a dollar today buys 7.2% of what it bought in 1948.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1948 is worth $279.62, $100 is worth $1,398 and $1,000 is worth $13,981 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1948
The CPI-U averaged 24.1 in 1948, up 8.1% from 22.3 in 1947. From December 1947 to December 1948, prices rose 3.0%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1948 is number 13 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.
1948 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1948 money
If something cost $5 in 1948, the same buying power today is $69.90. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $7.15 bought in 1948, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $4,292 salary in 1948.
If your pay in 1948 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $13,981 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 1948 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1948 annual average (24.1): 336.94 ÷ 24.1 = 13.9809. Multiply any 1948 amount by 13.9809 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 1948 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1947 and $1 in 1949. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.