What is $1 from 1955 worth today?
$1 in 1955 is worth $12.57 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1157% since 1955, an average of 3.62% a year over 71 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.7 times, and a dollar today buys 8.0% of what it bought in 1955.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1955 is worth $251.45, $100 is worth $1,257 and $1,000 is worth $12,572 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1955
The CPI-U averaged 26.8 in 1955, down 0.4% from 26.9 in 1954, so prices actually fell (deflation). From December 1954 to December 1955, prices rose 0.4%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1955 is number 101 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1950s, annual inflation averaged 2.0% a year. The highest rate was 7.9% in 1951 and the lowest -0.4% in 1955, so 1955 had the decade's lowest inflation.
1955 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1955 money
If something cost $5 in 1955, the same buying power today is $62.86. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $7.95 bought in 1955, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $4,772 salary in 1955.
If your pay in 1955 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $12,572 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 1955 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1955 annual average (26.8): 336.94 ÷ 26.8 = 12.5724. Multiply any 1955 amount by 12.5724 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 1955 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1954 and $1 in 1956. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.