What is $1 from 1962 worth today?
$1 in 1962 is worth $11.16 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1016% since 1962, an average of 3.83% a year over 64 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.5 times, and a dollar today buys 9.0% of what it bought in 1962.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1962 is worth $223.14, $100 is worth $1,116 and $1,000 is worth $11,157 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1962
The CPI-U averaged 30.2 in 1962, up 1.0% from 29.9 in 1961. From December 1961 to December 1962, prices rose 1.3%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1962 is number 91 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1960s, annual inflation averaged 2.3% a year. The highest rate was 5.5% in 1969 and the lowest 1.0% in 1962, so 1962 had the decade's lowest inflation.
1962 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1962 money
If something cost $5 in 1962, the same buying power today is $55.78. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $8.96 bought in 1962, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $5,378 salary in 1962.
If your pay in 1962 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $11,157 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 1962 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1962 annual average (30.2): 336.94 ÷ 30.2 = 11.1570. Multiply any 1962 amount by 11.1570 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 1962 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1961 and $1 in 1963. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.