What is $1 from 1963 worth today?
$1 in 1963 is worth $11.01 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 1001% since 1963, an average of 3.87% a year over 63 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.5 times, and a dollar today buys 9.1% of what it bought in 1963.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1963 is worth $220.22, $100 is worth $1,101 and $1,000 is worth $11,011 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1963
The CPI-U averaged 30.6 in 1963, up 1.3% from 30.2 in 1962. From December 1962 to December 1963, prices rose 1.6%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1963 is number 83 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.
1963 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1963 money
If something cost $5 in 1963, the same buying power today is $55.06. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $9.08 bought in 1963, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $5,449 salary in 1963.
If your pay in 1963 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $11,011 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 1963 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1963 annual average (30.6): 336.94 ÷ 30.6 = 11.0111. Multiply any 1963 amount by 11.0111 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 1963 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1962 and $1 in 1964. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.