What is $1 from 1965 worth today?
$1 in 1965 is worth $10.70 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 970% since 1965, an average of 3.95% a year over 61 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.4 times, and a dollar today buys 9.3% of what it bought in 1965.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1965 is worth $213.93, $100 is worth $1,070 and $1,000 is worth $10,697 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1965
The CPI-U averaged 31.5 in 1965, up 1.6% from 31 in 1964. From December 1964 to December 1965, prices rose 1.9%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1965 is number 77 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.
1965 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1965 money
If something cost $5 in 1965, the same buying power today is $53.48. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $9.35 bought in 1965, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $5,609 salary in 1965.
If your pay in 1965 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $10,697 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 1965 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1965 annual average (31.5): 336.94 ÷ 31.5 = 10.6965. Multiply any 1965 amount by 10.6965 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 1965 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1964 and $1 in 1966. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.