What is $1 from 1966 worth today?
$1 in 1966 is worth $10.40 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 940% since 1966, an average of 3.97% a year over 60 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.4 times, and a dollar today buys 9.6% of what it bought in 1966.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1966 is worth $207.99, $100 is worth $1,040 and $1,000 is worth $10,399 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1966
The CPI-U averaged 32.4 in 1966, up 2.9% from 31.5 in 1965. From December 1965 to December 1966, prices rose 3.5%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1966 is number 52 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.
1966 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1966 money
If something cost $5 in 1966, the same buying power today is $52.00. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $9.62 bought in 1966, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $5,770 salary in 1966.
If your pay in 1966 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $10,399 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 1966 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1966 annual average (32.4): 336.94 ÷ 32.4 = 10.3994. Multiply any 1966 amount by 10.3994 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 1966 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1965 and $1 in 1967. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.