What is $1 from 1968 worth today?
$1 in 1968 is worth $9.68 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 868% since 1968, an average of 3.98% a year over 58 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 3.3 times, and a dollar today buys 10.3% of what it bought in 1968.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1968 is worth $193.64, $100 is worth $968.22 and $1,000 is worth $9,682 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1968
The CPI-U averaged 34.8 in 1968, up 4.2% from 33.4 in 1967. From December 1967 to December 1968, prices rose 4.7%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1968 is number 32 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.
1968 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1968 money
If something cost $5 in 1968, the same buying power today is $48.41. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $10.33 bought in 1968, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $6,197 salary in 1968.
If your pay in 1968 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $9,682 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 1968 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1968 annual average (34.8): 336.94 ÷ 34.8 = 9.6822. Multiply any 1968 amount by 9.6822 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 1968 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1967 and $1 in 1969. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.