What is $1 from 1977 worth today?
$1 in 1977 is worth $5.56 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 456% since 1977, an average of 3.55% a year over 49 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 2.5 times, and a dollar today buys 18.0% of what it bought in 1977.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1977 is worth $111.20, $100 is worth $556.01 and $1,000 is worth $5,560 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1977
The CPI-U averaged 60.6 in 1977, up 6.5% from 56.9 in 1976. From December 1976 to December 1977, prices rose 6.7%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1977 is number 18 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1970s, annual inflation averaged 7.1% a year. The highest rate was 11.3% in 1979 and the lowest 3.2% in 1972.
1977 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1977 money
If something cost $5 in 1977, the same buying power today is $27.80. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $17.99 bought in 1977, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $10,791 salary in 1977.
If your pay in 1977 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $5,560 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 1977 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1977 annual average (60.6): 336.94 ÷ 60.6 = 5.5601. Multiply any 1977 amount by 5.5601 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 1977 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1976 and $1 in 1978. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.