What is $1 from 1982 worth today?
$1 in 1982 is worth $3.49 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 249% since 1982, an average of 2.87% a year over 44 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.8 times, and a dollar today buys 28.6% of what it bought in 1982.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1982 is worth $69.83, $100 is worth $349.16 and $1,000 is worth $3,492 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1982
The CPI-U averaged 96.5 in 1982, up 6.2% from 90.9 in 1981. From December 1981 to December 1982, prices rose 3.8%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1982 is number 20 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1980s, annual inflation averaged 5.5% a year. The highest rate was 13.5% in 1980 and the lowest 1.9% in 1986.
1982 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1982 money
If something cost $5 in 1982, the same buying power today is $17.46. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $28.64 bought in 1982, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $17,184 salary in 1982.
If your pay in 1982 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $3,492 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 1982 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1982 annual average (96.5): 336.94 ÷ 96.5 = 3.4916. Multiply any 1982 amount by 3.4916 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 1982 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1981 and $1 in 1983. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.