What is $1 from 1991 worth today?
$1 in 1991 is worth $2.47 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 147% since 1991, an average of 2.61% a year over 35 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.3 times, and a dollar today buys 40.4% of what it bought in 1991.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1991 is worth $49.48, $100 is worth $247.39 and $1,000 is worth $2,474 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1991
The CPI-U averaged 136.2 in 1991, up 4.2% from 130.7 in 1990. From December 1990 to December 1991, prices rose 3.1%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1991 is number 31 of the 112 years from 1914 to 2025.
In the 1990s, annual inflation averaged 3.0% a year. The highest rate was 5.4% in 1990 and the lowest 1.6% in 1998.
1991 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1991 money
If something cost $5 in 1991, the same buying power today is $12.37. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $40.42 bought in 1991, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $24,254 salary in 1991.
If your pay in 1991 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,474 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 1991 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1991 annual average (136.2): 336.94 ÷ 136.2 = 2.4739. Multiply any 1991 amount by 2.4739 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 1991 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1990 and $1 in 1992. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.