What is $1 from 1993 worth today?
$1 in 1993 is worth $2.33 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 133% since 1993, an average of 2.58% a year over 33 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.2 times, and a dollar today buys 42.9% of what it bought in 1993.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1993 is worth $46.64, $100 is worth $233.18 and $1,000 is worth $2,332 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1993
The CPI-U averaged 144.5 in 1993, up 3.0% from 140.3 in 1992. From December 1992 to December 1993, prices rose 2.7%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1993 is number 49 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.
1993 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1993 money
If something cost $5 in 1993, the same buying power today is $11.66. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $42.89 bought in 1993, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $25,732 salary in 1993.
If your pay in 1993 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,332 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 1993 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1993 annual average (144.5): 336.94 ÷ 144.5 = 2.3318. Multiply any 1993 amount by 2.3318 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 1993 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1992 and $1 in 1994. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.