What is $1 from 1994 worth today?
$1 in 1994 is worth $2.27 in September 2026, based on the official Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen 127% since 1994, an average of 2.58% a year over 32 years. In other words, prices have doubled about 1.2 times, and a dollar today buys 44.0% of what it bought in 1994.
The same ratio applies to any amount: $20 from 1994 is worth $45.47, $100 is worth $227.35 and $1,000 is worth $2,274 in today's dollars.
Inflation in 1994
The CPI-U averaged 148.2 in 1994, up 2.6% from 144.5 in 1993. From December 1993 to December 1994, prices rose 2.7%. Ranked by annual inflation, 1994 is number 59 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.
1994 prices in today's money, and today's prices in 1994 money
If something cost $5 in 1994, the same buying power today is $11.37. Going the other way, $100 in September 2026 would have bought what $43.98 bought in 1994, and a $60,000 salary today has the buying power of a $26,390 salary in 1994.
If your pay in 1994 was, say, $1,000 a month, you would need about $2,274 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 1994 inflation figure is calculated
The calculation divides the latest CPI-U (336.94 for September 2026) by the 1994 annual average (148.2): 336.94 ÷ 148.2 = 2.2735. Multiply any 1994 amount by 2.2735 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 1994 or a different end date. See also $1 in 1993 and $1 in 1995. All years are on the main US inflation calculator page.