Between 1980 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 291.7%. That means $1 million then had roughly the same buying power as $3,917,476 now — an average of 3.08% inflation per year over 45 years.
What $1 million in 1980 was worth at each following decade, adjusted for consumer price inflation.
Inflation adjustment uses the ratio of the Consumer Price Index between the two years — the same method the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics documents for comparing dollar amounts over time.
The index used is CPI-U (all urban consumers, US city average, all items), base period 1982-1984 = 100. Inflation in 1980 itself ran at 13.5%. The 2025 figure is the latest annual average available and may be revised by BLS.
Note: other inflation calculators may show slightly different results because some use a specific month rather than the annual average, or a different end year. This page uses annual averages throughout, and states both index values above so the arithmetic can be checked.
$1 million in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,917,476 in 2025. That is an increase of $2,917,476 over 45 years, or a total price rise of 291.7%.
Prices rose at an average of 3.08% per year between 1980 and 2025. Compounded over 45 years, that turns $1 million into $3,917,476.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1980: 322.8 divided by 82.4 equals 3.9175. Multiplying $1 million by 3.9175 gives $3,917,476. The index is the CPI-U published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, base period 1982-1984 = 100.
Running the comparison in reverse, $1,000,000 in 2025 has roughly the same buying power as $255,266 in 1980.
Use the full inflation tool to compare any amount between any two years, or project what today's money will be worth in the future.
