Between 1985 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 200.0%. That means $1 million then had roughly the same buying power as $3,000,000 now — an average of 2.78% inflation per year over 40 years.
What $1 million in 1985 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 1985 itself ran at 3.6%. 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 1985 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,000,000 in 2025. That is an increase of $2,000,000 over 40 years, or a total price rise of 200.0%.
Prices rose at an average of 2.78% per year between 1985 and 2025. Compounded over 40 years, that turns $1 million into $3,000,000.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1985: 322.8 divided by 107.6 equals 3.0000. Multiplying $1 million by 3.0000 gives $3,000,000. 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 $333,333 in 1985.
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.
