Between 1940 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 2205.7%. That means $10 then had roughly the same buying power as $231 now — an average of 3.76% inflation per year over 85 years.
What $10 in 1940 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 1940 itself ran at 0.7%. 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.
$10 in 1940 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $231 in 2025. That is an increase of $221 over 85 years, or a total price rise of 2205.7%.
Prices rose at an average of 3.76% per year between 1940 and 2025. Compounded over 85 years, that turns $10 into $231.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1940: 322.8 divided by 14.0 equals 23.0571. Multiplying $10 by 23.0571 gives $231. 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, $10.00 in 2025 has roughly the same buying power as $0.43 in 1940.
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.
