Between 1882 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 3238.2%. That means $100 then had roughly the same buying power as $3,338 now — an average of 2.48% inflation per year over 143 years.
What $100 in 1882 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 1882 itself ran at 0.0%. 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.
$100 in 1882 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,338 in 2025. That is an increase of $3,238 over 143 years, or a total price rise of 3238.2%.
Prices rose at an average of 2.48% per year between 1882 and 2025. Compounded over 143 years, that turns $100 into $3,338.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1882: 322.8 divided by 9.7 equals 33.3816. Multiplying $100 by 33.3816 gives $3,338. 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, $100 in 2025 has roughly the same buying power as $3.00 in 1882.
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.
