Between 1934 and 2025, US consumer prices rose by 2309.0%. That means $1,000 then had roughly the same buying power as $24,090 now — an average of 3.56% inflation per year over 91 years.
What $1,000 in 1934 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 1934 itself ran at 3.1%. 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.
$1,000 in 1934 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $24,090 in 2025. That is an increase of $23,090 over 91 years, or a total price rise of 2309.0%.
Prices rose at an average of 3.56% per year between 1934 and 2025. Compounded over 91 years, that turns $1,000 into $24,090.
The amount is multiplied by the ratio of the Consumer Price Index in 2025 to the index in 1934: 322.8 divided by 13.4 equals 24.0896. Multiplying $1,000 by 24.0896 gives $24,090. 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 in 2025 has roughly the same buying power as $41.51 in 1934.
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.
