$1 in 1865 has about the same buying power as $21.06 in 2025 — a total price increase of 2005.7% over 160 years, averaging 1.92% a year.
Each amount multiplied by 21.0568.
Index values are annual averages on the 1982-1984 = 100 base.
$1 in 1865 has roughly the same buying power as $21.06 in 2025. Prices rose 2005.7% in total over those 160 years, an average of 1.92% per year.
Multiply the 1865 amount by 21.0568. That figure is the price index in 2025 divided by the index in 1865 (322.8 ÷ 15.33).
Consumer prices changed by -2.2% during 1865 compared with the previous year.
No. Official US Consumer Price Index data begins in 1913. Figures for 1865 come from a reconstructed historical series published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which splices together earlier price indices. They are reasonable estimates for historical context, but they are not official statistics and carry meaningfully more uncertainty than post-1913 figures.
