The US dollar in the 20th century

Variations of the US Dollar in the 20th Century

1 dollar bill - 1928/1934

When browsing US websites about old radios, you come across advertisements giving the prices of spare parts, complete radios, or measuring devices. This page provides a tool for evaluating the dollar at constant values. It is based on the US Consumer Price Index

The CPI is most often used for comparisons, partly because it is the series with which people are most familiar. This series tries to compare the cost of things that the average household buys, such as food, housing, transportation, medical services, etc. For previous years, this is the most useful series for comparing the cost of consumer goods and services. This can be interpreted as the amount of money you would need today to buy an item in the year in question if its price had changed by the same percentage as the average price change.

A Constant Dollar Calculation Tool

Constant Dollars

Year (1900-2023)

Amount $

This tool is based on inflation data for American households (USA) provided by the website given below (bibliography): Measuring Worth. The calculations are based on figures updated for the year 2023 and published May 2024. (next update: May 2025 )

Measuring Worth specifies to users of this data that it is all the more fragile the further apart the periods used are, and that it cannot be the subject of legal reference.

Some Examples

Sparton 154B Bluebird Glass Mirror Radio on Plateau (1936)

fig.1 Sparton 154B Bluebird Glass Mirror

This Sparton 154B Bluebird Glass Mirror radio was sold for $39.50 in 1936. This would represent today 869,00 dollars

SPECIFICATIONS

Sources and References

[1] Measuring Worth