$100 in 1938 is worth $2,347 today
What US dollars from 1938 are worth in 2026 money, adjusted for inflation with the official price index from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
1938 money in 2026 money
- Prices since
- +2246.9%
- Per year
- +3.65% compounded
- Multiplier
- ×23.469
| In 1938 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $23.47 |
| $5 | $117 |
| $10 | $235 |
| $20 | $469 |
| $50 | $1,173 |
| $100 | $2,347 |
| $1,000 | $23,469 |
| $10,000 | $234,689 |
US Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U, US city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted, 1982-84 = 100. Retrieved 2026-08-06. 2026 figures are the January–June average so far and will shift slightly as the year completes. Open in the calculator to compare any two years.
Inflation in 1938
Prices in the US fell 2.0% during 1938 — deflation, which this series records in 13 of its 112 years. Across the 1930s, prices fell an average of 2.0% a year, peaking at 3.7% in 1937.
| Year | Rate | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | −2.7% | |
| 1931 | −8.9% | |
| 1932 | −10.3% | |
| 1933 | −5.2% | |
| 1934 | +3.5% | |
| 1935 | +2.6% | |
| 1936 | +1.0% | |
| 1937 | +3.7% | |
| 1938 | −2.0% | |
| 1939 | −1.3% |
How far the US dollar has fallen since 1938
An US dollar in 2026 buys about 4.3% of what one bought in 1938, a loss of 95.7% of its buying power. Prices had doubled from their 1938 level by 1958, 20 years later. Read the other way, here is what today's money would have been in 1938:
| In 2026 | Same as, in 1938 |
|---|---|
| $10 | $0.43 |
| $20 | $0.85 |
| $50 | $2.13 |
| $100 | $4.26 |
| $1,000 | $42.61 |
| $10,000 | $426 |
What these numbers can and cannot tell you
The figures compare the price index in 1938 with 2026: the cost of the same broad basket of goods and services, averaged across each year. That is the right measure for "what would this amount be in today's money" — a wage, a price, an inheritance. It is not a measure of what any particular thing cost: housing, education, and healthcare have mostly risen faster than the average, while electronics and clothing have risen far slower or fallen. And it says nothing about exchange rates, so it cannot turn 1938 US dollars into another currency.
Common questions
How much is $100 from 1938 worth today?
$100 in 1938 is worth about $2,347 in 2026 money, adjusted with the official price index published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices have risen 2,246.9% over that span, an average of 3.65% a year compounded. 2026 figures are the January–June average so far and will shift slightly as the year completes.
What was the inflation rate in 1938?
Prices in the US fell 2.0% during 1938 — deflation, which this series records in 13 of its 112 years. That is the change in the annual average of the index from 1937 to 1938, which is the basis statistics agencies use for long-run comparison; a news headline quoting a twelve-month change at a particular point in 1938 may differ.
How much buying power has the US dollar lost since 1938?
About 95.7%. Put the other way round, $100 in 2026 would have bought what $4.26 bought in 1938. Prices had doubled from their 1938 level by 1958, 20 years later.
1938 in other countries: United Kingdom , Canada .