$100 in 1940 is worth $2,361 today
What US dollars from 1940 are worth in 2026 money, adjusted for inflation with the official price index from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
1940 money in 2026 money
- Prices since
- +2261.0%
- Per year
- +3.74% compounded
- Multiplier
- ×23.610
| In 1940 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $23.61 |
| $5 | $118 |
| $10 | $236 |
| $20 | $472 |
| $50 | $1,180 |
| $100 | $2,361 |
| $1,000 | $23,610 |
| $10,000 | $236,097 |
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 1940
Prices in the US rose 0.7% during 1940 — a lower rate than most years in this series, 95th highest of 112. Across the 1940s, prices rose an average of 5.6% a year, peaking at 14.4% in 1947.
| Year | Rate | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | +0.7% | |
| 1941 | +5.1% | |
| 1942 | +10.9% | |
| 1943 | +6.0% | |
| 1944 | +1.6% | |
| 1945 | +2.3% | |
| 1946 | +8.5% | |
| 1947 | +14.4% | |
| 1948 | +7.7% | |
| 1949 | −1.0% |
How far the US dollar has fallen since 1940
An US dollar in 2026 buys about 4.2% of what one bought in 1940, a loss of 95.8% of its buying power. Prices had doubled from their 1940 level by 1957, 17 years later. Read the other way, here is what today's money would have been in 1940:
| In 2026 | Same as, in 1940 |
|---|---|
| $10 | $0.42 |
| $20 | $0.85 |
| $50 | $2.12 |
| $100 | $4.24 |
| $1,000 | $42.36 |
| $10,000 | $424 |
What these numbers can and cannot tell you
The figures compare the price index in 1940 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 1940 US dollars into another currency.
Common questions
How much is $100 from 1940 worth today?
$100 in 1940 is worth about $2,361 in 2026 money, adjusted with the official price index published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices have risen 2,261.0% over that span, an average of 3.74% 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 1940?
Prices in the US rose 0.7% during 1940 — a lower rate than most years in this series, 95th highest of 112. That is the change in the annual average of the index from 1939 to 1940, which is the basis statistics agencies use for long-run comparison; a news headline quoting a twelve-month change at a particular point in 1940 may differ.
How much buying power has the US dollar lost since 1940?
About 95.8%. Put the other way round, $100 in 2026 would have bought what $4.24 bought in 1940. Prices had doubled from their 1940 level by 1957, 17 years later.
1940 in other countries: United Kingdom , Canada .