Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) · annual average, 1942
What was one dollar of 1942 worth in today's dollars?
One dollar in 1942 buys what $20.67 buys in September 2026 (CPI-U, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on ).
Then and nowOurs
One dollar in 1942 buys what $20.67 buys in September 2026.
One dollar in September 2026 buys what $0.048 bought in 1942.
Worked out as 1.00 × 336.940 ÷ 16.3 = 20.67, where 336.940 is the index of September 2026 and 16.3 the annual average index of 1942.
The year 1942Ours
Prices rose 10.9 percent in 1942, after rising 5.0 percent in 1941.
The yearly rate was 5.9 percentage points higher than in 1941.
The annual average index was 16.3.
From 1937 to 1946, the highest yearly rate was 10.9 percent, in 1942, and the lowest a fall of 2.1 percent, in 1938.
The yearly rate is the change between two annual averages, so it can differ from the December-to-December change that many sources quote.
Understanding the value of a dollar in 1942
Where it stands today
One dollar in 1942 buys what $20.67 buys in September 2026.
What does this page show?
A dollar buys less when prices rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted each month, and dividing its value in one period by its value in another gives the change in prices between them.
Read more
This page takes 1942 at the annual average of the index, 16.3, and the newest month, September 2026, at its index of 336.940. One dollar of 1942 times 336.940 divided by 16.3 is $20.67.
The inflation calculator works the same sum for any amount and any two months since January 1913.
The numbers behind this page
What was one dollar of 1942 worth, ten years at a time?10 periods
| Period | Index | One dollar of 1942 then (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 16.3 | $1.00 |
| 1952 | 26.5 | $1.63 |
| 1962 | 30.2 | $1.85 |
| 1972 | 41.8 | $2.56 |
| 1982 | 96.5 | $5.92 |
| 1992 | 140.3 | $8.61 |
| 2002 | 179.9 | $11.04 |
| 2012 | 229.594 | $14.09 |
| 2022 | 292.655 | $17.95 |
| September 2026 | 336.940 | $20.67 |
What do these figures leave out, and where are they from?Limits and source
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, series CUUR0000SA0.
What this number cannot tell you
- The index is the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted. It follows what a basket of goods and services bought in cities costs; it is not a record of what any one household paid for any one thing.
- 1942 is taken at the annual average of its monthly indexes. One dollar of September 2026 is that month's index alone, so the value of a dollar moves when the Bureau publishes a new month.
- The yearly rate, the highest and lowest rates, the steps and the value of a dollar are our arithmetic on the Bureau's index values. The Bureau does not publish or endorse them.
- The Bureau prints its index to one decimal for the early years and to three for the later ones. The sums use the digits as printed.
Observed .
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