Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) · annual average, 1948
What was one dollar of 1948 worth in today's dollars?
One dollar in 1948 buys what $13.98 buys in September 2026 (CPI-U, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on ).
Then and nowOurs
One dollar in 1948 buys what $13.98 buys in September 2026.
One dollar in September 2026 buys what $0.072 bought in 1948.
Worked out as 1.00 × 336.940 ÷ 24.1 = 13.98, where 336.940 is the index of September 2026 and 24.1 the annual average index of 1948.
The year 1948Ours
Prices rose 8.1 percent in 1948, after rising 14.4 percent in 1947.
The yearly rate was 6.3 percentage points lower than in 1947.
The annual average index was 24.1.
From 1943 to 1952, the highest yearly rate was 14.4 percent, in 1947, and the lowest a fall of 1.2 percent, in 1949.
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 1948
Where it stands today
One dollar in 1948 buys what $13.98 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 1948 at the annual average of the index, 24.1, and the newest month, September 2026, at its index of 336.940. One dollar of 1948 times 336.940 divided by 24.1 is $13.98.
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 1948 worth, ten years at a time?9 periods
| Period | Index | One dollar of 1948 then (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 24.1 | $1.00 |
| 1958 | 28.9 | $1.20 |
| 1968 | 34.8 | $1.44 |
| 1978 | 65.2 | $2.71 |
| 1988 | 118.3 | $4.91 |
| 1998 | 163.0 | $6.76 |
| 2008 | 215.303 | $8.93 |
| 2018 | 251.107 | $10.42 |
| September 2026 | 336.940 | $13.98 |
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.
- 1948 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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