$100 in 1820 is worth $113.68 in 1817

Value of $100 from 1820 to 1817

$100 in 1820 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $113.68 in 1817, a difference of $13.68 over 3 years. The dollar had an average deflation rate of -4.18% per year since 1817, producing a cumulative price change of 13.68%.

This means that prices in 1817 are 1.14 times as high as average prices since 1820, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1817 was -5.67%. The inflation rate in 1820 was -7.87%. The 1820 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 1.62% per year between 1820 and 2024.


Inflation from 1820 to 1817
Cumulative price change13.68%
Average inflation rate-4.18%
Converted amount
$100 base
$113.68
Price difference
$100 base
$13.68
CPI in 182011.700
CPI in 181713.300
Inflation in 1817-5.67%
Inflation in 1820-7.87%
$100 in 1820$113.68 in 1817

Recent USD inflation
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1817

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1817 (price index tracking began in 1635).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $113.68 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of these USD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1817-1820
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1817$100.00-5.67%
1818$95.49-4.51%
1819$95.490.00%
1820$87.97-7.87%
1821$84.96-3.42%
1822$87.973.54%
1823$78.95-10.26%
1824$72.93-7.62%
1825$74.442.06%
1826$74.440.00%
1827$75.191.01%
1828$71.43-5.00%
1829$69.92-2.11%
1830$69.17-1.08%
1831$65.41-5.43%
1832$64.66-1.15%
1833$63.16-2.33%
1834$64.662.38%
1835$66.172.33%
1836$69.925.68%
1837$72.183.23%
1838$69.92-3.12%
1839$69.920.00%
1840$65.41-6.45%
1841$65.410.00%
1842$61.65-5.75%
1843$55.64-9.76%
1844$56.391.35%
1845$57.141.33%
1846$57.891.32%
1847$61.656.49%
1848$59.40-3.66%
1849$57.89-2.53%
1850$58.651.30%
1851$57.89-1.28%
1852$57.890.00%
1853$57.890.00%
1854$63.169.09%
1855$65.413.57%
1856$63.91-2.30%
1857$65.412.35%
1858$61.65-5.75%
1859$62.411.22%
1860$62.410.00%
1861$66.176.02%
1862$75.9414.77%
1863$94.7424.75%
1864$118.0524.60%
1865$122.563.82%
1866$119.55-2.45%
1867$111.28-6.92%
1868$106.77-4.05%
1869$102.26-4.23%
1870$98.50-3.68%
1871$91.73-6.87%
1872$91.730.00%
1873$90.23-1.64%
1874$85.71-5.00%
1875$82.71-3.51%
1876$80.45-2.73%
1877$78.95-1.87%
1878$75.19-4.76%
1879$75.190.00%
1880$76.692.00%
1881$76.690.00%
1882$76.690.00%
1883$75.94-0.98%
1884$73.68-2.97%
1885$72.93-1.02%
1886$70.68-3.09%
1887$71.431.06%
1888$71.430.00%
1889$69.17-3.16%
1890$68.42-1.09%
1891$68.420.00%
1892$68.420.00%
1893$67.67-1.10%
1894$64.66-4.44%
1895$63.16-2.33%
1896$63.160.00%
1897$62.41-1.19%
1898$62.410.00%
1899$62.410.00%
1900$63.161.20%
1901$63.911.19%
1902$64.661.18%
1903$66.172.33%
1904$66.921.14%
1905$66.17-1.12%
1906$67.672.27%
1907$70.684.44%
1908$69.17-2.13%
1909$68.42-1.09%
1910$71.434.40%
1911$71.430.00%
1912$72.932.11%
1913$74.442.06%
1914$75.191.01%
1915$75.941.00%
1916$81.957.92%
1917$96.2417.43%
1918$113.5317.97%
1919$130.0814.57%
1920$150.3815.61%
1921$134.59-10.50%
1922$126.32-6.15%
1923$128.571.79%
1924$128.570.00%
1925$131.582.34%
1926$133.081.14%
1927$130.83-1.69%
1928$128.57-1.72%
1929$128.570.00%
1930$125.56-2.34%
1931$114.29-8.98%
1932$103.01-9.87%
1933$97.74-5.11%
1934$100.753.08%
1935$103.012.24%
1936$104.511.46%
1937$108.273.60%
1938$106.02-2.08%
1939$104.51-1.42%
1940$105.260.72%
1941$110.535.00%
1942$122.5610.88%
1943$130.086.13%
1944$132.331.73%
1945$135.342.27%
1946$146.628.33%
1947$167.6714.36%
1948$181.208.07%
1949$178.95-1.24%
1950$181.201.26%
1951$195.497.88%
1952$199.251.92%
1953$200.750.75%
1954$202.260.75%
1955$201.50-0.37%
1956$204.511.49%
1957$211.283.31%
1958$217.292.85%
1959$218.800.69%
1960$222.561.72%
1961$224.811.01%
1962$227.071.00%
1963$230.081.32%
1964$233.081.31%
1965$236.841.61%
1966$243.612.86%
1967$251.133.09%
1968$261.654.19%
1969$275.945.46%
1970$291.735.72%
1971$304.514.38%
1972$314.293.21%
1973$333.836.22%
1974$370.6811.04%
1975$404.519.13%
1976$427.825.76%
1977$455.646.50%
1978$490.237.59%
1979$545.8611.35%
1980$619.5513.50%
1981$683.4610.32%
1982$725.566.16%
1983$748.873.21%
1984$781.204.32%
1985$809.023.56%
1986$824.061.86%
1987$854.143.65%
1988$889.474.14%
1989$932.334.82%
1990$982.715.40%
1991$1,024.064.21%
1992$1,054.893.01%
1993$1,086.472.99%
1994$1,114.292.56%
1995$1,145.862.83%
1996$1,179.702.95%
1997$1,206.772.29%
1998$1,225.561.56%
1999$1,252.632.21%
2000$1,294.743.36%
2001$1,331.582.85%
2002$1,352.631.58%
2003$1,383.462.28%
2004$1,420.302.66%
2005$1,468.423.39%
2006$1,515.793.23%
2007$1,558.962.85%
2008$1,618.823.84%
2009$1,613.06-0.36%
2010$1,639.521.64%
2011$1,691.273.16%
2012$1,726.272.07%
2013$1,751.561.46%
2014$1,779.971.62%
2015$1,782.080.12%
2016$1,804.561.26%
2017$1,843.012.13%
2018$1,888.952.49%
2019$1,922.241.76%
2020$1,945.951.23%
2021$2,037.374.70%
2022$2,200.428.00%
2023$2,290.994.12%
2024$2,333.281.85%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.

This conversion table shows various other 1817 amounts in 1820 dollars, based on the 13.68% change in prices:

Conversion: 1817 dollars in 1820
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1817$0.88 dollars in 1820
$5 dollars in 1817$4.40 dollars in 1820
$10 dollars in 1817$8.80 dollars in 1820
$50 dollars in 1817$43.98 dollars in 1820
$100 dollars in 1817$87.97 dollars in 1820
$500 dollars in 1817$439.85 dollars in 1820
$1,000 dollars in 1817$879.70 dollars in 1820
$5,000 dollars in 1817$4,398.50 dollars in 1820
$10,000 dollars in 1817$8,796.99 dollars in 1820
$50,000 dollars in 1817$43,984.96 dollars in 1820
$100,000 dollars in 1817$87,969.92 dollars in 1820
$500,000 dollars in 1817$439,849.62 dollars in 1820
$1,000,000 dollars in 1817$879,699.25 dollars in 1820

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £100.00 in 1820 would be equivalent to £112.82 in 1817, an absolute change of £12.82 and a cumulative change of 12.82%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $13.68 and total percent change of 13.68%.


Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. Breaking down these categories helps explain the main drivers behind price changes.

This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1820 and 1817.

Compare these values to the overall average of -4.18% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$100 in 1817 → 1820
Food and beverages0.000.00100.00
Housing0.000.00100.00
Apparel0.000.00100.00
Transportation0.000.00100.00
Medical care0.000.00100.00
Recreation0.000.00100.00
Education and communication0.000.00100.00
Other goods and services0.000.00100.00

The graph below compares inflation in categories of goods over time. Click on a category such as "Food" to toggle it on or off:

For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1820. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.



How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1817 to 1820

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1817 and 1820:

CPI in 1817 CPI in 1820
×
1820 USD value
=
1817 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 11.7 in the year 1820 and 13.3 in 1817:

13.311.7
×
$100
=
$113.68

$100 in 1820 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $113.68 in 1817.

To get the total inflation rate for the 3 years between 1817 and 1820, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1817 - CPI in 1820CPI in 1820
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (3 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

13.3 - 11.711.7
×
100
=
14%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (CPI), established in 1913. Price index data from 1774 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University and from the American Antiquarian Society. Price index data from 1634 to 1773 is from the American Antiquarian Society, using British pound equivalents.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$100 in 1820 → 1817 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1820-dollars-in-1817?amount=100.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.


Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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» Read more about inflation and investment.

Inflation from 1820 to 1817
Cumulative price change13.68%
Average inflation rate-4.18%
Converted amount
$100 base
$113.68
Price difference
$100 base
$13.68
CPI in 182011.700
CPI in 181713.300
Inflation in 1817-5.67%
Inflation in 1820-7.87%
$100 in 1820$113.68 in 1817