$100 in 1850 is worth $98.72 in 1853

Value of $100 from 1850 to 1853

$100 in 1850 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $98.72 in 1853, a difference of $-1.28 over 3 years. The dollar had an average deflation rate of -0.43% per year since 1850, producing a cumulative price change of -1.28%.

This means that prices in 1853 are 1.28% lower than average prices since 1850, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1850 was 1.30%. The inflation rate in 1853 was 0.00%. The 1853 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.19% per year between 1853 and 2024.


Inflation from 1850 to 1853
Cumulative price change-1.28%
Average inflation rate-0.43%
Converted amount
$100 base
$98.72
Price difference
$100 base
$-1.28
CPI in 18507.800
CPI in 18537.700
Inflation in 18501.30%
Inflation in 18530.00%
$100 in 1850$98.72 in 1853

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

Buying power of $100 in 1850

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1850 (price index tracking began in 1635).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $98.72 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: 1850-1853
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1850$100.001.30%
1851$98.72-1.28%
1852$98.720.00%
1853$98.720.00%
1854$107.699.09%
1855$111.543.57%
1856$108.97-2.30%
1857$111.542.35%
1858$105.13-5.75%
1859$106.411.22%
1860$106.410.00%
1861$112.826.02%
1862$129.4914.77%
1863$161.5424.75%
1864$201.2824.60%
1865$208.973.82%
1866$203.85-2.45%
1867$189.74-6.92%
1868$182.05-4.05%
1869$174.36-4.23%
1870$167.95-3.68%
1871$156.41-6.87%
1872$156.410.00%
1873$153.85-1.64%
1874$146.15-5.00%
1875$141.03-3.51%
1876$137.18-2.73%
1877$134.62-1.87%
1878$128.21-4.76%
1879$128.210.00%
1880$130.772.00%
1881$130.770.00%
1882$130.770.00%
1883$129.49-0.98%
1884$125.64-2.97%
1885$124.36-1.02%
1886$120.51-3.09%
1887$121.791.06%
1888$121.790.00%
1889$117.95-3.16%
1890$116.67-1.09%
1891$116.670.00%
1892$116.670.00%
1893$115.38-1.10%
1894$110.26-4.44%
1895$107.69-2.33%
1896$107.690.00%
1897$106.41-1.19%
1898$106.410.00%
1899$106.410.00%
1900$107.691.20%
1901$108.971.19%
1902$110.261.18%
1903$112.822.33%
1904$114.101.14%
1905$112.82-1.12%
1906$115.382.27%
1907$120.514.44%
1908$117.95-2.13%
1909$116.67-1.09%
1910$121.794.40%
1911$121.790.00%
1912$124.362.11%
1913$126.922.06%
1914$128.211.01%
1915$129.491.00%
1916$139.747.92%
1917$164.1017.43%
1918$193.5917.97%
1919$221.7914.57%
1920$256.4115.61%
1921$229.49-10.50%
1922$215.38-6.15%
1923$219.231.79%
1924$219.230.00%
1925$224.362.34%
1926$226.921.14%
1927$223.08-1.69%
1928$219.23-1.72%
1929$219.230.00%
1930$214.10-2.34%
1931$194.87-8.98%
1932$175.64-9.87%
1933$166.67-5.11%
1934$171.793.08%
1935$175.642.24%
1936$178.211.46%
1937$184.623.60%
1938$180.77-2.08%
1939$178.21-1.42%
1940$179.490.72%
1941$188.465.00%
1942$208.9710.88%
1943$221.796.13%
1944$225.641.73%
1945$230.772.27%
1946$250.008.33%
1947$285.9014.36%
1948$308.978.07%
1949$305.13-1.24%
1950$308.971.26%
1951$333.337.88%
1952$339.741.92%
1953$342.310.75%
1954$344.870.75%
1955$343.59-0.37%
1956$348.721.49%
1957$360.263.31%
1958$370.512.85%
1959$373.080.69%
1960$379.491.72%
1961$383.331.01%
1962$387.181.00%
1963$392.311.32%
1964$397.441.31%
1965$403.851.61%
1966$415.382.86%
1967$428.213.09%
1968$446.154.19%
1969$470.515.46%
1970$497.445.72%
1971$519.234.38%
1972$535.903.21%
1973$569.236.22%
1974$632.0511.04%
1975$689.749.13%
1976$729.495.76%
1977$776.926.50%
1978$835.907.59%
1979$930.7711.35%
1980$1,056.4113.50%
1981$1,165.3810.32%
1982$1,237.186.16%
1983$1,276.923.21%
1984$1,332.054.32%
1985$1,379.493.56%
1986$1,405.131.86%
1987$1,456.413.65%
1988$1,516.674.14%
1989$1,589.744.82%
1990$1,675.645.40%
1991$1,746.154.21%
1992$1,798.723.01%
1993$1,852.562.99%
1994$1,900.002.56%
1995$1,953.852.83%
1996$2,011.542.95%
1997$2,057.692.29%
1998$2,089.741.56%
1999$2,135.902.21%
2000$2,207.693.36%
2001$2,270.512.85%
2002$2,306.411.58%
2003$2,358.972.28%
2004$2,421.792.66%
2005$2,503.853.39%
2006$2,584.623.23%
2007$2,658.232.85%
2008$2,760.293.84%
2009$2,750.47-0.36%
2010$2,795.591.64%
2011$2,883.833.16%
2012$2,943.512.07%
2013$2,986.631.46%
2014$3,035.081.62%
2015$3,038.680.12%
2016$3,077.011.26%
2017$3,142.562.13%
2018$3,220.902.49%
2019$3,277.661.76%
2020$3,318.101.23%
2021$3,473.984.70%
2022$3,752.008.00%
2023$3,906.444.12%
2024$3,978.541.85%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.

This conversion table shows various other 1850 amounts in 1853 dollars, based on the -1.28% change in prices:

Conversion: 1850 dollars in 1853
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1850$0.99 dollars in 1853
$5 dollars in 1850$4.94 dollars in 1853
$10 dollars in 1850$9.87 dollars in 1853
$50 dollars in 1850$49.36 dollars in 1853
$100 dollars in 1850$98.72 dollars in 1853
$500 dollars in 1850$493.59 dollars in 1853
$1,000 dollars in 1850$987.18 dollars in 1853
$5,000 dollars in 1850$4,935.90 dollars in 1853
$10,000 dollars in 1850$9,871.79 dollars in 1853
$50,000 dollars in 1850$49,358.97 dollars in 1853
$100,000 dollars in 1850$98,717.95 dollars in 1853
$500,000 dollars in 1850$493,589.74 dollars in 1853
$1,000,000 dollars in 1850$987,179.49 dollars in 1853

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £100.00 in 1850 would be equivalent to £105.95 in 1853, an absolute change of £5.95 and a cumulative change of 5.95%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $-1.28 and total percent change of -1.28%.


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 1850 and 1853.

Compare these values to the overall average of -0.43% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$100 in 1850 → 1853
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 1850. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.



How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1850 to 1853

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1850 and 1853:

CPI in 1853 CPI in 1850
×
1850 USD value
=
1853 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 7.8 in the year 1850 and 7.7 in 1853:

7.77.8
×
$100
=
$98.72

$100 in 1850 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $98.72 in 1853.

To get the total inflation rate for the 3 years between 1850 and 1853, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1853 - CPI in 1850CPI in 1850
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (3 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

7.7 - 7.87.8
×
100
=
-1%

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 1850 → 1853 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 26 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1850-dollars-in-1853?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 1850 to 1853
Cumulative price change-1.28%
Average inflation rate-0.43%
Converted amount
$100 base
$98.72
Price difference
$100 base
$-1.28
CPI in 18507.800
CPI in 18537.700
Inflation in 18501.30%
Inflation in 18530.00%
$100 in 1850$98.72 in 1853