$100 in 1930 is worth $857.94 in 1990

Value of $100 from 1930 to 1990

$100 in 1930 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $857.94 in 1990, an increase of $757.94 over 60 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.65% per year between 1930 and 1990, producing a cumulative price increase of 757.94%.

This means that prices in 1990 are 8.58 times as high as average prices since 1930, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1930 was -0.99%. The inflation rate in 1990 was 4.78%. The 1990 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.10% per year between 1990 and 2024.


Inflation from 1930 to 1990
Cumulative price change757.94%
Average inflation rate3.65%
Converted amount
$100 base
$857.94
Price difference
$100 base
$757.94
CPI in 19309.133
CPI in 199078.358
Inflation in 1930-0.99%
Inflation in 19904.78%
$100 in 1930$857.94 in 1990

CAD inflation since 1930
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1930

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1930 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $857.94 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $857.94 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Canadian dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1930 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 60 years.

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

Dollar inflation: 1930-1990
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1930$100.00-0.99%
1931$90.15-9.85%
1932$81.66-9.41%
1933$78.10-4.36%
1934$79.011.17%
1935$79.380.46%
1936$81.022.07%
1937$83.943.60%
1938$84.400.54%
1939$83.76-0.76%
1940$87.324.25%
1941$92.525.96%
1942$96.814.64%
1943$98.912.17%
1944$99.540.65%
1945$100.180.64%
1946$103.283.10%
1947$112.599.01%
1948$128.6514.26%
1949$133.123.48%
1950$136.682.67%
1951$151.0910.55%
1952$155.022.60%
1953$153.47-1.00%
1954$154.470.65%
1955$154.740.18%
1956$156.841.36%
1957$162.043.32%
1958$165.882.36%
1959$167.881.21%
1960$170.161.36%
1961$171.901.02%
1962$173.721.06%
1963$176.551.63%
1964$179.931.91%
1965$184.122.33%
1966$191.153.82%
1967$197.993.58%
1968$206.024.06%
1969$215.424.56%
1970$222.633.35%
1971$228.652.70%
1972$240.054.99%
1973$258.037.49%
1974$286.4111.00%
1975$316.9710.67%
1976$340.887.54%
1977$368.077.98%
1978$401.098.97%
1979$437.779.14%
1980$482.1210.13%
1981$542.2412.47%
1982$600.6410.77%
1983$635.865.86%
1984$663.234.30%
1985$689.513.96%
1986$718.434.19%
1987$749.734.36%
1988$779.934.03%
1989$818.804.98%
1990$857.944.78%
1991$906.205.63%
1992$919.711.49%
1993$936.861.87%
1994$938.410.17%
1995$958.582.15%
1996$973.631.57%
1997$989.421.62%
1998$999.271.00%
1999$1,016.611.73%
2000$1,044.252.72%
2001$1,070.622.53%
2002$1,094.802.26%
2003$1,125.002.76%
2004$1,145.891.86%
2005$1,171.262.21%
2006$1,194.712.00%
2007$1,220.262.14%
2008$1,249.182.37%
2009$1,252.920.30%
2010$1,275.181.78%
2011$1,312.322.91%
2012$1,332.211.52%
2013$1,344.710.94%
2014$1,370.351.91%
2015$1,385.771.13%
2016$1,405.571.43%
2017$1,428.011.60%
2018$1,460.402.27%
2019$1,488.871.95%
2020$1,499.540.72%
2021$1,550.463.40%
2022$1,655.936.80%
2023$1,718.983.81%
2024$1,738.691.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 54 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1930 amounts in 1990 dollars, based on the 757.94% change in prices:

Conversion: 1930 dollars in 1990
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1930$8.58 dollars in 1990
$5 dollars in 1930$42.90 dollars in 1990
$10 dollars in 1930$85.79 dollars in 1990
$50 dollars in 1930$428.97 dollars in 1990
$100 dollars in 1930$857.94 dollars in 1990
$500 dollars in 1930$4,289.69 dollars in 1990
$1,000 dollars in 1930$8,579.38 dollars in 1990
$5,000 dollars in 1930$42,896.90 dollars in 1990
$10,000 dollars in 1930$85,793.80 dollars in 1990
$50,000 dollars in 1930$428,968.98 dollars in 1990
$100,000 dollars in 1930$857,937.96 dollars in 1990
$500,000 dollars in 1930$4,289,689.78 dollars in 1990
$1,000,000 dollars in 1930$8,579,379.56 dollars in 1990

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1930 to 1990

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1930 and 1990:

CPI in 1990 CPI in 1930
×
1930 CAD value
=
1990 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 9.133333333 in the year 1930 and 78.35833333 in 1990:

78.358333339.133333333
×
$100
=
$857.94

$100 in 1930 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $857.94 in 1990.

To get the total inflation rate for the 60 years between 1930 and 1990, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1990 - CPI in 1930CPI in 1930
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (60 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

78.35833333 - 9.1333333339.133333333
×
100
=
758%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Canada's annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1914 and computed by Statistics Canada (StatCan).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “1930 dollars in 1990 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1930-CAD-in-1990.

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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Inflation from 1930 to 1990
Cumulative price change757.94%
Average inflation rate3.65%
Converted amount
$100 base
$857.94
Price difference
$100 base
$757.94
CPI in 19309.133
CPI in 199078.358
Inflation in 1930-0.99%
Inflation in 19904.78%
$100 in 1930$857.94 in 1990