According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2018 are 1,414.28% higher than prices in 1930. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 2.52% per year during this period.
In other words, $3,000 in 1930 is equivalent in purchasing power to $45,428.44 in 2018, a difference of $42,428.44 over 88 years.
The 1930 inflation rate was -2.34%. The current inflation rate (2017 to 2018) is now 2.52%1. If this number holds, $3,000 today will be equivalent to $3,075.67 next year. The current inflation rate page gives more detail on the latest official inflation rates.
| Cumulative price change | 1,414.28% |
| Average inflation rate | 2.52% |
| Converted amount ($3,000 base) | $45,428.44 |
| Price difference ($3,000 base) | $42,428.44 |
| CPI in 1930 | 16.700 |
| CPI in 2018 | 252.885 |
| Inflation in 1930 | -2.34% |
| Inflation in 2018 | 2.52% |
This chart shows calculations of buying power equivalence over time for $3,000 in 1930 (price index tracking began in 1635).
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:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | $3,000.00 | -2.34% |
| 1931 | $2,730.54 | -8.98% |
| 1932 | $2,461.08 | -9.87% |
| 1933 | $2,335.33 | -5.11% |
| 1934 | $2,407.19 | 3.08% |
| 1935 | $2,461.08 | 2.24% |
| 1936 | $2,497.01 | 1.46% |
| 1937 | $2,586.83 | 3.60% |
| 1938 | $2,532.93 | -2.08% |
| 1939 | $2,497.01 | -1.42% |
| 1940 | $2,514.97 | 0.72% |
| 1941 | $2,640.72 | 5.00% |
| 1942 | $2,928.14 | 10.88% |
| 1943 | $3,107.78 | 6.13% |
| 1944 | $3,161.68 | 1.73% |
| 1945 | $3,233.53 | 2.27% |
| 1946 | $3,502.99 | 8.33% |
| 1947 | $4,005.99 | 14.36% |
| 1948 | $4,329.34 | 8.07% |
| 1949 | $4,275.45 | -1.24% |
| 1950 | $4,329.34 | 1.26% |
| 1951 | $4,670.66 | 7.88% |
| 1952 | $4,760.48 | 1.92% |
| 1953 | $4,796.41 | 0.75% |
| 1954 | $4,832.34 | 0.75% |
| 1955 | $4,814.37 | -0.37% |
| 1956 | $4,886.23 | 1.49% |
| 1957 | $5,047.90 | 3.31% |
| 1958 | $5,191.62 | 2.85% |
| 1959 | $5,227.54 | 0.69% |
| 1960 | $5,317.37 | 1.72% |
| 1961 | $5,371.26 | 1.01% |
| 1962 | $5,425.15 | 1.00% |
| 1963 | $5,497.01 | 1.32% |
| 1964 | $5,568.86 | 1.31% |
| 1965 | $5,658.68 | 1.61% |
| 1966 | $5,820.36 | 2.86% |
| 1967 | $6,000.00 | 3.09% |
| 1968 | $6,251.50 | 4.19% |
| 1969 | $6,592.81 | 5.46% |
| 1970 | $6,970.06 | 5.72% |
| 1971 | $7,275.45 | 4.38% |
| 1972 | $7,508.98 | 3.21% |
| 1973 | $7,976.05 | 6.22% |
| 1974 | $8,856.29 | 11.04% |
| 1975 | $9,664.67 | 9.13% |
| 1976 | $10,221.56 | 5.76% |
| 1977 | $10,886.23 | 6.50% |
| 1978 | $11,712.57 | 7.59% |
| 1979 | $13,041.92 | 11.35% |
| 1980 | $14,802.40 | 13.50% |
| 1981 | $16,329.34 | 10.32% |
| 1982 | $17,335.33 | 6.16% |
| 1983 | $17,892.22 | 3.21% |
| 1984 | $18,664.67 | 4.32% |
| 1985 | $19,329.34 | 3.56% |
| 1986 | $19,688.62 | 1.86% |
| 1987 | $20,407.19 | 3.65% |
| 1988 | $21,251.50 | 4.14% |
| 1989 | $22,275.45 | 4.82% |
| 1990 | $23,479.04 | 5.40% |
| 1991 | $24,467.07 | 4.21% |
| 1992 | $25,203.59 | 3.01% |
| 1993 | $25,958.08 | 2.99% |
| 1994 | $26,622.75 | 2.56% |
| 1995 | $27,377.25 | 2.83% |
| 1996 | $28,185.63 | 2.95% |
| 1997 | $28,832.34 | 2.29% |
| 1998 | $29,281.44 | 1.56% |
| 1999 | $29,928.14 | 2.21% |
| 2000 | $30,934.13 | 3.36% |
| 2001 | $31,814.37 | 2.85% |
| 2002 | $32,317.37 | 1.58% |
| 2003 | $33,053.89 | 2.28% |
| 2004 | $33,934.13 | 2.66% |
| 2005 | $35,083.83 | 3.39% |
| 2006 | $36,215.57 | 3.23% |
| 2007 | $37,247.07 | 2.85% |
| 2008 | $38,677.19 | 3.84% |
| 2009 | $38,539.58 | -0.36% |
| 2010 | $39,171.74 | 1.64% |
| 2011 | $40,408.20 | 3.16% |
| 2012 | $41,244.43 | 2.07% |
| 2013 | $41,848.56 | 1.46% |
| 2014 | $42,527.43 | 1.62% |
| 2015 | $42,577.90 | 0.12% |
| 2016 | $43,115.03 | 1.26% |
| 2017 | $44,033.53 | 2.13% |
| 2018 | $45,428.44 | 3.17%* |
Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1930 to 2018 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $3,000):
San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 88 years between 1930 and 2018 (3.43%).
Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 88 years between 1930 and 2018 (3.00%).
Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data.
Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £3,000.00 in 1930 would be equivalent to £190,451.77 in 2018, an absolute change of £187,451.77 and a cumulative change of 6,248.39%.
In Canada, CA$3,000.00 in 1930 would be equivalent to CA$45,443.18 in 2018, an absolute change of CA$42,443.18 and a cumulative change of 1,414.77%.
Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $42,428.44 and total percent change of 1,414.28%.
CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1930 and 2018.
Compare these values to the overall average of 2.52% per year:
| Category | Avg Inflation (%) | Total Inflation (%) | $3,000 in 1930 → 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 3.21 | 1,519.00 | 48,569.94 |
| Shelter | 4.10 | 3,341.84 | 103,255.14 |
| Energy | 3.89 | 2,774.95 | 86,248.47 |
| Apparel | 1.90 | 424.54 | 15,736.19 |
| New vehicles | 1.05 | 151.57 | 7,547.15 |
| Used cars and trucks | 0.61 | 71.38 | 5,141.33 |
| Transportation services | 3.35 | 1,709.17 | 54,275.21 |
| Medical care services | 5.11 | 7,915.21 | 240,456.44 |
| Medical care commodities | 4.29 | 3,913.51 | 120,405.41 |
It's important to note that not all categories may be tracked since 1930. This table and visualization use the earliest available data for each category.
This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 16.7 in the year 1930 and 252.885 in 2018:
$3,000 in 1930 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $45,428.44 in 2018.
To get the total inflation rate for the 88 years between 1930 and 2018, we use the following formula:
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
The average inflation rate of 2.52% has a compounding effect between 1930 and 2018. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 1,414.28% over 88 years.
To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $3,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1930, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $10,453,647.05 in 2018. This is a return on investment of 348,354.90%, with an absolute return of $10,450,647.05.
These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.
The compounding effect of inflation would account for 93.40% of returns ($9,760,508.04) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $3,000 investment is $690,139.02.
| Original Amount | Final Amount | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal | $3,000 | $10,453,647.05 | 348,354.90% |
| Real Inflation Adjusted |
$3,000 | $690,139.02 | 23,004.63% |
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$3,000 in 1930 → 2018 | Inflation Calculator.” U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 16 Nov. 2018, https://www.officialdata.org/1930-dollars?amount=3000.
in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.