$100 in 1940 is worth $1,070.37 in 1981

Value of $100 from 1940 to 1981

$100 in 1940 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,070.37 in 1981, an increase of $970.37 over 41 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 5.95% per year between 1940 and 1981, producing a cumulative price increase of 970.37%.

This means that prices in 1981 are 10.70 times as high as average prices since 1940, according to the Bureau of Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1940 was 3.85%. The inflation rate in 1981 was 9.47%. The 1981 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.66% per year between 1981 and 2024.


Inflation from 1940 to 1981
Cumulative price change970.37%
Average inflation rate5.95%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,070.37
Price difference
$100 base
$970.37
CPI in 19402.700
CPI in 198128.900
Inflation in 19403.85%
Inflation in 19819.47%
$100 in 1940$1,070.37 in 1981

AUD inflation since 1940
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1940

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1940 (price index tracking began in 1922).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $1,070.37 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $1,070.37 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Australian 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 1940 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 41 years.

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

Dollar inflation: 1940-1981
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1940$100.003.85%
1941$103.703.70%
1942$114.8110.71%
1943$118.523.23%
1944$118.520.00%
1945$118.520.00%
1946$118.520.00%
1947$125.936.25%
1948$137.048.82%
1949$148.158.11%
1950$162.9610.00%
1951$192.5918.18%
1952$225.9317.31%
1953$237.044.92%
1954$240.741.56%
1955$244.441.54%
1956$259.266.06%
1957$266.672.86%
1958$266.670.00%
1959$274.072.78%
1960$285.194.05%
1961$288.891.30%
1962$288.890.00%
1963$292.591.28%
1964$300.002.53%
1965$311.113.70%
1966$318.522.38%
1967$329.633.49%
1968$340.743.37%
1969$351.853.26%
1970$362.963.16%
1971$385.196.12%
1972$407.415.77%
1973$444.449.09%
1974$514.8115.83%
1975$592.5915.11%
1976$670.3713.13%
1977$751.8512.15%
1978$811.117.88%
1979$885.199.13%
1980$977.7810.46%
1981$1,070.379.47%
1982$1,188.8911.07%
1983$1,311.1110.28%
1984$1,362.963.95%
1985$1,451.856.52%
1986$1,585.199.18%
1987$1,718.528.41%
1988$1,844.447.33%
1989$1,981.487.43%
1990$2,129.637.48%
1991$2,196.303.13%
1992$2,218.521.01%
1993$2,255.561.67%
1994$2,300.001.97%
1995$2,407.414.67%
1996$2,470.372.62%
1997$2,477.780.30%
1998$2,496.300.75%
1999$2,533.331.48%
2000$2,648.154.53%
2001$2,762.964.34%
2002$2,848.153.08%
2003$2,925.932.73%
2004$2,992.592.28%
2005$3,074.072.72%
2006$3,181.483.49%
2007$3,255.562.33%
2008$3,400.004.44%
2009$3,459.261.74%
2010$3,559.262.89%
2011$3,677.783.33%
2012$3,740.741.71%
2013$3,833.332.48%
2014$3,929.632.51%
2015$3,988.891.51%
2016$4,040.741.30%
2017$4,118.521.92%
2018$4,196.301.89%
2019$4,262.961.59%
2020$4,300.000.87%
2021$4,422.222.84%
2022$4,714.816.62%
2023$4,959.265.18%
2024$5,011.111.05%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 35 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1940 amounts in 1981 dollars, based on the 970.37% change in prices:

Conversion: 1940 dollars in 1981
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1940$10.70 dollars in 1981
$5 dollars in 1940$53.52 dollars in 1981
$10 dollars in 1940$107.04 dollars in 1981
$50 dollars in 1940$535.19 dollars in 1981
$100 dollars in 1940$1,070.37 dollars in 1981
$500 dollars in 1940$5,351.85 dollars in 1981
$1,000 dollars in 1940$10,703.70 dollars in 1981
$5,000 dollars in 1940$53,518.52 dollars in 1981
$10,000 dollars in 1940$107,037.04 dollars in 1981
$50,000 dollars in 1940$535,185.19 dollars in 1981
$100,000 dollars in 1940$1,070,370.37 dollars in 1981
$500,000 dollars in 1940$5,351,851.85 dollars in 1981
$1,000,000 dollars in 1940$10,703,703.70 dollars in 1981

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1940 to 1981

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1940 and 1981:

CPI in 1981 CPI in 1940
×
1940 AUD value
=
1981 AUD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Australian CPI was 2.7 in the year 1940 and 28.9 in 1981:

28.92.7
×
$100
=
$1,070.37

$100 in 1940 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1,070.37 in 1981.

To get the total inflation rate for the 41 years between 1940 and 1981, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1981 - CPI in 1940CPI in 1940
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (41 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

28.9 - 2.72.7
×
100
=
970%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Australia's annual (CPI) as provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The consumer price index was established in 1922 and is tracked by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$100 in 1940 → 1981 | Australia Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1940-AUD-in-1981?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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Inflation from 1940 to 1981
Cumulative price change970.37%
Average inflation rate5.95%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,070.37
Price difference
$100 base
$970.37
CPI in 19402.700
CPI in 198128.900
Inflation in 19403.85%
Inflation in 19819.47%
$100 in 1940$1,070.37 in 1981