$1 in 1940 is worth $1.11 in 1942

Value of $1 from 1940 to 1942

$1 in 1940 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.11 in 1942, an increase of $0.11 over 2 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 5.29% per year between 1940 and 1942, producing a cumulative price increase of 10.87%.

This means that prices in 1942 are 1.11 times as high as average prices since 1940, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1940 was 4.25%. The inflation rate in 1942 was 4.64%. The 1942 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.58% per year between 1942 and 2024.


Inflation from 1940 to 1942
Cumulative price change10.87%
Average inflation rate5.29%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.11
Price difference
$1 base
$0.11
CPI in 19407.975
CPI in 19428.842
Inflation in 19404.25%
Inflation in 19424.64%
$1 in 1940$1.11 in 1942

Recent CAD inflation
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $1 in 1940

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $1 in 1940 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $1, you would need to end with $1.11 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $1 is equivalent to $1.11 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 1940 dollars, the chart below shows how $1 is worth less over 2 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: 1940-1942
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1940$1.004.25%
1941$1.065.96%
1942$1.114.64%
1943$1.132.17%
1944$1.140.65%
1945$1.150.64%
1946$1.183.10%
1947$1.299.01%
1948$1.4714.26%
1949$1.523.48%
1950$1.572.67%
1951$1.7310.55%
1952$1.782.60%
1953$1.76-1.00%
1954$1.770.65%
1955$1.770.18%
1956$1.801.36%
1957$1.863.32%
1958$1.902.36%
1959$1.921.21%
1960$1.951.36%
1961$1.971.02%
1962$1.991.06%
1963$2.021.63%
1964$2.061.91%
1965$2.112.33%
1966$2.193.82%
1967$2.273.58%
1968$2.364.06%
1969$2.474.56%
1970$2.553.35%
1971$2.622.70%
1972$2.754.99%
1973$2.967.49%
1974$3.2811.00%
1975$3.6310.67%
1976$3.907.54%
1977$4.227.98%
1978$4.598.97%
1979$5.019.14%
1980$5.5210.13%
1981$6.2112.47%
1982$6.8810.77%
1983$7.285.86%
1984$7.604.30%
1985$7.903.96%
1986$8.234.19%
1987$8.594.36%
1988$8.934.03%
1989$9.384.98%
1990$9.834.78%
1991$10.385.63%
1992$10.531.49%
1993$10.731.87%
1994$10.750.17%
1995$10.982.15%
1996$11.151.57%
1997$11.331.62%
1998$11.441.00%
1999$11.641.73%
2000$11.962.72%
2001$12.262.53%
2002$12.542.26%
2003$12.882.76%
2004$13.121.86%
2005$13.412.21%
2006$13.682.00%
2007$13.972.14%
2008$14.312.37%
2009$14.350.30%
2010$14.601.78%
2011$15.032.91%
2012$15.261.52%
2013$15.400.94%
2014$15.691.91%
2015$15.871.13%
2016$16.101.43%
2017$16.351.60%
2018$16.732.27%
2019$17.051.95%
2020$17.170.72%
2021$17.763.40%
2022$18.966.80%
2023$19.693.81%
2024$19.911.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.

This conversion table shows various other 1940 amounts in 1942 dollars, based on the 10.87% change in prices:

Conversion: 1940 dollars in 1942
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1940$1.11 dollars in 1942
$5 dollars in 1940$5.54 dollars in 1942
$10 dollars in 1940$11.09 dollars in 1942
$50 dollars in 1940$55.43 dollars in 1942
$100 dollars in 1940$110.87 dollars in 1942
$500 dollars in 1940$554.34 dollars in 1942
$1,000 dollars in 1940$1,108.67 dollars in 1942
$5,000 dollars in 1940$5,543.36 dollars in 1942
$10,000 dollars in 1940$11,086.73 dollars in 1942
$50,000 dollars in 1940$55,433.65 dollars in 1942
$100,000 dollars in 1940$110,867.29 dollars in 1942
$500,000 dollars in 1940$554,336.47 dollars in 1942
$1,000,000 dollars in 1940$1,108,672.94 dollars in 1942

How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1940 to 1942

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1940 and 1942:

CPI in 1942 CPI in 1940
×
1940 CAD value
=
1942 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 7.975 in the year 1940 and 8.841666667 in 1942:

8.8416666677.975
×
$1
=
$1.11

$1 in 1940 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.11 in 1942.

To get the total inflation rate for the 2 years between 1940 and 1942, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1942 - CPI in 1940CPI in 1940
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (2 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

8.841666667 - 7.9757.975
×
100
=
11%

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: “$1 in 1940 → 1942 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1940-CAD-in-1942?amount=1.

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 1942
Cumulative price change10.87%
Average inflation rate5.29%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.11
Price difference
$1 base
$0.11
CPI in 19407.975
CPI in 19428.842
Inflation in 19404.25%
Inflation in 19424.64%
$1 in 1940$1.11 in 1942