Buying power of $445,000 in 1970

This chart shows calculation of buying power equivalence, often referred to as "the value of a dollar" over time for $445,000 in 1970 (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:

Inflation by City

Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1970 to 2018 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $445,000):

• San Francisco, California: 4.32% average rate, $445,000 → $3,381,770.83, cumulative change of 659.95%
• Seattle, Washington: 4.22% average rate, $445,000 → $3,232,041.76, cumulative change of 626.30%
• Boston, Massachusetts: 4.11% average rate, $445,000 → $3,069,116.92, cumulative change of 589.69%
• New York: 4.03% average rate, $445,000 → $2,959,174.30, cumulative change of 564.98%
• Houston, Texas: 3.88% average rate, $445,000 → $2,771,736.63, cumulative change of 522.86%
• Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas: 3.88% average rate, $445,000 → $2,766,009.84, cumulative change of 521.58%
• Atlanta, Georgia: 3.87% average rate, $445,000 → $2,758,698.13, cumulative change of 519.93%
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 3.86% average rate, $445,000 → $2,746,793.43, cumulative change of 517.26%
• Chicago, Illinois: 3.84% average rate, $445,000 → $2,718,097.16, cumulative change of 510.81%
• Detroit, Michigan: 3.76% average rate, $445,000 → $2,614,757.49, cumulative change of 487.59%

San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 48 years between 1970 and 2018 (4.32%).

Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 48 years between 1970 and 2018 (3.76%).

Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data.

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £445,000.00 in 1970 would be equivalent to £6,706,006.03 in 2018, an absolute change of £6,261,006.03 and a cumulative change of 1,406.97%.

In Canada, CA$445,000.00 in 1970 would be equivalent to CA$2,867,290.64 in 2018, an absolute change of CA$2,422,290.64 and a cumulative change of 544.33%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $2,434,962.39 and total percent change of 547.18%.

Inflation by Spending Category

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 1970 and 2018.

Compare these values to the overall average of 3.97% per year:

It's important to note that not all categories may be tracked since 1970. This table and visualization use the earliest available data for each category.

How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $445,000, 1970 to 2018

This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 38.8 in the year 1970 and 251.10683333333 in 2018:

$445,000 in 1970 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $2,879,962.39 in 2018.

To get the total inflation rate for the 48 years between 1970 and 2018, we use the following formula:

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

Alternate Measurements of Inflation

The above data describe the CPI for all items. Also of note is the Core CPI, which measures inflation for all items except for the more volatile categories of food and energy. Core inflation averaged 3.91% per year between 1970 and 2018 (vs all-CPI inflation of 3.97%), for an inflation total of 530.93%.

When using the core inflation measurement, $445,000 in 1970 is equivalent in buying power to $2,807,638.91 in 2018, a difference of $2,362,638.91. Recall that for All Items, the converted amount is $2,879,962.39 with a difference of $2,434,962.39.

In 1970, core inflation was 6.25%.

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

The average inflation rate of 3.97% has a compounding effect between 1970 and 2018. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 547.18% over 48 years.

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $445,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1970, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $52,777,651.76 in 2018. This is a return on investment of 11,760.15%, with an absolute return of $52,332,651.76.

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 84.55% of returns ($44,246,424.63) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $445,000 investment is $8,086,227.13.

News headlines from 1970

Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:

• January 1st, 1970 established as Epoch time for UNIX systems.
• Rhodesia declares independence and sets up a republican government.
• Aswan Dam opens in Egypt to prevent flooding of the Nile River.
• A Palestinian terrorist organization hijacks three aircrafts in an incident that is later known as Black September.

Data Source & Citation

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.

» Read more about inflation and investment.