$1 in 1905 is worth $1.01 in 1904

Value of $1 from 1905 to 1904

$1 in 1905 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.01 in 1904. The dollar had an average deflation rate of -1.12% per year since 1904, producing a cumulative price change of 1.14%.

This means that prices in 1904 are 1.01 times as high as average prices since 1905, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1904 was 1.14%. The inflation rate in 1905 was -1.12%. The 1905 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.04% per year between 1905 and 2024.


Inflation from 1905 to 1904
Average inflation rate-1.12%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.01
Price difference
$1 base
$0.01
CPI in 19058.800
CPI in 19048.900
Inflation in 19041.14%
Inflation in 1905-1.12%
$1 in 1905$1.01 in 1904

Recent USD inflation
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI
Download

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £1.00 in 1905 would be equivalent to £1.00 in 1904, an absolute change of £0.00 and a cumulative change of 0.00%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $0.01 and total percent change of 1.14%.


Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. Breaking down these categories helps explain the main drivers behind price changes.

This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1905 and 1904.

Compare these values to the overall average of -1.12% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$1 in 1904 → 1905
Food and beverages0.000.001.00
Housing0.000.001.00
Apparel0.000.001.00
Transportation0.000.001.00
Medical care0.000.001.00
Recreation0.000.001.00
Education and communication0.000.001.00
Other goods and services0.000.001.00

For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1905. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.



How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1904 to 1905

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1904 and 1905:

CPI in 1904 CPI in 1905
×
1905 USD value
=
1904 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 8.8 in the year 1905 and 8.9 in 1904:

8.98.8
×
$1
=
$1.01

$1 in 1905 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.01 in 1904.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1904 and 1905, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1904 - CPI in 1905CPI in 1905
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

8.9 - 8.88.8
×
100
=
1%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (CPI), established in 1913. Price index data from 1774 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University and from the American Antiquarian Society. Price index data from 1634 to 1773 is from the American Antiquarian Society, using British pound equivalents.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$1 in 1905 → 1904 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 27 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1905-dollars-in-1904?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 1905 to 1904
Average inflation rate-1.12%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.01
Price difference
$1 base
$0.01
CPI in 19058.800
CPI in 19048.900
Inflation in 19041.14%
Inflation in 1905-1.12%
$1 in 1905$1.01 in 1904