$100 in 1917 is worth $868.60 in 1987

Value of $100 from 1917 to 1987

$100 in 1917 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $868.60 in 1987, an increase of $768.60 over 70 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.14% per year between 1917 and 1987, producing a cumulative price increase of 768.60%.

This means that prices in 1987 are 8.69 times as high as average prices since 1917, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1917 was 17.96%. The inflation rate in 1987 was 4.36%. The 1987 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.30% per year between 1987 and 2024.


Inflation from 1917 to 1987
Cumulative price change768.60%
Average inflation rate3.14%
Converted amount
$100 base
$868.60
Price difference
$100 base
$768.60
CPI in 19177.883
CPI in 198768.475
Inflation in 191717.96%
Inflation in 19874.36%
$100 in 1917$868.60 in 1987

CAD inflation since 1917
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1917

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1917 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $868.60 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $868.60 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 1917 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 70 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: 1917-1987
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1917$100.0017.96%
1918$113.1113.11%
1919$123.899.53%
1920$144.0816.30%
1921$126.64-12.11%
1922$116.70-7.85%
1923$116.700.00%
1924$114.48-1.90%
1925$115.861.20%
1926$116.700.73%
1927$115.01-1.45%
1928$115.860.74%
1929$117.021.00%
1930$115.86-0.99%
1931$104.44-9.85%
1932$94.61-9.41%
1933$90.49-4.36%
1934$91.541.17%
1935$91.970.46%
1936$93.872.07%
1937$97.253.60%
1938$97.780.54%
1939$97.04-0.76%
1940$101.164.25%
1941$107.195.96%
1942$112.164.64%
1943$114.592.17%
1944$115.330.65%
1945$116.070.64%
1946$119.663.10%
1947$130.449.01%
1948$149.0514.26%
1949$154.233.48%
1950$158.352.67%
1951$175.0510.55%
1952$179.602.60%
1953$177.80-1.00%
1954$178.960.65%
1955$179.280.18%
1956$181.711.36%
1957$187.743.32%
1958$192.182.36%
1959$194.501.21%
1960$197.151.36%
1961$199.151.02%
1962$201.271.06%
1963$204.551.63%
1964$208.461.91%
1965$213.322.33%
1966$221.463.82%
1967$229.393.58%
1968$238.694.06%
1969$249.584.56%
1970$257.933.35%
1971$264.902.70%
1972$278.124.99%
1973$298.947.49%
1974$331.8211.00%
1975$367.2310.67%
1976$394.937.54%
1977$426.437.98%
1978$464.698.97%
1979$507.199.14%
1980$558.5610.13%
1981$628.2212.47%
1982$695.8810.77%
1983$736.685.86%
1984$768.394.30%
1985$798.843.96%
1986$832.354.19%
1987$868.604.36%
1988$903.594.03%
1989$948.634.98%
1990$993.974.78%
1991$1,049.895.63%
1992$1,065.541.49%
1993$1,085.411.87%
1994$1,087.210.17%
1995$1,110.572.15%
1996$1,128.011.57%
1997$1,146.301.62%
1998$1,157.721.00%
1999$1,177.801.73%
2000$1,209.832.72%
2001$1,240.382.53%
2002$1,268.392.26%
2003$1,303.382.76%
2004$1,327.591.86%
2005$1,356.982.21%
2006$1,384.142.00%
2007$1,413.742.14%
2008$1,447.252.37%
2009$1,451.590.30%
2010$1,477.381.78%
2011$1,520.402.91%
2012$1,543.451.52%
2013$1,557.930.94%
2014$1,587.631.91%
2015$1,605.501.13%
2016$1,628.441.43%
2017$1,654.441.60%
2018$1,691.972.27%
2019$1,724.951.95%
2020$1,737.320.72%
2021$1,796.303.40%
2022$1,918.506.80%
2023$1,991.543.81%
2024$2,014.381.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 64 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1917 amounts in 1987 dollars, based on the 768.60% change in prices:

Conversion: 1917 dollars in 1987
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1917$8.69 dollars in 1987
$5 dollars in 1917$43.43 dollars in 1987
$10 dollars in 1917$86.86 dollars in 1987
$50 dollars in 1917$434.30 dollars in 1987
$100 dollars in 1917$868.60 dollars in 1987
$500 dollars in 1917$4,343.02 dollars in 1987
$1,000 dollars in 1917$8,686.05 dollars in 1987
$5,000 dollars in 1917$43,430.23 dollars in 1987
$10,000 dollars in 1917$86,860.47 dollars in 1987
$50,000 dollars in 1917$434,302.33 dollars in 1987
$100,000 dollars in 1917$868,604.65 dollars in 1987
$500,000 dollars in 1917$4,343,023.26 dollars in 1987
$1,000,000 dollars in 1917$8,686,046.51 dollars in 1987

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1917 to 1987

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1917 and 1987:

CPI in 1987 CPI in 1917
×
1917 CAD value
=
1987 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 7.883333333 in the year 1917 and 68.475 in 1987:

68.4757.883333333
×
$100
=
$868.60

$100 in 1917 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $868.60 in 1987.

To get the total inflation rate for the 70 years between 1917 and 1987, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1987 - CPI in 1917CPI in 1917
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (70 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

68.475 - 7.8833333337.883333333
×
100
=
769%

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: “1917 dollars in 1987 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1917-CAD-in-1987.

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 1917 to 1987
Cumulative price change768.60%
Average inflation rate3.14%
Converted amount
$100 base
$868.60
Price difference
$100 base
$768.60
CPI in 19177.883
CPI in 198768.475
Inflation in 191717.96%
Inflation in 19874.36%
$100 in 1917$868.60 in 1987