$100 in 1920 is worth $436.02 in 1981

Value of $100 from 1920 to 1981

$100 in 1920 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $436.02 in 1981, an increase of $336.02 over 61 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.44% per year between 1920 and 1981, producing a cumulative price increase of 336.02%.

This means that prices in 1981 are 4.36 times as high as average prices since 1920, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1920 was 16.30%. The inflation rate in 1981 was 12.47%. The 1981 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.75% per year between 1981 and 2024.


Inflation from 1920 to 1981
Cumulative price change336.02%
Average inflation rate2.44%
Converted amount
$100 base
$436.02
Price difference
$100 base
$336.02
CPI in 192011.358
CPI in 198149.525
Inflation in 192016.30%
Inflation in 198112.47%
$100 in 1920$436.02 in 1981

CAD inflation since 1920
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1920

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1920 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $436.02 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $436.02 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 1920 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 61 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: 1920-1981
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1920$100.0016.30%
1921$87.89-12.11%
1922$81.00-7.85%
1923$81.000.00%
1924$79.46-1.90%
1925$80.411.20%
1926$81.000.73%
1927$79.82-1.45%
1928$80.410.74%
1929$81.221.00%
1930$80.41-0.99%
1931$72.49-9.85%
1932$65.66-9.41%
1933$62.80-4.36%
1934$63.541.17%
1935$63.830.46%
1936$65.152.07%
1937$67.503.60%
1938$67.870.54%
1939$67.35-0.76%
1940$70.214.25%
1941$74.395.96%
1942$77.844.64%
1943$79.532.17%
1944$80.040.65%
1945$80.560.64%
1946$83.053.10%
1947$90.549.01%
1948$103.4514.26%
1949$107.043.48%
1950$109.902.67%
1951$121.5010.55%
1952$124.652.60%
1953$123.40-1.00%
1954$124.210.65%
1955$124.430.18%
1956$126.121.36%
1957$130.303.32%
1958$133.382.36%
1959$135.001.21%
1960$136.831.36%
1961$138.221.02%
1962$139.691.06%
1963$141.971.63%
1964$144.681.91%
1965$148.062.33%
1966$153.713.82%
1967$159.213.58%
1968$165.664.06%
1969$173.224.56%
1970$179.023.35%
1971$183.862.70%
1972$193.034.99%
1973$207.487.49%
1974$230.3011.00%
1975$254.8810.67%
1976$274.107.54%
1977$295.967.98%
1978$322.528.97%
1979$352.029.14%
1980$387.6710.13%
1981$436.0212.47%
1982$482.9810.77%
1983$511.305.86%
1984$533.314.30%
1985$554.443.96%
1986$577.704.19%
1987$602.864.36%
1988$627.154.03%
1989$658.404.98%
1990$689.884.78%
1991$728.695.63%
1992$739.551.49%
1993$753.341.87%
1994$754.590.17%
1995$770.802.15%
1996$782.911.57%
1997$795.601.62%
1998$803.521.00%
1999$817.461.73%
2000$839.692.72%
2001$860.902.53%
2002$880.342.26%
2003$904.622.76%
2004$921.421.86%
2005$941.822.21%
2006$960.672.00%
2007$981.222.14%
2008$1,004.482.37%
2009$1,007.480.30%
2010$1,025.391.78%
2011$1,055.252.91%
2012$1,071.241.52%
2013$1,081.290.94%
2014$1,101.911.91%
2015$1,114.311.13%
2016$1,130.231.43%
2017$1,148.281.60%
2018$1,174.322.27%
2019$1,197.211.95%
2020$1,205.800.72%
2021$1,246.743.40%
2022$1,331.556.80%
2023$1,382.253.81%
2024$1,398.091.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 55 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1920 amounts in 1981 dollars, based on the 336.02% change in prices:

Conversion: 1920 dollars in 1981
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1920$4.36 dollars in 1981
$5 dollars in 1920$21.80 dollars in 1981
$10 dollars in 1920$43.60 dollars in 1981
$50 dollars in 1920$218.01 dollars in 1981
$100 dollars in 1920$436.02 dollars in 1981
$500 dollars in 1920$2,180.12 dollars in 1981
$1,000 dollars in 1920$4,360.23 dollars in 1981
$5,000 dollars in 1920$21,801.17 dollars in 1981
$10,000 dollars in 1920$43,602.35 dollars in 1981
$50,000 dollars in 1920$218,011.74 dollars in 1981
$100,000 dollars in 1920$436,023.48 dollars in 1981
$500,000 dollars in 1920$2,180,117.39 dollars in 1981
$1,000,000 dollars in 1920$4,360,234.78 dollars in 1981

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1920 to 1981

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1920 and 1981:

CPI in 1981 CPI in 1920
×
1920 CAD value
=
1981 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 11.35833333 in the year 1920 and 49.525 in 1981:

49.52511.35833333
×
$100
=
$436.02

$100 in 1920 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $436.02 in 1981.

To get the total inflation rate for the 61 years between 1920 and 1981, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1981 - CPI in 1920CPI in 1920
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (61 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

49.525 - 11.3583333311.35833333
×
100
=
336%

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: “1920 dollars in 1981 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1920-CAD-in-1981.

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 1920 to 1981
Cumulative price change336.02%
Average inflation rate2.44%
Converted amount
$100 base
$436.02
Price difference
$100 base
$336.02
CPI in 192011.358
CPI in 198149.525
Inflation in 192016.30%
Inflation in 198112.47%
$100 in 1920$436.02 in 1981