$100 in 1921 is worth $858.51 in 1994

Value of $100 from 1921 to 1994

$100 in 1921 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $858.51 in 1994, an increase of $758.51 over 73 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.99% per year between 1921 and 1994, producing a cumulative price increase of 758.51%.

This means that prices in 1994 are 8.59 times as high as average prices since 1921, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1921 was -12.11%. The inflation rate in 1994 was 0.17%. The 1994 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.08% per year between 1994 and 2024.


Inflation from 1921 to 1994
Cumulative price change758.51%
Average inflation rate2.99%
Converted amount
$100 base
$858.51
Price difference
$100 base
$758.51
CPI in 19219.983
CPI in 199485.708
Inflation in 1921-12.11%
Inflation in 19940.17%
$100 in 1921$858.51 in 1994

CAD inflation since 1921
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1921

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1921 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $858.51 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $858.51 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 1921 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 73 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: 1921-1994
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1921$100.00-12.11%
1922$92.15-7.85%
1923$92.150.00%
1924$90.40-1.90%
1925$91.491.20%
1926$92.150.73%
1927$90.82-1.45%
1928$91.490.74%
1929$92.401.00%
1930$91.49-0.99%
1931$82.47-9.85%
1932$74.71-9.41%
1933$71.45-4.36%
1934$72.291.17%
1935$72.620.46%
1936$74.122.07%
1937$76.793.60%
1938$77.210.54%
1939$76.63-0.76%
1940$79.884.25%
1941$84.645.96%
1942$88.564.64%
1943$90.482.17%
1944$91.070.65%
1945$91.650.64%
1946$94.493.10%
1947$103.019.01%
1948$117.7014.26%
1949$121.793.48%
1950$125.042.67%
1951$138.2310.55%
1952$141.822.60%
1953$140.40-1.00%
1954$141.320.65%
1955$141.570.18%
1956$143.491.36%
1957$148.253.32%
1958$151.752.36%
1959$153.591.21%
1960$155.681.36%
1961$157.261.02%
1962$158.931.06%
1963$161.521.63%
1964$164.611.91%
1965$168.452.33%
1966$174.873.82%
1967$181.143.58%
1968$188.484.06%
1969$197.084.56%
1970$203.673.35%
1971$209.182.70%
1972$219.624.99%
1973$236.067.49%
1974$262.0211.00%
1975$289.9810.67%
1976$311.857.54%
1977$336.737.98%
1978$366.948.97%
1979$400.509.14%
1980$441.0710.13%
1981$496.0812.47%
1982$549.5010.77%
1983$581.725.86%
1984$606.764.30%
1985$630.803.96%
1986$657.264.19%
1987$685.894.36%
1988$713.524.03%
1989$749.084.98%
1990$784.894.78%
1991$829.055.63%
1992$841.401.49%
1993$857.101.87%
1994$858.510.17%
1995$876.962.15%
1996$890.731.57%
1997$905.181.62%
1998$914.191.00%
1999$930.051.73%
2000$955.342.72%
2001$979.472.53%
2002$1,001.592.26%
2003$1,029.222.76%
2004$1,048.331.86%
2005$1,071.542.21%
2006$1,092.992.00%
2007$1,116.362.14%
2008$1,142.822.37%
2009$1,146.240.30%
2010$1,166.611.78%
2011$1,200.582.91%
2012$1,218.781.52%
2013$1,230.220.94%
2014$1,253.671.91%
2015$1,267.781.13%
2016$1,285.891.43%
2017$1,306.431.60%
2018$1,336.062.27%
2019$1,362.101.95%
2020$1,371.870.72%
2021$1,418.453.40%
2022$1,514.946.80%
2023$1,572.623.81%
2024$1,590.651.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 67 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1921 amounts in 1994 dollars, based on the 758.51% change in prices:

Conversion: 1921 dollars in 1994
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1921$8.59 dollars in 1994
$5 dollars in 1921$42.93 dollars in 1994
$10 dollars in 1921$85.85 dollars in 1994
$50 dollars in 1921$429.26 dollars in 1994
$100 dollars in 1921$858.51 dollars in 1994
$500 dollars in 1921$4,292.57 dollars in 1994
$1,000 dollars in 1921$8,585.14 dollars in 1994
$5,000 dollars in 1921$42,925.71 dollars in 1994
$10,000 dollars in 1921$85,851.42 dollars in 1994
$50,000 dollars in 1921$429,257.10 dollars in 1994
$100,000 dollars in 1921$858,514.19 dollars in 1994
$500,000 dollars in 1921$4,292,570.95 dollars in 1994
$1,000,000 dollars in 1921$8,585,141.90 dollars in 1994

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1921 to 1994

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1921 and 1994:

CPI in 1994 CPI in 1921
×
1921 CAD value
=
1994 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 9.983333333 in the year 1921 and 85.70833333 in 1994:

85.708333339.983333333
×
$100
=
$858.51

$100 in 1921 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $858.51 in 1994.

To get the total inflation rate for the 73 years between 1921 and 1994, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1994 - CPI in 1921CPI in 1921
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (73 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

85.70833333 - 9.9833333339.983333333
×
100
=
759%

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: “1921 dollars in 1994 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 24 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1921-CAD-in-1994.

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 1921 to 1994
Cumulative price change758.51%
Average inflation rate2.99%
Converted amount
$100 base
$858.51
Price difference
$100 base
$758.51
CPI in 19219.983
CPI in 199485.708
Inflation in 1921-12.11%
Inflation in 19940.17%
$100 in 1921$858.51 in 1994