$100 in 1940 is worth $4,300.00 in 2020

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Value of $100 from 1940 to 2020

$100 in 1940 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $4,300.00 in 2020, an increase of $4,200.00 over 80 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 4.81% per year between 1940 and 2020, producing a cumulative price increase of 4,200.00%.

This means that prices in 2020 are 43.00 times as high as average prices since 1940, according to the Bureau of Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1940 was 3.85%. The inflation rate in 2020 was 0.87%. The 2020 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.90% per year between 2020 and 2024.


Inflation from 1940 to 2020
Cumulative price change4,200.00%
Average inflation rate4.81%
Converted amount
$100 base
$4,300.00
Price difference
$100 base
$4,200.00
CPI in 19402.700
CPI in 2020116.100
Inflation in 19403.85%
Inflation in 20200.87%
$100 in 1940$4,300.00 in 2020

AUD inflation since 1940
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1940

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1940 (price index tracking began in 1922).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $4,300.00 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $4,300.00 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Australian 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 1940 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 80 years.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, each of these AUD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1940-2020
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1940$100.003.85%
1941$103.703.70%
1942$114.8110.71%
1943$118.523.23%
1944$118.520.00%
1945$118.520.00%
1946$118.520.00%
1947$125.936.25%
1948$137.048.82%
1949$148.158.11%
1950$162.9610.00%
1951$192.5918.18%
1952$225.9317.31%
1953$237.044.92%
1954$240.741.56%
1955$244.441.54%
1956$259.266.06%
1957$266.672.86%
1958$266.670.00%
1959$274.072.78%
1960$285.194.05%
1961$288.891.30%
1962$288.890.00%
1963$292.591.28%
1964$300.002.53%
1965$311.113.70%
1966$318.522.38%
1967$329.633.49%
1968$340.743.37%
1969$351.853.26%
1970$362.963.16%
1971$385.196.12%
1972$407.415.77%
1973$444.449.09%
1974$514.8115.83%
1975$592.5915.11%
1976$670.3713.13%
1977$751.8512.15%
1978$811.117.88%
1979$885.199.13%
1980$977.7810.46%
1981$1,070.379.47%
1982$1,188.8911.07%
1983$1,311.1110.28%
1984$1,362.963.95%
1985$1,451.856.52%
1986$1,585.199.18%
1987$1,718.528.41%
1988$1,844.447.33%
1989$1,981.487.43%
1990$2,129.637.48%
1991$2,196.303.13%
1992$2,218.521.01%
1993$2,255.561.67%
1994$2,300.001.97%
1995$2,407.414.67%
1996$2,470.372.62%
1997$2,477.780.30%
1998$2,496.300.75%
1999$2,533.331.48%
2000$2,648.154.53%
2001$2,762.964.34%
2002$2,848.153.08%
2003$2,925.932.73%
2004$2,992.592.28%
2005$3,074.072.72%
2006$3,181.483.49%
2007$3,255.562.33%
2008$3,400.004.44%
2009$3,459.261.74%
2010$3,559.262.89%
2011$3,677.783.33%
2012$3,740.741.71%
2013$3,833.332.48%
2014$3,929.632.51%
2015$3,988.891.51%
2016$4,040.741.30%
2017$4,118.521.92%
2018$4,196.301.89%
2019$4,262.961.59%
2020$4,300.000.87%
2021$4,422.222.84%
2022$4,714.816.62%
2023$4,959.265.18%
2024$5,011.111.05%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 74 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1940 amounts in 2020 dollars, based on the 4,200.00% change in prices:

Conversion: 1940 dollars in 2020
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1940$43.00 dollars in 2020
$5 dollars in 1940$215.00 dollars in 2020
$10 dollars in 1940$430.00 dollars in 2020
$50 dollars in 1940$2,150.00 dollars in 2020
$100 dollars in 1940$4,300.00 dollars in 2020
$500 dollars in 1940$21,500.00 dollars in 2020
$1,000 dollars in 1940$43,000.00 dollars in 2020
$5,000 dollars in 1940$215,000.00 dollars in 2020
$10,000 dollars in 1940$430,000.00 dollars in 2020
$50,000 dollars in 1940$2,150,000.00 dollars in 2020
$100,000 dollars in 1940$4,300,000.00 dollars in 2020
$500,000 dollars in 1940$21,500,000.00 dollars in 2020
$1,000,000 dollars in 1940$43,000,000.00 dollars in 2020

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1940 to 2020

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1940 and 2020:

CPI in 2020 CPI in 1940
×
1940 AUD value
=
2020 AUD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Australian CPI was 2.7 in the year 1940 and 116.1 in 2020:

116.12.7
×
$100
=
$4,300.00

$100 in 1940 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $4,300.00 in 2020.

To get the total inflation rate for the 80 years between 1940 and 2020, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2020 - CPI in 1940CPI in 1940
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (80 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

116.1 - 2.72.7
×
100
=
4,200%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Australia's annual (CPI) as provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The consumer price index was established in 1922 and is tracked by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$100 in 1940 → 2020 | Australia Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 26 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1940-AUD-in-2020?amount=100.

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 1940 to 2020
Cumulative price change4,200.00%
Average inflation rate4.81%
Converted amount
$100 base
$4,300.00
Price difference
$100 base
$4,200.00
CPI in 19402.700
CPI in 2020116.100
Inflation in 19403.85%
Inflation in 20200.87%
$100 in 1940$4,300.00 in 2020