According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2015 are 794.40% higher than average prices throughout 1952. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.54% per year during this period, meaning the real value of a dollar decreased.
In other words, $2 in 1952 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $17.89 in 2015, a difference of $15.89 over 63 years.
The 1952 inflation rate was 1.92%. The inflation rate in 2015 was 0.12%. The 2015 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.08% per year between 2015 and 2019.
Cumulative price change | 794.40% |
Average inflation rate | 3.54% |
Converted amount ($2 base) | $17.89 |
Price difference ($2 base) | $15.89 |
CPI in 1952 | 26.500 |
CPI in 2015 | 237.017 |
Inflation in 1952 | 1.92% |
Inflation in 2015 | 0.12% |
This chart shows calculation of buying power equivalence, often referred to as "the value of a dollar" over time for $2 in 1952 (price index tracking began in 1635).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of these USD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1952 to 2015 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $2):
San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 63 years between 1952 and 2015 (3.80%).
Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 63 years between 1952 and 2015 (3.37%).
Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data.
Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £2.00 in 1952 would be equivalent to £51.91 in 2015, an absolute change of £49.91 and a cumulative change of 2,495.42%.
In Canada, CA$2.00 in 1952 would be equivalent to CA$17.94 in 2015, an absolute change of CA$15.94 and a cumulative change of 797.16%.
Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $15.89 and total percent change of 794.40%.
CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1952 and 2015.
Compare these values to the overall average of 3.54% per year:
Category | Avg Inflation (%) | Total Inflation (%) | $2 in 1952 → 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Food and beverages | 4.15 | 1,198.69 | 25.97 |
Housing | 4.35 | 1,364.99 | 29.30 |
Apparel | 1.70 | 189.74 | 5.79 |
Transportation | 3.30 | 673.65 | 15.47 |
Medical care | 5.35 | 2,573.91 | 53.48 |
Recreation | 1.12 | 101.11 | 4.02 |
Education and communication | 2.20 | 294.68 | 7.89 |
Other goods and services | 5.28 | 2,460.79 | 51.22 |
The graph below compares inflation in categories of goods over time. Click on a category such as "Food" to toggle it on or off:
For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1952. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.
This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 26.5 in the year 1952 and 237.017 in 2015:
$2 in 1952 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $17.89 in 2015.
To get the total inflation rate for the 63 years between 1952 and 2015, we use the following formula:
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
The average inflation rate of 3.54% has a compounding effect between 1952 and 2015. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 794.40% over 63 years.
To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $2 in the S&P 500 index in 1952, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $1,192.30 in 2015. This is a return on investment of 59,514.82%, with an absolute return of $1,190.30 on top of the original $2.
These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.
The compounding effect of inflation would account for 88.82% of returns ($1,058.99) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $2 investment is $131.31. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $112 for most people.
Original Amount | Final Amount | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominal | $2 | $1,192.30 | 59,514.82% |
Real Inflation Adjusted |
$2 | $133.31 | 6,565.31% |
Information displayed above may differ slightly from other S&P 500 calculators. Minor discrepancies can occur because we use the latest CPI data for inflation, annualized inflation numbers for previous years, and we compute S&P price and dividends from January of 1952 to latest available data for 2015.
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$2 in 1952 → 2015 | Inflation Calculator.” U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 6 Dec. 2019, https://www.officialdata.org/1952-dollars-in-2015?amount=2.
Special thanks to QuickChart for providing downloadable chart images.
in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.
Cumulative price change | 794.40% |
Average inflation rate | 3.54% |
Converted amount ($2 base) | $17.89 |
Price difference ($2 base) | $15.89 |
CPI in 1952 | 26.500 |
CPI in 2015 | 237.017 |
Inflation in 1952 | 1.92% |
Inflation in 2015 | 0.12% |