Bananas price history from 1939 through 2020

Bananas Inflation Calculator

Prices for Bananas, 1939-2020 ($3.50)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for bananas were 1,234.57% higher in 2020 versus 1939 (a $43.21 difference in value).

Between 1939 and 2020: Bananas experienced an average inflation rate of 3.25% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, bananas costing $3.50 in the year 1939 would cost $46.71 in 2020 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.67% during this same period, inflation for bananas was lower.

Price Inflation for Bananas since 1939

Consumer Price Index, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Years with the largest changes in pricing: 1942 (45.37%), 1947 (30.15%), and 1975 (25.26%).

Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Bananas:

Year	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
CPI	14.523	15.015	16.854	24.500	28.831	28.285	26.331	27.908	36.323	38.323	39.954	39.100	39.292	39.346	39.723	39.800	40.123	39.892	41.146	41.046	40.369	37.685	37.700	38.823	39.100	39.715	38.915	38.054	38.408	38.000	38.931	38.985	36.715	39.077	40.808	45.831	57.408	58.169	63.231	70.700	79.838	91.531	97.654	96.085	105.992	97.923	99.946	105.015	104.177	119.238	131.292	138.169	145.015	139.931	135.523	143.569	153.769	159.015	159.577	160.854	159.415	162.492	166.615	166.523	164.838	162.992	167.062	175.292	177.538	207.394	207.256	195.442	205.850	205.052	203.370	202.041	200.786	198.852	195.168	196.709	195.983	193.821

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Buying power of $3.5 since 1939

Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Bananas, over time, for $3.5 beginning in 1939. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Year	USD Value	Inflation Rate
1939	$3.50	-
1940	$3.62	3.39%
1941	$4.06	12.24%
1942	$5.90	45.37%
1943	$6.95	17.68%
1944	$6.82	-1.89%
1945	$6.35	-6.91%
1946	$6.73	5.99%
1947	$8.75	30.15%
1948	$9.24	5.51%
1949	$9.63	4.26%
1950	$9.42	-2.14%
1951	$9.47	0.49%
1952	$9.48	0.14%
1953	$9.57	0.96%
1954	$9.59	0.19%
1955	$9.67	0.81%
1956	$9.61	-0.58%
1957	$9.92	3.14%
1958	$9.89	-0.24%
1959	$9.73	-1.65%
1960	$9.08	-6.65%
1961	$9.09	0.04%
1962	$9.36	2.98%
1963	$9.42	0.71%
1964	$9.57	1.57%
1965	$9.38	-2.01%
1966	$9.17	-2.21%
1967	$9.26	0.93%
1968	$9.16	-1.06%
1969	$9.38	2.45%
1970	$9.40	0.14%
1971	$8.85	-5.82%
1972	$9.42	6.43%
1973	$9.83	4.43%
1974	$11.05	12.31%
1975	$13.84	25.26%
1976	$14.02	1.33%
1977	$15.24	8.70%
1978	$17.04	11.81%
1979	$19.24	12.93%
1980	$22.06	14.64%
1981	$23.53	6.69%
1982	$23.16	-1.61%
1983	$25.54	10.31%
1984	$23.60	-7.61%
1985	$24.09	2.07%
1986	$25.31	5.07%
1987	$25.11	-0.80%
1988	$28.74	14.46%
1989	$31.64	10.11%
1990	$33.30	5.24%
1991	$34.95	4.95%
1992	$33.72	-3.51%
1993	$32.66	-3.15%
1994	$34.60	5.94%
1995	$37.06	7.10%
1996	$38.32	3.41%
1997	$38.46	0.35%
1998	$38.77	0.80%
1999	$38.42	-0.89%
2000	$39.16	1.93%
2001	$40.15	2.54%
2002	$40.13	-0.06%
2003	$39.73	-1.01%
2004	$39.28	-1.12%
2005	$40.26	2.50%
2006	$42.24	4.93%
2007	$42.79	1.28%
2008	$49.98	16.82%
2009	$49.95	-0.07%
2010	$47.10	-5.70%
2011	$49.61	5.33%
2012	$49.42	-0.39%
2013	$49.01	-0.82%
2014	$48.69	-0.65%
2015	$48.39	-0.62%
2016	$47.92	-0.96%
2017	$47.03	-1.85%
2018	$47.41	0.79%
2019	$47.23	-0.37%
2020	$46.71	-1.10%*

* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.

How to calculate the inflation rate for bananas, 1939-2020

Start with the inflation rate formula:

CPI in 2020 / CPI in 1939 * 1939 USD value = 2020 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values from above. The CPI for Bananas was 14.523 in the year 1939 and 193.821 in 2020:

193.821 / 14.523 * $3.50 = $46.71

Therefore, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $3.50 in 1939 has the same "purchasing power" as $46.71 in 2020 (in the CPI category of Bananas).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the Consumer Price Index for Bananas in 1939. In addition to bananas, the index produces monthly data on changes in prices paid by urban consumers for a variety of goods and services.