According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Boston, Massachusetts are 1,761.14% higher in 2026 versus 1921 (a $8,805,690,115,761,354,752 difference in value).
Between 1921 and 2026:Boston experienced an average inflation rate of 2.82% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $500,000,000,000,000,000 in Boston in the year 1921 would cost $9,305,690,115,761,354,752 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.81% during this same period, inflation in Boston was higher.
In the year 1921: Pricing changed by -8.96%, which is significantly below the average yearly change in Boston during the 1921-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1921 (-10.94%), inflation in Boston was higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Boston, over time, for $500,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1921. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | $500,000,000,000,000,000.00 | -8.96% |
| 1922 | $455,699,020,480,854,912.00 | -8.86% |
| 1923 | $462,600,178,094,390,080.00 | 1.51% |
| 1924 | $465,716,829,919,857,600.00 | 0.67% |
| 1925 | $470,837,043,633,125,568.00 | 1.10% |
| 1926 | $488,201,246,660,730,304.00 | 3.69% |
| 1927 | $483,081,032,947,462,144.00 | -1.05% |
| 1928 | $473,731,077,471,059,712.00 | -1.94% |
| 1929 | $471,504,897,595,725,824.00 | -0.47% |
| 1930 | $468,165,627,782,724,800.00 | -0.71% |
| 1931 | $431,878,895,814,781,888.00 | -7.75% |
| 1932 | $389,358,860,195,904,000.00 | -9.85% |
| 1933 | $363,535,173,642,030,336.00 | -6.63% |
| 1934 | $374,888,691,006,233,344.00 | 3.12% |
| 1935 | $382,680,320,569,902,144.00 | 2.08% |
| 1936 | $384,906,500,445,236,032.00 | 0.58% |
| 1937 | $393,588,601,959,038,336.00 | 2.26% |
| 1938 | $383,570,792,520,035,584.00 | -2.55% |
| 1939 | $377,782,724,844,167,424.00 | -1.51% |
| 1940 | $381,344,612,644,701,696.00 | 0.94% |
| 1941 | $398,263,579,697,239,552.00 | 4.44% |
| 1942 | $440,783,615,316,117,568.00 | 10.68% |
| 1943 | $463,935,886,019,590,464.00 | 5.25% |
| 1944 | $469,056,099,732,858,496.00 | 1.10% |
| 1945 | $478,628,673,196,794,432.00 | 2.04% |
| 1946 | $517,809,439,002,671,424.00 | 8.19% |
| 1947 | $589,492,430,988,423,936.00 | 13.84% |
| 1948 | $638,023,152,270,703,616.00 | 8.23% |
| 1949 | $630,231,522,707,034,880.00 | -1.22% |
| 1950 | $638,468,388,245,770,368.00 | 1.31% |
| 1951 | $681,211,041,852,181,760.00 | 6.69% |
| 1952 | $696,126,447,016,919,040.00 | 2.19% |
| 1953 | $697,907,390,917,186,176.00 | 0.26% |
| 1954 | $700,578,806,767,586,816.00 | 0.38% |
| 1955 | $703,918,076,580,587,648.00 | 0.48% |
| 1956 | $723,285,841,495,992,960.00 | 2.75% |
| 1957 | $748,664,292,074,799,872.00 | 3.51% |
| 1958 | $772,707,034,728,406,016.00 | 3.21% |
| 1959 | $778,717,720,391,808,000.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $793,410,507,569,011,584.00 | 1.89% |
| 1961 | $805,431,878,895,814,912.00 | 1.52% |
| 1962 | $822,796,081,923,419,520.00 | 2.16% |
| 1963 | $839,492,430,988,423,936.00 | 2.03% |
| 1964 | $850,845,948,352,626,816.00 | 1.35% |
| 1965 | $866,874,443,455,031,424.00 | 1.88% |
| 1966 | $893,588,601,959,038,464.00 | 3.08% |
| 1967 | $916,963,490,650,044,672.00 | 2.62% |
| 1968 | $953,027,604,630,454,144.00 | 3.93% |
| 1969 | $1,005,788,067,675,868,416.00 | 5.54% |
| 1970 | $1,067,230,632,235,084,672.00 | 6.11% |
| 1971 | $1,123,998,219,056,099,712.00 | 5.32% |
| 1972 | $1,164,069,456,812,110,336.00 | 3.57% |
| 1973 | $1,228,851,291,184,327,680.00 | 5.57% |
| 1974 | $1,355,743,544,078,361,600.00 | 10.33% |
| 1975 | $1,477,960,819,234,194,176.00 | 9.01% |
| 1976 | $1,598,174,532,502,226,176.00 | 8.13% |
| 1977 | $1,679,652,715,939,448,064.00 | 5.10% |
| 1978 | $1,769,367,764,915,405,568.00 | 5.34% |
| 1979 | $1,947,462,154,942,119,168.00 | 10.07% |
| 1980 | $2,194,568,121,104,185,088.00 | 12.69% |
| 1981 | $2,443,900,267,141,584,896.00 | 11.36% |
| 1982 | $2,548,530,721,282,279,424.00 | 4.28% |
| 1983 | $2,661,175,422,974,177,280.00 | 4.42% |
| 1984 | $2,792,074,799,643,811,840.00 | 4.92% |
| 1985 | $2,915,850,400,712,377,344.00 | 4.43% |
| 1986 | $2,995,547,640,249,331,712.00 | 2.73% |
| 1987 | $3,123,330,365,093,499,904.00 | 4.27% |
| 1988 | $3,306,767,586,821,015,552.00 | 5.87% |
| 1989 | $3,499,554,764,024,933,376.00 | 5.83% |
| 1990 | $3,702,137,132,680,321,024.00 | 5.79% |
| 1991 | $3,869,991,095,280,498,688.00 | 4.53% |
| 1992 | $3,964,381,121,994,656,768.00 | 2.44% |
| 1993 | $4,082,368,655,387,354,624.00 | 2.98% |
| 1994 | $4,134,016,028,495,103,488.00 | 1.27% |
| 1995 | $4,233,303,650,934,995,456.00 | 2.40% |
| 1996 | $4,357,079,252,003,562,496.00 | 2.92% |
| 1997 | $4,482,635,796,972,395,008.00 | 2.88% |
| 1998 | $4,583,704,363,312,556,032.00 | 2.25% |
| 1999 | $4,694,568,121,104,186,368.00 | 2.42% |
| 2000 | $4,895,814,781,834,372,096.00 | 4.29% |
| 2001 | $5,112,644,701,691,896,832.00 | 4.43% |
| 2002 | $5,243,098,842,386,464,768.00 | 2.55% |
| 2003 | $5,437,221,727,515,584,512.00 | 3.70% |
| 2004 | $5,593,054,318,788,959,232.00 | 2.87% |
| 2005 | $5,770,258,236,865,539,072.00 | 3.17% |
| 2006 | $5,954,585,930,543,187,968.00 | 3.19% |
| 2007 | $6,066,669,634,906,501,120.00 | 1.88% |
| 2008 | $6,289,131,789,848,621,056.00 | 3.67% |
| 2009 | $6,238,000,890,471,950,336.00 | -0.81% |
| 2010 | $6,340,356,188,780,051,456.00 | 1.64% |
| 2011 | $6,508,330,365,093,500,928.00 | 2.65% |
| 2012 | $6,613,455,031,166,519,296.00 | 1.62% |
| 2013 | $6,705,445,235,975,067,648.00 | 1.39% |
| 2014 | $6,815,449,688,334,818,304.00 | 1.64% |
| 2015 | $6,858,668,744,434,549,760.00 | 0.63% |
| 2016 | $6,953,214,603,739,981,824.00 | 1.38% |
| 2017 | $7,130,569,902,048,087,040.00 | 2.55% |
| 2018 | $7,360,574,354,407,835,648.00 | 3.23% |
| 2019 | $7,508,361,531,611,754,496.00 | 2.01% |
| 2020 | $7,589,194,122,885,128,192.00 | 1.08% |
| 2021 | $7,823,864,648,263,580,672.00 | 3.09% |
| 2022 | $8,387,649,154,051,646,464.00 | 7.21% |
| 2023 | $8,701,286,731,967,942,656.00 | 3.74% |
| 2024 | $8,979,741,763,134,461,952.00 | 3.20% |
| 2025 | $9,258,121,104,185,217,024.00 | 3.10% |
| 2026 | $9,305,690,115,761,354,752.00 | 0.51%* |
* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.
** Extended periods of 0% inflation usually indicate incomplete underlying data. This can manifest as a sharp increase in inflation later on.
Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Boston, Massachusetts:
| Year | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 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 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| CPI | 10.500 | 10.517 | 10.817 | 12.275 | 14.458 | 17.533 | 20.558 | 18.717 | 17.058 | 17.317 | 17.433 | 17.625 | 18.275 | 18.083 | 17.733 | 17.650 | 17.525 | 16.167 | 14.575 | 13.608 | 14.033 | 14.325 | 14.408 | 14.733 | 14.358 | 14.142 | 14.275 | 14.908 | 16.500 | 17.367 | 17.558 | 17.917 | 19.383 | 22.067 | 23.883 | 23.592 | 23.900 | 25.500 | 26.058 | 26.125 | 26.225 | 26.350 | 27.075 | 28.025 | 28.925 | 29.150 | 29.700 | 30.150 | 30.800 | 31.425 | 31.850 | 32.450 | 33.450 | 34.325 | 35.675 | 37.650 | 39.950 | 42.075 | 43.575 | 46.000 | 50.750 | 55.325 | 59.825 | 62.875 | 66.233 | 72.900 | 82.150 | 91.483 | 95.400 | 99.617 | 104.517 | 109.150 | 112.133 | 116.917 | 123.783 | 131.000 | 138.583 | 144.867 | 148.400 | 152.817 | 154.750 | 158.467 | 163.100 | 167.800 | 171.583 | 175.733 | 183.267 | 191.383 | 196.267 | 203.533 | 209.367 | 216.000 | 222.900 | 227.096 | 235.423 | 233.509 | 237.341 | 243.629 | 247.564 | 251.007 | 255.125 | 256.743 | 260.282 | 266.921 | 275.531 | 281.063 | 284.089 | 292.873 | 313.978 | 325.718 | 336.142 | 346.562 | 348.343 |