According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 2,902.60% higher in 2025 versus 1915 (a $133,229,313,269.55 difference in value).
Between 1915 and 2025: Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 3.14% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $4,590,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1915 would cost $137,819,313,269.55 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.19% during this same period, inflation in Chicago was lower.
In the year 1915: Pricing changed by 0.17%, which is below the average yearly change in Chicago during the 1915-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1915 (0.92%), inflation in Chicago was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $4,590,000,000 beginning in 1915. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | $4,590,000,000.00 | 0.17% |
| 1916 | $4,727,470,881.86 | 3.00% |
| 1917 | $5,388,094,841.93 | 13.97% |
| 1918 | $6,293,111,480.87 | 16.80% |
| 1919 | $7,637,271,214.64 | 21.36% |
| 1920 | $9,095,990,016.64 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $8,328,444,259.57 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $7,866,389,351.08 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $7,961,855,241.26 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $8,118,419,301.16 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $8,297,895,174.71 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $8,443,003,327.79 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $8,366,630,615.64 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $8,106,963,394.34 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $8,087,870,216.31 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $8,000,041,597.34 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $7,312,687,188.02 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $6,453,494,176.37 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $5,789,051,580.70 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $5,827,237,936.77 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $6,079,267,886.86 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $6,201,464,226.29 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $6,457,312,811.98 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $6,411,489,184.69 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $6,285,474,209.65 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $6,319,841,930.12 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $6,652,063,227.95 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $7,312,687,188.02 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $7,721,281,198.00 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $7,839,658,901.83 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $8,007,678,868.55 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $8,721,763,727.12 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $10,130,840,266.22 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $11,012,945,091.51 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $11,001,489,184.69 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $11,112,229,617.30 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $11,986,697,171.38 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $12,246,364,392.68 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $12,353,286,189.68 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $12,536,580,698.84 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $12,620,590,682.20 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $12,796,247,920.13 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $13,212,479,201.33 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $13,613,435,940.10 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $13,724,176,372.71 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $13,915,108,153.08 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $13,983,843,594.01 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $14,128,951,747.09 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $14,270,241,264.56 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $14,327,520,798.67 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $14,518,452,579.03 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $14,953,777,038.27 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $15,343,277,870.22 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $15,992,445,923.46 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $16,866,913,477.54 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $17,833,028,286.19 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $18,535,657,237.94 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $19,062,628,951.75 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $20,257,861,896.84 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $22,400,116,472.55 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $24,168,144,758.74 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $25,325,191,347.75 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $26,917,562,396.01 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $29,258,386,023.29 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $32,909,001,663.89 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $37,655,565,723.79 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $41,260,357,737.10 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $44,074,692,179.70 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $45,831,264,559.07 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $47,561,106,489.18 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $49,355,865,224.63 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $50,386,896,838.60 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $52,464,234,608.99 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $54,514,841,930.12 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $57,271,896,838.60 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $60,349,717,138.10 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $62,797,462,562.40 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $64,638,044,925.12 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $66,631,372,712.15 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $68,090,091,514.14 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $70,255,257,903.49 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $72,134,026,622.30 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $74,108,261,231.28 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $75,601,347,753.74 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $77,166,988,352.75 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $79,645,282,861.90 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $81,718,801,996.67 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $83,020,956,738.77 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $84,548,410,981.70 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $86,438,635,607.32 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $89,054,400,998.34 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $90,879,708,818.64 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $93,854,846,006.66 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $97,391,513,560.73 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $96,227,364,309.48 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $97,544,946,339.43 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $100,209,017,470.88 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $101,730,629,201.33 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $102,894,740,266.22 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $104,692,210,232.95 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $104,382,709,816.97 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $105,074,379,284.53 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $107,049,186,688.85 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $108,925,626,039.93 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $110,517,729,783.69 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $111,751,340,016.64 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $116,464,911,064.89 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $125,261,672,795.34 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $129,428,606,156.41 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $133,908,094,841.93 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $137,819,313,269.55 | 2.92%* |
* 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 Chicago, Illinois:
| 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 |
| CPI | 10.000 | 10.017 | 10.317 | 11.758 | 13.733 | 16.667 | 19.850 | 18.175 | 17.167 | 17.375 | 17.717 | 18.108 | 18.425 | 18.258 | 17.692 | 17.650 | 17.458 | 15.958 | 14.083 | 12.633 | 12.717 | 13.267 | 13.533 | 14.092 | 13.992 | 13.717 | 13.792 | 14.517 | 15.958 | 16.850 | 17.108 | 17.475 | 19.033 | 22.108 | 24.033 | 24.008 | 24.250 | 26.158 | 26.725 | 26.958 | 27.358 | 27.542 | 27.925 | 28.833 | 29.708 | 29.950 | 30.367 | 30.517 | 30.833 | 31.142 | 31.267 | 31.683 | 32.633 | 33.483 | 34.900 | 36.808 | 38.917 | 40.450 | 41.600 | 44.208 | 48.883 | 52.742 | 55.267 | 58.742 | 63.850 | 71.817 | 82.175 | 90.042 | 96.183 | 100.017 | 103.792 | 107.708 | 109.958 | 114.492 | 118.967 | 124.983 | 131.700 | 137.042 | 141.058 | 145.408 | 148.592 | 153.317 | 157.417 | 161.725 | 164.983 | 168.400 | 173.808 | 178.333 | 181.175 | 184.508 | 188.633 | 194.342 | 198.325 | 204.818 | 212.536 | 209.995 | 212.870 | 218.684 | 222.005 | 224.545 | 228.468 | 227.792 | 229.302 | 233.611 | 237.706 | 241.181 | 243.873 | 254.159 | 273.356 | 282.450 | 292.225 | 300.760 |