According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 2,457.85% higher in 2025 versus 1917 (a $172,049,408,221.12 difference in value).
Between 1917 and 2025: Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 3.05% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $7,000,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1917 would cost $179,049,408,221.12 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.03% during this same period, inflation in Chicago was higher.
In the year 1917: Pricing changed by 13.97%, which is significantly above the average yearly change in Chicago during the 1917-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1917 (17.81%), inflation in Chicago was much lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $7,000,000,000 beginning in 1917. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1917 | $7,000,000,000.00 | 13.97% |
| 1918 | $8,175,761,871.01 | 16.80% |
| 1919 | $9,922,041,105.60 | 21.36% |
| 1920 | $11,817,150,956.77 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $10,819,985,825.66 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $10,219,702,338.77 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $10,343,727,852.59 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $10,547,129,695.25 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $10,780,297,661.23 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $10,968,816,442.24 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $10,869,596,031.18 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $10,532,246,633.59 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $10,507,441,530.83 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $10,393,338,058.11 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $9,500,354,358.61 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $8,384,124,734.23 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $7,520,907,158.04 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $7,570,517,363.57 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $7,897,944,720.06 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $8,056,697,377.75 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $8,389,085,754.78 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $8,329,553,508.15 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $8,165,839,829.91 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $8,210,489,014.88 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $8,642,097,802.98 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $9,500,354,358.61 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $10,031,183,557.76 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $10,184,975,194.90 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $10,403,260,099.22 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $11,330,970,942.59 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $13,161,587,526.58 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $14,307,583,274.27 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $14,292,700,212.62 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $14,436,569,808.65 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $15,572,643,515.24 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $15,909,992,912.83 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $16,048,901,488.31 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $16,287,030,474.84 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $16,396,172,927.00 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $16,624,379,872.43 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $17,165,131,112.69 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $17,686,038,270.73 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $17,829,907,866.76 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $18,077,958,894.40 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $18,167,257,264.35 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $18,355,776,045.36 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $18,539,333,805.81 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $18,613,749,114.10 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $18,861,800,141.74 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $19,427,356,484.76 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $19,933,380,581.15 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $20,776,754,075.12 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $21,912,827,781.72 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $23,167,965,981.57 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $24,080,793,763.29 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $24,765,414,599.57 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $26,318,214,032.60 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $29,101,346,562.72 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $31,398,299,078.67 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $32,901,488,306.17 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $34,970,233,876.68 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $38,011,339,475.55 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $42,754,075,124.03 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $48,920,623,671.16 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $53,603,827,073.00 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $57,260,099,220.41 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $59,542,168,674.70 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $61,789,510,985.12 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $64,121,190,644.93 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $65,460,666,194.19 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $68,159,461,374.91 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $70,823,529,411.76 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $74,405,386,250.89 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $78,403,968,816.44 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $81,583,982,990.79 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $83,975,194,897.24 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $86,564,847,625.80 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $88,459,957,476.97 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $91,272,856,130.40 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $93,713,678,242.38 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $96,278,525,868.18 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $98,218,284,904.32 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $100,252,303,330.97 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $103,472,005,669.74 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $106,165,839,829.91 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $107,857,547,838.41 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $109,841,956,059.53 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $112,297,661,233.17 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $115,695,960,311.84 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $118,067,328,136.07 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $121,932,508,858.97 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $126,527,207,654.15 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $125,014,790,928.42 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $126,726,541,459.96 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $130,187,597,448.62 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $132,164,415,308.29 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $133,676,782,423.81 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $136,011,984,408.22 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $135,609,893,692.42 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $136,508,483,345.15 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $139,074,075,124.03 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $141,511,871,013.47 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $143,580,269,312.54 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $145,182,927,002.13 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $151,306,612,331.68 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $162,735,017,717.93 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $168,148,532,955.35 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $173,968,107,725.02 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $179,049,408,221.12 | 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 |