According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,415.17% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $1,415,165,617,128,463,616 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2025: Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 2.62% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $100,000,000,000,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1920 would cost $1,515,165,617,128,463,616 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.68% during this same period, inflation in Chicago was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 19.10%, which is significantly above the average yearly change in Chicago during the 1920-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.62%), inflation in Chicago was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $100,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1920. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | $100,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $91,561,712,846,347,616.00 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $86,481,947,942,905,136.00 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $87,531,486,146,095,728.00 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $89,252,728,799,328,304.00 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $91,225,860,621,326,608.00 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $92,821,158,690,176,352.00 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $91,981,528,127,623,872.00 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $89,126,784,214,945,440.00 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $88,916,876,574,307,328.00 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $87,951,301,427,371,968.00 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $80,394,626,364,399,680.00 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $70,948,782,535,684,312.00 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $63,643,996,641,477,752.00 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $64,063,811,922,754,000.00 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $66,834,592,779,177,176.00 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $68,178,001,679,261,136.00 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $70,990,764,063,811,944.00 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $70,486,985,726,280,448.00 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $69,101,595,298,068,856.00 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $69,479,429,051,217,456.00 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $73,131,821,998,320,736.00 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $80,394,626,364,399,680.00 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $84,886,649,874,055,408.00 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $86,188,077,246,011,776.00 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $88,035,264,483,627,232.00 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $95,885,810,243,492,880.00 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $111,376,994,122,586,064.00 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $121,074,727,120,067,168.00 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $120,948,782,535,684,320.00 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $122,166,246,851,385,408.00 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $131,780,016,792,611,248.00 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $134,634,760,705,289,680.00 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $135,810,243,492,863,136.00 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $137,825,356,842,989,104.00 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $138,748,950,461,796,848.00 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $140,680,100,755,667,520.00 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $145,256,087,321,578,496.00 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $149,664,147,774,978,976.00 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $150,881,612,090,680,128.00 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $152,980,688,497,061,280.00 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $153,736,356,003,358,528.00 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $155,331,654,072,208,224.00 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $156,884,970,612,930,304.00 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $157,514,693,534,844,672.00 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $159,613,769,941,225,888.00 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $164,399,664,147,775,008.00 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $168,681,780,016,792,640.00 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $175,818,639,798,488,672.00 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $185,432,409,739,714,528.00 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $196,053,736,356,003,360.00 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $203,778,337,531,486,112.00 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $209,571,788,413,098,272.00 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $222,712,006,717,044,544.00 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $246,263,643,996,641,472.00 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $265,701,091,519,731,328.00 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $278,421,494,542,401,376.00 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $295,927,791,771,620,544.00 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $321,662,468,513,853,952.00 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $361,796,809,403,862,336.00 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $413,979,848,866,498,816.00 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $453,610,411,418,975,744.00 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $484,550,797,649,034,496.00 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $503,862,300,587,741,440.00 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $522,879,932,829,555,200.00 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $542,611,251,049,538,176.00 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $553,946,263,643,996,544.00 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $576,784,214,945,424,128.00 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $599,328,295,549,958,016.00 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $629,638,958,858,102,528.00 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $663,476,070,528,967,424.00 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $690,386,230,058,774,144.00 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $710,621,326,616,288,896.00 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $732,535,684,298,908,416.00 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $748,572,628,043,660,800.00 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $772,376,154,492,023,552.00 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $793,031,066,330,814,592.00 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $814,735,516,372,796,032.00 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $831,150,293,870,696,960.00 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $848,362,720,403,022,592.00 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $875,608,732,157,850,368.00 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $898,404,701,931,150,592.00 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $912,720,403,022,670,080.00 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $929,513,014,273,719,680.00 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $950,293,870,696,893,440.00 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $979,051,217,464,315,904.00 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $999,118,387,909,320,064.00 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $1,031,826,616,288,833,152.00 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $1,070,708,228,379,513,216.00 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $1,057,909,739,714,525,696.00 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $1,072,395,046,179,681,280.00 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $1,101,683,459,277,918,080.00 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $1,118,411,838,790,931,712.00 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $1,131,209,907,640,638,208.00 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $1,150,971,032,745,591,936.00 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $1,147,568,429,890,848,000.00 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $1,155,172,544,080,604,672.00 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $1,176,883,291,351,805,440.00 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $1,197,512,594,458,438,400.00 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $1,215,015,952,980,688,640.00 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $1,228,578,085,642,317,568.00 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $1,280,398,404,701,931,520.00 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $1,377,108,732,157,851,136.00 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $1,422,919,395,465,995,008.00 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $1,472,166,246,851,385,344.00 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $1,515,165,617,128,463,616.00 | 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 |