According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,415.17% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $1,771,504,319,521.41 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, $125,180,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1920 would cost $1,896,684,319,521.41 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 $125,180,000,000 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 | $125,180,000,000.00 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $114,616,952,141.06 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $108,258,102,434.93 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $109,571,914,357.68 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $111,726,565,911.00 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $114,196,532,325.78 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $116,193,526,448.36 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $115,142,476,910.16 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $111,568,908,480.27 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $111,306,146,095.72 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $110,097,439,126.78 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $100,637,993,282.96 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $88,813,685,978.17 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $79,669,554,995.80 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $80,195,079,764.90 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $83,663,543,240.97 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $85,345,222,502.10 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $88,866,238,455.08 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $88,235,608,732.16 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $86,501,376,994.12 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $86,974,349,286.31 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $91,546,414,777.50 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $100,637,993,282.96 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $106,261,108,312.34 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $107,890,235,096.56 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $110,202,544,080.60 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $120,029,857,262.80 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $139,421,721,242.65 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $151,561,343,408.90 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $151,403,685,978.17 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $152,927,707,808.56 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $164,962,225,020.99 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $168,535,793,450.88 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $170,007,262,804.37 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $172,529,781,696.05 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $173,685,936,188.08 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $176,103,350,125.94 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $181,831,570,109.15 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $187,349,580,184.72 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $188,873,602,015.11 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $191,501,225,860.62 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $192,447,170,445.00 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $194,444,164,567.59 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $196,388,606,213.27 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $197,176,893,366.92 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $199,804,517,212.43 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $205,795,499,580.18 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $211,155,852,225.02 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $220,089,773,299.75 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $232,124,290,512.17 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $245,420,067,170.45 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $255,089,722,921.91 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $262,341,964,735.52 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $278,790,890,008.40 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $308,272,829,555.00 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $332,604,626,364.40 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $348,528,026,868.18 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $370,442,409,739.71 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $402,657,078,085.64 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $452,897,246,011.75 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $518,219,974,811.08 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $567,829,513,014.27 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $606,560,688,497.06 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $630,734,827,875.73 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $654,541,099,916.04 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $679,240,764,063.81 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $693,429,932,829.56 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $722,018,480,268.68 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $750,239,160,369.44 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $788,182,048,698.57 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $830,539,345,088.16 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $864,225,482,787.57 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $889,555,776,658.27 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $916,988,169,605.37 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $937,063,215,785.05 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $966,860,470,193.12 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $992,716,288,832.91 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $1,019,885,919,395.47 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $1,040,433,937,867.34 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $1,061,980,453,400.50 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $1,096,087,010,915.20 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $1,124,623,005,877.41 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $1,142,543,400,503.78 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $1,163,564,391,267.84 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $1,189,577,867,338.37 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $1,225,576,314,021.83 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $1,250,696,397,984.89 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $1,291,640,558,270.36 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $1,340,312,560,285.47 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $1,324,291,412,174.64 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $1,342,424,118,807.72 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $1,379,087,354,324.10 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $1,400,027,939,798.49 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $1,416,048,562,384.55 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $1,440,785,538,790.93 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $1,436,526,160,537.36 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $1,446,044,990,680.10 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $1,473,222,504,114.19 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $1,499,046,265,743.07 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $1,520,956,969,941.23 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $1,537,934,047,607.05 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $1,602,802,723,005.88 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $1,723,864,710,915.20 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $1,781,210,499,244.33 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $1,842,857,707,808.56 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $1,896,684,319,521.41 | 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 |