According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,415.17% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $3,537,914,042,821,159 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, $250,000,000,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1920 would cost $3,787,914,042,821,159 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 $250,000,000,000,000 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 | $250,000,000,000,000.00 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $228,904,282,115,869.03 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $216,204,869,857,262.84 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $218,828,715,365,239.28 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $223,131,821,998,320.75 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $228,064,651,553,316.56 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $232,052,896,725,440.84 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $229,953,820,319,059.69 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $222,816,960,537,363.56 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $222,292,191,435,768.31 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $219,878,253,568,429.91 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $200,986,565,910,999.19 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $177,371,956,339,210.78 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $159,109,991,603,694.38 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $160,159,529,806,884.97 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $167,086,481,947,942.94 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $170,445,004,198,152.84 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $177,476,910,159,529.81 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $176,217,464,315,701.13 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $172,753,988,245,172.13 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $173,698,572,628,043.66 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $182,829,554,995,801.84 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $200,986,565,910,999.19 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $212,216,624,685,138.53 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $215,470,193,115,029.41 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $220,088,161,209,068.09 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $239,714,525,608,732.25 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $278,442,485,306,465.19 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $302,686,817,800,167.94 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $302,371,956,339,210.81 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $305,415,617,128,463.50 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $329,450,041,981,528.06 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $336,586,901,763,224.19 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $339,525,608,732,157.94 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $344,563,392,107,472.81 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $346,872,376,154,492.06 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $351,700,251,889,168.81 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $363,140,218,303,946.31 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $374,160,369,437,447.50 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $377,204,030,226,700.31 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $382,451,721,242,653.25 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $384,340,890,008,396.31 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $388,329,135,180,520.63 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $392,212,426,532,325.75 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $393,786,733,837,111.69 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $399,034,424,853,064.75 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $410,999,160,369,437.50 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $421,704,450,041,981.63 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $439,546,599,496,221.69 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $463,581,024,349,286.31 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $490,134,340,890,008.50 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $509,445,843,828,715.25 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $523,929,471,032,745.63 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $556,780,016,792,611.38 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $615,659,109,991,603.88 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $664,252,728,799,328.38 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $696,053,736,356,003.50 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $739,819,479,429,051.25 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $804,156,171,284,634.88 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $904,492,023,509,655.88 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $1,034,949,622,166,247.00 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $1,134,026,028,547,439.25 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $1,211,376,994,122,586.25 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $1,259,655,751,469,353.75 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $1,307,199,832,073,887.75 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $1,356,528,127,623,845.50 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $1,384,865,659,109,991.75 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $1,441,960,537,363,560.25 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $1,498,320,738,874,895.00 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $1,574,097,397,145,256.25 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $1,658,690,176,322,418.50 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $1,725,965,575,146,935.25 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $1,776,553,316,540,722.50 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $1,831,339,210,747,271.25 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $1,871,431,570,109,152.00 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $1,930,940,386,230,059.00 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $1,982,577,665,827,036.25 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $2,036,838,790,931,990.00 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $2,077,875,734,676,742.00 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $2,120,906,801,007,557.00 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $2,189,021,830,394,626.25 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $2,246,011,754,827,875.75 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $2,281,801,007,556,675.00 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $2,323,782,535,684,299.00 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $2,375,734,676,742,233.50 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $2,447,628,043,660,789.50 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $2,497,795,969,773,300.50 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $2,579,566,540,722,082.50 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $2,676,770,570,948,783.00 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $2,644,774,349,286,314.00 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $2,680,987,615,449,202.50 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $2,754,208,648,194,794.50 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $2,796,029,596,977,330.00 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $2,828,024,769,101,595.50 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $2,877,427,581,863,980.00 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $2,868,921,074,727,120.00 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $2,887,931,360,201,511.50 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $2,942,208,228,379,514.00 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $2,993,781,486,146,095.50 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $3,037,539,882,451,721.50 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $3,071,445,214,105,794.00 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $3,200,996,011,754,829.00 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $3,442,771,830,394,627.00 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $3,557,298,488,664,988.00 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $3,680,415,617,128,462.50 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $3,787,914,042,821,159.00 | 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 |