According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,428.24% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $528,450,403,022.67 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 2.61% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $37,000,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1920 would cost $565,450,403,022.67 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.67% 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 1920-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.63%), inflation in Chicago was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $37,000,000,000 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 | $37,000,000,000.00 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $33,877,833,753.15 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $31,998,320,738.87 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $32,386,649,874.06 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $33,023,509,655.75 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $33,753,568,429.89 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $34,343,828,715.37 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $34,033,165,407.22 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $32,976,910,159.53 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $32,899,244,332.49 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $32,541,981,528.13 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $29,746,011,754.83 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $26,251,049,538.20 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $23,548,278,757.35 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $23,703,610,411.42 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $24,728,799,328.30 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $25,225,860,621.33 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $26,266,582,703.61 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $26,080,184,718.72 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $25,567,590,260.29 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $25,707,388,748.95 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $27,058,774,139.38 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $29,746,011,754.83 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $31,408,060,453.40 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $31,889,588,581.02 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $32,573,047,858.94 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $35,477,749,790.09 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $41,209,487,825.36 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $44,797,649,034.42 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $44,751,049,538.20 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $45,201,511,335.01 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $48,758,606,213.27 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $49,814,861,460.96 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $50,249,790,092.36 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $50,995,382,031.91 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $51,337,111,670.86 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $52,051,637,279.60 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $53,744,752,308.98 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $55,375,734,676.74 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $55,826,196,473.55 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $56,602,854,743.91 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $56,882,451,721.24 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $57,472,712,006.72 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $58,047,439,126.78 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $58,280,436,607.89 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $59,057,094,878.25 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $60,827,875,734.68 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $62,412,258,606.21 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $65,052,896,725.44 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $68,609,991,603.69 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $72,539,882,451.72 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $75,397,984,886.65 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $77,541,561,712.85 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $82,403,442,485.31 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $91,117,548,278.76 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $98,309,403,862.30 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $103,015,952,980.69 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $109,493,282,955.50 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $119,015,113,350.13 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $133,864,819,479.43 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $153,172,544,080.60 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $167,835,852,225.02 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $179,283,795,130.14 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $186,429,051,217.46 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $193,465,575,146.94 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $200,766,162,888.33 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $204,960,117,548.28 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $213,410,159,529.81 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $221,751,469,353.48 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $232,966,414,777.50 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $245,486,146,095.72 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $255,442,905,121.75 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $262,929,890,848.03 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $271,038,203,190.60 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $276,971,872,376.15 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $285,779,177,162.05 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $293,421,494,542.40 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $301,452,141,057.93 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $307,525,608,732.16 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $313,894,206,549.12 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $323,975,230,898.40 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $332,409,739,714.53 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $337,706,549,118.39 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $343,919,815,281.28 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $351,608,732,157.85 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $362,248,950,461.80 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $369,673,803,526.45 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $381,775,848,026.87 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $396,162,044,500.42 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $391,426,603,694.37 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $396,786,167,086.48 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $407,622,879,932.83 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $413,812,380,352.64 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $418,547,665,827.04 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $425,859,282,115.87 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $424,600,319,059.61 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $427,413,841,309.82 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $435,446,817,800.17 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $443,079,659,949.62 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $449,555,902,602.85 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $454,573,891,687.66 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $473,747,409,739.71 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $509,530,230,898.40 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $526,480,176,322.42 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $544,701,511,335.01 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $561,993,807,724.60 | 3.17% |
| 2026 | $565,450,403,022.67 | 0.62%* |
* 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 | 2026 |
| 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 | 301.502 | 303.356 |