$1 in 1915 is worth $1.63 in 1921

Value of $1 from 1915 to 1921

$1 in 1915 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.63 in 1921, an increase of $0.63 over 6 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 8.46% per year between 1915 and 1921, producing a cumulative price increase of 62.77%.

This means that prices in 1921 are 1.63 times as high as average prices since 1915, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1915 was 2.08%. The inflation rate in 1921 was -12.11%. The 1921 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.72% per year between 1921 and 2024.


Inflation from 1915 to 1921
Cumulative price change62.77%
Average inflation rate8.46%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.63
Price difference
$1 base
$0.63
CPI in 19156.133
CPI in 19219.983
Inflation in 19152.08%
Inflation in 1921-12.11%
$1 in 1915$1.63 in 1921

CAD inflation since 1915
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $1 in 1915

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $1 in 1915 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $1, you would need to end with $1.63 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $1 is equivalent to $1.63 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Canadian dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1915 dollars, the chart below shows how $1 is worth less over 6 years.

According to Statistics Canada, each of these CAD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1915-1921
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1915$1.002.08%
1916$1.098.97%
1917$1.2917.96%
1918$1.4513.11%
1919$1.599.53%
1920$1.8516.30%
1921$1.63-12.11%
1922$1.50-7.85%
1923$1.500.00%
1924$1.47-1.90%
1925$1.491.20%
1926$1.500.73%
1927$1.48-1.45%
1928$1.490.74%
1929$1.501.00%
1930$1.49-0.99%
1931$1.34-9.85%
1932$1.22-9.41%
1933$1.16-4.36%
1934$1.181.17%
1935$1.180.46%
1936$1.212.07%
1937$1.253.60%
1938$1.260.54%
1939$1.25-0.76%
1940$1.304.25%
1941$1.385.96%
1942$1.444.64%
1943$1.472.17%
1944$1.480.65%
1945$1.490.64%
1946$1.543.10%
1947$1.689.01%
1948$1.9214.26%
1949$1.983.48%
1950$2.042.67%
1951$2.2510.55%
1952$2.312.60%
1953$2.29-1.00%
1954$2.300.65%
1955$2.300.18%
1956$2.341.36%
1957$2.413.32%
1958$2.472.36%
1959$2.501.21%
1960$2.531.36%
1961$2.561.02%
1962$2.591.06%
1963$2.631.63%
1964$2.681.91%
1965$2.742.33%
1966$2.853.82%
1967$2.953.58%
1968$3.074.06%
1969$3.214.56%
1970$3.323.35%
1971$3.402.70%
1972$3.574.99%
1973$3.847.49%
1974$4.2611.00%
1975$4.7210.67%
1976$5.087.54%
1977$5.487.98%
1978$5.978.97%
1979$6.529.14%
1980$7.1810.13%
1981$8.0712.47%
1982$8.9410.77%
1983$9.475.86%
1984$9.884.30%
1985$10.273.96%
1986$10.704.19%
1987$11.164.36%
1988$11.614.03%
1989$12.194.98%
1990$12.784.78%
1991$13.495.63%
1992$13.701.49%
1993$13.951.87%
1994$13.970.17%
1995$14.272.15%
1996$14.501.57%
1997$14.731.62%
1998$14.881.00%
1999$15.141.73%
2000$15.552.72%
2001$15.942.53%
2002$16.302.26%
2003$16.752.76%
2004$17.061.86%
2005$17.442.21%
2006$17.792.00%
2007$18.172.14%
2008$18.602.37%
2009$18.660.30%
2010$18.991.78%
2011$19.542.91%
2012$19.841.52%
2013$20.020.94%
2014$20.411.91%
2015$20.641.13%
2016$20.931.43%
2017$21.261.60%
2018$21.752.27%
2019$22.171.95%
2020$22.330.72%
2021$23.093.40%
2022$24.666.80%
2023$25.603.81%
2024$25.891.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.

This conversion table shows various other 1915 amounts in 1921 dollars, based on the 62.77% change in prices:

Conversion: 1915 dollars in 1921
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1915$1.63 dollars in 1921
$5 dollars in 1915$8.14 dollars in 1921
$10 dollars in 1915$16.28 dollars in 1921
$50 dollars in 1915$81.39 dollars in 1921
$100 dollars in 1915$162.77 dollars in 1921
$500 dollars in 1915$813.86 dollars in 1921
$1,000 dollars in 1915$1,627.72 dollars in 1921
$5,000 dollars in 1915$8,138.59 dollars in 1921
$10,000 dollars in 1915$16,277.17 dollars in 1921
$50,000 dollars in 1915$81,385.87 dollars in 1921
$100,000 dollars in 1915$162,771.74 dollars in 1921
$500,000 dollars in 1915$813,858.70 dollars in 1921
$1,000,000 dollars in 1915$1,627,717.39 dollars in 1921

How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1915 to 1921

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1915 and 1921:

CPI in 1921 CPI in 1915
×
1915 CAD value
=
1921 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 6.133333333 in the year 1915 and 9.983333333 in 1921:

9.9833333336.133333333
×
$1
=
$1.63

$1 in 1915 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.63 in 1921.

To get the total inflation rate for the 6 years between 1915 and 1921, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1921 - CPI in 1915CPI in 1915
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (6 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

9.983333333 - 6.1333333336.133333333
×
100
=
63%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Canada's annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1914 and computed by Statistics Canada (StatCan).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$1 in 1915 → 1921 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/canada/inflation/1915?amount=1&endYear=1921.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.


Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

Email · LinkedIn · Twitter


» Read more about inflation and investment.

Inflation from 1915 to 1921
Cumulative price change62.77%
Average inflation rate8.46%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.63
Price difference
$1 base
$0.63
CPI in 19156.133
CPI in 19219.983
Inflation in 19152.08%
Inflation in 1921-12.11%
$1 in 1915$1.63 in 1921