$100 in 1950 is worth $1,097.13 in 2020

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Value of $100 from 1950 to 2020

$100 in 1950 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,097.13 in 2020, an increase of $997.13 over 70 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.48% per year between 1950 and 2020, producing a cumulative price increase of 997.13%.

This means that prices in 2020 are 10.97 times as high as average prices since 1950, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1950 was 2.67%. The inflation rate in 2020 was 0.72%. The 2020 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.77% per year between 2020 and 2024.


Inflation from 1950 to 2020
Cumulative price change997.13%
Average inflation rate3.48%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,097.13
Price difference
$100 base
$997.13
CPI in 195012.483
CPI in 2020136.958
Inflation in 19502.67%
Inflation in 20200.72%
$100 in 1950$1,097.13 in 2020

CAD inflation since 1950
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1950

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1950 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $1,097.13 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $1,097.13 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 1950 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 70 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: 1950-2020
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1950$100.002.67%
1951$110.5510.55%
1952$113.422.60%
1953$112.28-1.00%
1954$113.020.65%
1955$113.220.18%
1956$114.751.36%
1957$118.563.32%
1958$121.362.36%
1959$122.831.21%
1960$124.501.36%
1961$125.771.02%
1962$127.101.06%
1963$129.171.63%
1964$131.641.91%
1965$134.712.33%
1966$139.853.82%
1967$144.863.58%
1968$150.734.06%
1969$157.614.56%
1970$162.883.35%
1971$167.292.70%
1972$175.634.99%
1973$188.797.49%
1974$209.5511.00%
1975$231.9110.67%
1976$249.407.54%
1977$269.297.98%
1978$293.468.97%
1979$320.299.14%
1980$352.7410.13%
1981$396.7312.47%
1982$439.4510.77%
1983$465.225.86%
1984$485.254.30%
1985$504.473.96%
1986$525.634.19%
1987$548.534.36%
1988$570.634.03%
1989$599.074.98%
1990$627.704.78%
1991$663.025.63%
1992$672.901.49%
1993$685.451.87%
1994$686.580.17%
1995$701.342.15%
1996$712.351.57%
1997$723.901.62%
1998$731.111.00%
1999$743.791.73%
2000$764.022.72%
2001$783.312.53%
2002$801.002.26%
2003$823.102.76%
2004$838.381.86%
2005$856.942.21%
2006$874.102.00%
2007$892.792.14%
2008$913.952.37%
2009$916.690.30%
2010$932.981.78%
2011$960.152.91%
2012$974.701.52%
2013$983.850.94%
2014$1,002.601.91%
2015$1,013.891.13%
2016$1,028.371.43%
2017$1,044.791.60%
2018$1,068.492.27%
2019$1,089.321.95%
2020$1,097.130.72%
2021$1,134.383.40%
2022$1,211.556.80%
2023$1,257.683.81%
2024$1,272.101.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 64 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1950 amounts in 2020 dollars, based on the 997.13% change in prices:

Conversion: 1950 dollars in 2020
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1950$10.97 dollars in 2020
$5 dollars in 1950$54.86 dollars in 2020
$10 dollars in 1950$109.71 dollars in 2020
$50 dollars in 1950$548.56 dollars in 2020
$100 dollars in 1950$1,097.13 dollars in 2020
$500 dollars in 1950$5,485.65 dollars in 2020
$1,000 dollars in 1950$10,971.30 dollars in 2020
$5,000 dollars in 1950$54,856.48 dollars in 2020
$10,000 dollars in 1950$109,712.95 dollars in 2020
$50,000 dollars in 1950$548,564.75 dollars in 2020
$100,000 dollars in 1950$1,097,129.51 dollars in 2020
$500,000 dollars in 1950$5,485,647.53 dollars in 2020
$1,000,000 dollars in 1950$10,971,295.06 dollars in 2020

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1950 to 2020

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1950 and 2020:

CPI in 2020 CPI in 1950
×
1950 CAD value
=
2020 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 12.48333333 in the year 1950 and 136.95833333333334 in 2020:

136.9583333333333412.48333333
×
$100
=
$1,097.13

$100 in 1950 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1,097.13 in 2020.

To get the total inflation rate for the 70 years between 1950 and 2020, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2020 - CPI in 1950CPI in 1950
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (70 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

136.95833333333334 - 12.4833333312.48333333
×
100
=
997%

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: “$100 in 1950 → 2020 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/canada/inflation/1950?amount=100&endYear=2020.

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.

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Inflation from 1950 to 2020
Cumulative price change997.13%
Average inflation rate3.48%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,097.13
Price difference
$100 base
$997.13
CPI in 195012.483
CPI in 2020136.958
Inflation in 19502.67%
Inflation in 20200.72%
$100 in 1950$1,097.13 in 2020