U.S. inflation rate in 1850: 1.30%

Inflation in 1850 and its effect on dollar value

$1 in 1849 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.01 in 1850. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 1.30% per year between 1849 and 1850, producing a cumulative price increase of 1.30%. Purchasing power decreased by 1.30% in 1850 compared to 1849. On average, you would have to spend 1.30% more money in 1850 than in 1849 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1850 are 1.01 times as high as average prices since 1849, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1849 was -2.53%. The inflation rate in 1850 was 1.30%. The 1850 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.15% per year between 1850 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI in 1850 was 7.80. It was 7.70 in the previous year, 1849. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to officially determine inflation.


Inflation from 1849 to 1850
Average inflation rate1.30%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.01
Price difference
$1 base
$0.01
CPI in 18497.700
CPI in 18507.800
Inflation in 1849-2.53%
Inflation in 18501.30%
$1 in 1849$1.01 in 1850

Recent USD inflation
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI
Download

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £1.00 in 1849 would be equivalent to £0.94 in 1850, an absolute change of £-0.06 and a cumulative change of -5.62%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $0.01 and total percent change of 1.30%.


Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. Breaking down these categories helps explain the main drivers behind price changes.

This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1849 and 1850.

Compare these values to the overall average of 1.30% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$1 in 1849 → 1850
Food and beverages0.000.001.00
Housing0.000.001.00
Apparel0.000.001.00
Transportation0.000.001.00
Medical care0.000.001.00
Recreation0.000.001.00
Education and communication0.000.001.00
Other goods and services0.000.001.00

For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1849. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.



How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1849 to 1850

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1849 and 1850:

CPI in 1850 CPI in 1849
×
1849 USD value
=
1850 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 7.7 in the year 1849 and 7.8 in 1850:

7.87.7
×
$1
=
$1.01

$1 in 1849 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.01 in 1850.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1849 and 1850, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1850 - CPI in 1849CPI in 1849
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

7.8 - 7.77.7
×
100
=
1%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (CPI), established in 1913. Price index data from 1774 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University and from the American Antiquarian Society. Price index data from 1634 to 1773 is from the American Antiquarian Society, using British pound equivalents.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “Inflation Rate in 1850 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 14 Nov. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/inflation-rate-in-1850.

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 1849 to 1850
Average inflation rate1.30%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.01
Price difference
$1 base
$0.01
CPI in 18497.700
CPI in 18507.800
Inflation in 1849-2.53%
Inflation in 18501.30%
$1 in 1849$1.01 in 1850