$300 in 1865 is worth $5,386.30 in 2022

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Value of $300 from 1865 to 2022

$300 in 1865 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $5,386.30 in 2022, an increase of $5,086.30 over 157 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 1.86% per year between 1865 and 2022, producing a cumulative price increase of 1,695.43%.

This means that prices in 2022 are 17.95 times as high as average prices since 1865, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1865 was 3.82%. The inflation rate in 2022 was 8.00%. The 2022 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.97% per year between 2022 and 2024.


Inflation from 1865 to 2022
Cumulative price change1,695.43%
Average inflation rate1.86%
Converted amount
$300 base
$5,386.30
Price difference
$300 base
$5,086.30
CPI in 186516.300
CPI in 2022292.656
Inflation in 18653.82%
Inflation in 20228.00%
$300 in 1865$5,386.30 in 2022

USD inflation since 1865
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI
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Buying power of $300 in 1865

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $300 in 1865 (price index tracking began in 1635).

For example, if you started with $300, you would need to end with $5,386.30 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $300 is equivalent to $5,386.30 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.S. 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 1865 dollars, the chart below shows how $300 is worth less over 157 years.

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

Dollar inflation: 1865-2022
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1865$300.003.82%
1866$292.64-2.45%
1867$272.39-6.92%
1868$261.35-4.05%
1869$250.31-4.23%
1870$241.10-3.68%
1871$224.54-6.87%
1872$224.540.00%
1873$220.86-1.64%
1874$209.82-5.00%
1875$202.45-3.51%
1876$196.93-2.73%
1877$193.25-1.87%
1878$184.05-4.76%
1879$184.050.00%
1880$187.732.00%
1881$187.730.00%
1882$187.730.00%
1883$185.89-0.98%
1884$180.37-2.97%
1885$178.53-1.02%
1886$173.01-3.09%
1887$174.851.06%
1888$174.850.00%
1889$169.33-3.16%
1890$167.48-1.09%
1891$167.480.00%
1892$167.480.00%
1893$165.64-1.10%
1894$158.28-4.44%
1895$154.60-2.33%
1896$154.600.00%
1897$152.76-1.19%
1898$152.760.00%
1899$152.760.00%
1900$154.601.20%
1901$156.441.19%
1902$158.281.18%
1903$161.962.33%
1904$163.801.14%
1905$161.96-1.12%
1906$165.642.27%
1907$173.014.44%
1908$169.33-2.13%
1909$167.48-1.09%
1910$174.854.40%
1911$174.850.00%
1912$178.532.11%
1913$182.212.06%
1914$184.051.01%
1915$185.891.00%
1916$200.617.92%
1917$235.5817.43%
1918$277.9117.97%
1919$318.4014.57%
1920$368.1015.61%
1921$329.45-10.50%
1922$309.20-6.15%
1923$314.721.79%
1924$314.720.00%
1925$322.092.34%
1926$325.771.14%
1927$320.25-1.69%
1928$314.72-1.72%
1929$314.720.00%
1930$307.36-2.34%
1931$279.75-8.98%
1932$252.15-9.87%
1933$239.26-5.11%
1934$246.633.08%
1935$252.152.24%
1936$255.831.46%
1937$265.033.60%
1938$259.51-2.08%
1939$255.83-1.42%
1940$257.670.72%
1941$270.555.00%
1942$300.0010.88%
1943$318.406.13%
1944$323.931.73%
1945$331.292.27%
1946$358.908.33%
1947$410.4314.36%
1948$443.568.07%
1949$438.04-1.24%
1950$443.561.26%
1951$478.537.88%
1952$487.731.92%
1953$491.410.75%
1954$495.090.75%
1955$493.25-0.37%
1956$500.611.49%
1957$517.183.31%
1958$531.902.85%
1959$535.580.69%
1960$544.791.72%
1961$550.311.01%
1962$555.831.00%
1963$563.191.32%
1964$570.551.31%
1965$579.751.61%
1966$596.322.86%
1967$614.723.09%
1968$640.494.19%
1969$675.465.46%
1970$714.115.72%
1971$745.404.38%
1972$769.333.21%
1973$817.186.22%
1974$907.3611.04%
1975$990.189.13%
1976$1,047.245.76%
1977$1,115.346.50%
1978$1,200.007.59%
1979$1,336.2011.35%
1980$1,516.5613.50%
1981$1,673.0110.32%
1982$1,776.076.16%
1983$1,833.133.21%
1984$1,912.274.32%
1985$1,980.373.56%
1986$2,017.181.86%
1987$2,090.803.65%
1988$2,177.304.14%
1989$2,282.214.82%
1990$2,405.525.40%
1991$2,506.754.21%
1992$2,582.213.01%
1993$2,659.512.99%
1994$2,727.612.56%
1995$2,804.912.83%
1996$2,887.732.95%
1997$2,953.992.29%
1998$3,000.001.56%
1999$3,066.262.21%
2000$3,169.333.36%
2001$3,259.512.85%
2002$3,311.041.58%
2003$3,386.502.28%
2004$3,476.692.66%
2005$3,594.483.39%
2006$3,710.433.23%
2007$3,816.112.85%
2008$3,962.633.84%
2009$3,948.53-0.36%
2010$4,013.301.64%
2011$4,139.983.16%
2012$4,225.662.07%
2013$4,287.551.46%
2014$4,357.101.62%
2015$4,362.280.12%
2016$4,417.311.26%
2017$4,511.412.13%
2018$4,623.872.49%
2019$4,705.351.76%
2020$4,763.401.23%
2021$4,987.184.70%
2022$5,386.308.00%
2023$5,608.024.12%
2024$5,711.521.85%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
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This conversion table shows various other 1865 amounts in 2022 dollars, based on the 1,695.43% change in prices:

Conversion: 1865 dollars in 2022
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1865$17.95 dollars in 2022
$5 dollars in 1865$89.77 dollars in 2022
$10 dollars in 1865$179.54 dollars in 2022
$50 dollars in 1865$897.72 dollars in 2022
$100 dollars in 1865$1,795.43 dollars in 2022
$500 dollars in 1865$8,977.17 dollars in 2022
$1,000 dollars in 1865$17,954.35 dollars in 2022
$5,000 dollars in 1865$89,771.73 dollars in 2022
$10,000 dollars in 1865$179,543.46 dollars in 2022
$50,000 dollars in 1865$897,717.28 dollars in 2022
$100,000 dollars in 1865$1,795,434.56 dollars in 2022
$500,000 dollars in 1865$8,977,172.80 dollars in 2022
$1,000,000 dollars in 1865$17,954,345.60 dollars in 2022

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £300.00 in 1865 would be equivalent to £42,461.85 in 2022, an absolute change of £42,161.85 and a cumulative change of 14,053.95%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $5,086.30 and total percent change of 1,695.43%.


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 1865 and 2022.

Compare these values to the overall average of 1.86% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$300 in 1865 → 2022
Food and beverages4.0147,502.26142,806.78
Housing4.2366,865.91200,897.72
Apparel1.992,091.946,575.82
Transportation3.4319,737.6559,512.94
Medical care4.68131,788.87395,666.61
Recreation1.27626.482,179.43
Education and communication1.811,572.065,016.18
Other goods and services4.98204,344.22613,332.65

The graph below compares inflation in categories of goods over time. Click on a category such as "Food" to toggle it on or off:

For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1865. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.



How to calculate inflation rate for $300, 1865 to 2022

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1865 and 2022:

CPI in 2022 CPI in 1865
×
1865 USD value
=
2022 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 16.3 in the year 1865 and 292.65583333333 in 2022:

292.6558333333316.3
×
$300
=
$5,386.30

$300 in 1865 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $5,386.30 in 2022.

To get the total inflation rate for the 157 years between 1865 and 2022, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2022 - CPI in 1865CPI in 1865
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (157 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

292.65583333333 - 16.316.3
×
100
=
1,695%

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: “$300 in 1865 → 2022 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1865?amount=300&endYear=2022.

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 1865 to 2022
Cumulative price change1,695.43%
Average inflation rate1.86%
Converted amount
$300 base
$5,386.30
Price difference
$300 base
$5,086.30
CPI in 186516.300
CPI in 2022292.656
Inflation in 18653.82%
Inflation in 20228.00%
$300 in 1865$5,386.30 in 2022