Buying power of $50,000 in 1919

This chart shows calculation of buying power equivalence, often referred to as "the value of a dollar" over time for $50,000 in 1919 (price index tracking began in 1635).

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:

Inflation by City

Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1919 to 2019 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $50,000):

• San Francisco, California: 3.05% average rate, $50,000 → $1,008,649.03, cumulative change of 1,917.30%
• Seattle, Washington: 2.90% average rate, $50,000 → $870,485.46, cumulative change of 1,640.97%
• New York: 2.82% average rate, $50,000 → $809,719.09, cumulative change of 1,519.44%
• Boston, Massachusetts: 2.81% average rate, $50,000 → $799,778.52, cumulative change of 1,499.56%
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2.72% average rate, $50,000 → $734,735.56, cumulative change of 1,369.47%
• Chicago, Illinois: 2.71% average rate, $50,000 → $722,828.40, cumulative change of 1,345.66%
• Houston, Texas: 2.67% average rate, $50,000 → $698,433.60, cumulative change of 1,296.87%
• Detroit, Michigan: 2.62% average rate, $50,000 → $664,978.55, cumulative change of 1,229.96%
• Atlanta, Georgia: 2.59% average rate, $50,000 → $647,115.99, cumulative change of 1,194.23%

San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 100 years between 1919 and 2019 (3.05%).

Atlanta, Georgia experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 100 years between 1919 and 2019 (2.59%).

Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data.

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £50,000.00 in 1919 would be equivalent to £2,560,324.27 in 2019, an absolute change of £2,510,324.27 and a cumulative change of 5,020.65%.

In Canada, CA$50,000.00 in 1919 would be equivalent to CA$653,921.57 in 2019, an absolute change of CA$603,921.57 and a cumulative change of 1,207.84%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $693,774.57 and total percent change of 1,387.55%.

Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1919 and 2019.

Compare these values to the overall average of 2.74% per year:

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 1919. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.

How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $50,000 since 1919

This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 17.3 in the year 1919 and 257.346 in 2019:

$50,000 in 1919 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $743,774.57 in 2019.

To get the total inflation rate for the 100 years between 1919 and 2019, we use the following formula:

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

The average inflation rate of 2.74% has a compounding effect between 1919 and 2019. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 1,387.55% over 100 years.

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $50,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1919, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $943,877,630.46 in 2019. This is a return on investment of 1,887,555.26%, with an absolute return of $943,827,630.46 on top of the original $50,000.

These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.

The compounding effect of inflation would account for 93.28% of returns ($880,379,129.19) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $50,000 investment is $63,448,501.27. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $53,931,226 for most people.

News headlines from 1919

Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:

• The German Farmer's Party, which would later develop into National Socialist Party, is formed.
• The Bolshevik party re-establishes the idea of a five-member Politburo at the 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party, making it the central body of political power in the Soviet Union. Its first members were Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Nikolai Krestinsky.
• The Turkish War of Independence begins after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's lands at Samsun, on the Black Sea.
• The Treaty of Versailles is signed ending World War I and establishing the League of Nations.

Data Source & Citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.

» Read more about inflation and investment.