$100 in 1930 → $1,305.99 in 2010
US inflation from 1930 to 2010 — total 1206.0%.
Value in 2010
$1,305.99
Total change
+1206.0%
Annual (CAGR)
3.26%
Years
80
Step-by-step
- 1930 CPI-U: 16.7
- 1970 CPI-U: 38.8 ($232)
- 2010 CPI-U: 218.1
- Formula: $100 × (218.1 / 16.7) = $1,305.99
What $100 actually bought
Inflation as an abstract number is hard to grasp. Concrete price anchors for 1930 vs 2010 make the change tangible.
In 1930, $100 would have bought:
- ~1.7% of a median US home ($5,800)
- ~16.7% of a new car ($600)
- ~500 gallons of gas (at $0.2/gal)
- ~179 gallons of milk (at $0.56/gal)
- ~5000 first-class postage stamps (at 2¢ each)
- ~7.3% of one year of median household income ($1,370)
Great Depression's first year.
Price anchor changes (1930 → 2010)
| Item | 1930 | 2010 | Change | vs CPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median home | $5,800 | $172,900 | +2881% | +1675% |
| New car | $600 | $28,800 | +4700% | +3494% |
| Gallon of gas | $0.20 | $2.78 | +1290% | +84% |
| Gallon of milk | $0.56 | $3.20 | +471% | -735% |
| First-class stamp | 2¢ | 44¢ | +2100% | +894% |
| Median HH income | $1,370 | $49,280 | +3497% | +2291% |
“vs CPI” shows how each category outpaced or trailed general inflation. Categories that beat CPI (homes, healthcare, college) felt more expensive than the headline number suggested. Categories that lagged (electronics, postage adjusted) felt cheaper.
Related
Common questions
- What is $100 in 1930 worth in 2010?
- About $1,306, an increase of 1206.0% over 80 years (roughly 3.26% per year). Calculation uses the BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, series CUUR0000SA0), annual averages.
- Why does CPI-U sometimes feel lower than my actual cost of living?
- CPI-U is a national average across a fixed basket. Personal inflation can run higher if rent, healthcare or college tuition dominate your spending — those categories have risen faster than the headline index. CPI-U is the official benchmark used for Social Security COLAs and federal tax bracket adjustments.
- What does the CAGR figure mean?
- Compound annual growth rate: the smoothed yearly rate that turns $100 in 1930 into $1,306 in 2010 if inflation were constant. Useful for comparing decades that had very different inflation patterns (e.g., 1970s vs 2010s).
Full data sources and formulas: /sources.