$1 in 1946 is worth $18.41 today
A dollar in January 1946 had the same buying power as $18.41 in Aug 2026. Prices have risen 1741% since then. Change the amount or the months below.
US CPI data through Aug 2026, updated monthly. How we calculate$1 in Jan 1946 is worth, in Aug 2026
Prices rose 1740.5% in total, about 3.68% a year. Cash kept under the mattress since Jan 1946 now buys only 5% of what it used to.
US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data through Aug 2026. Oct 2025 was not published and is estimated from the months around it.
What $1 from 1946 is worth now
Prices in the US have risen 1741% since 1946, so it takes $18.41 today to buy what $1 bought then. Put the other way, $1 kept in cash since 1946 now buys only 5.4% of what it did.
That is an average of 3.7% a year over 81 years. Inflation was mostly low in the 1950s and early 1960s, before speeding up later in the decade.
For contrast, $1 put into the S&P 500 in January 1946, with dividends reinvested, would be worth about $5,448 today, 296× what inflation alone requires. Cash loses buying power; invested money has historically outgrown it.
| Year | Same buying power |
|---|---|
| 1946 | $1.00 |
| 1950 | $1.29 |
| 1960 | $1.61 |
| 1970 | $2.08 |
| 1980 | $4.27 |
| 1990 | $7.00 |
| 2000 | $9.27 |
| 2010 | $11.91 |
| 2020 | $14.17 |
| Aug 2026 | $18.41 |
CPI in January of each year; the last row uses the latest month.
Other years
Common questions
How much is $1 from 1946 worth today?
About $18.41 in Aug 2026 dollars, based on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from January 1946.
How much have prices gone up since 1946?
1741% in total, or about 3.7% a year on average.
What would $1 in 1946 buy today?
It buys about 5.4% of what it bought in 1946. You would need $18.41 to buy the same things.
How is this calculated?
Today's value = $1 × (latest CPI ÷ CPI in January 1946). CPI is the Bureau of Labor Statistics measure of the prices US households pay.
Based on the US Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all items, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Individual prices, such as homes, college or healthcare, rose faster or slower than the average.
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