$1 in 1959 is worth $11.55 today
A dollar in January 1959 had the same buying power as $11.55 in Aug 2026. Prices have risen 1055% since then. Change the amount or the months below.
US CPI data through Aug 2026, updated monthly. How we calculate$1 in Jan 1959 is worth, in Aug 2026
Prices rose 1055.1% in total, about 3.69% a year. Cash kept under the mattress since Jan 1959 now buys only 9% 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 1959 is worth now
Prices in the US have risen 1055% since 1959, so it takes $11.55 today to buy what $1 bought then. Put the other way, $1 kept in cash since 1959 now buys only 8.7% of what it did.
That is an average of 3.7% a year over 68 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 1959, with dividends reinvested, would be worth about $903 today, 78× what inflation alone requires. Cash loses buying power; invested money has historically outgrown it.
| Year | Same buying power |
|---|---|
| 1959 | $1.00 |
| 1960 | $1.01 |
| 1970 | $1.30 |
| 1980 | $2.68 |
| 1990 | $4.39 |
| 2000 | $5.82 |
| 2010 | $7.47 |
| 2020 | $8.90 |
| Aug 2026 | $11.55 |
CPI in January of each year; the last row uses the latest month.
Other years
Common questions
How much is $1 from 1959 worth today?
About $11.55 in Aug 2026 dollars, based on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from January 1959.
How much have prices gone up since 1959?
1055% in total, or about 3.7% a year on average.
What would $1 in 1959 buy today?
It buys about 8.7% of what it bought in 1959. You would need $11.55 to buy the same things.
How is this calculated?
Today's value = $1 × (latest CPI ÷ CPI in January 1959). 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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