$1 in 1945 had the same buying power as $18.73 in September 2026. Prices are 1,773% higher than in 1945, an average of 3.7% a year, based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A dollar in September 2026 buys what 5 cents bought in 1945.
Convert any amount from 1945 in the Inflation Calculator
1945 dollars in today's money
| In 1945 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $18.73 |
| $5.00 | $93.64 |
| $10.00 | $187.27 |
| $20.00 | $374.54 |
| $50.00 | $936.36 |
| $100.00 | $1,873 |
| $500.00 | $9,364 |
| $1,000 | $18,727 |
| $10,000 | $187,272 |
What $100 from 1945 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 1945
Prices rose 2.3% in 1945, comparing its average CPI-U with 1944's. That ranks 65th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 1943 | 6.0% |
| 1944 | 1.6% |
| 1945 | 2.3% |
| 1946 | 8.5% |
| 1947 | 14.4% |
Wages in 1945 and today
- The federal minimum wage rose from $0.30 to $0.40 an hour in October 1945. $0.40 then is worth $7.49 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
What $100 from 1945 was worth over the years
| Year | $100 from 1945 is worth |
|---|---|
| 1955 | $149 |
| 1965 | $175 |
| 1975 | $299 |
| 1985 | $598 |
| 1995 | $847 |
| 2005 | $1,085 |
| 2015 | $1,317 |
| 2025 | $1,789 |
| September 2026 | $1,873 |
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 1945, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 17.992) = $1,872.72
1945's index is the average of its monthly CPI-U values; today's is the latest month, September 2026. Other calculators can differ slightly if they use a different month or index. More in our methodology.
Data: CPI-U through September 2026. Next BLS release: November 10, 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED; minimum wage from the U.S. Department of Labor.