$1 in 1980 had the same buying power as $4.09 in September 2026. Prices are 309% higher than in 1980, an average of 3.1% 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 24 cents bought in 1980.
Convert any amount from 1980 in the Inflation Calculator
1980 dollars in today's money
| In 1980 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $4.09 |
| $5.00 | $20.44 |
| $10.00 | $40.89 |
| $20.00 | $81.77 |
| $50.00 | $204.43 |
| $100.00 | $409 |
| $500.00 | $2,044 |
| $1,000 | $4,089 |
| $10,000 | $40,887 |
What $100 from 1980 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 1980
Prices rose 13.5% in 1980, comparing its average CPI-U with 1979's. That ranks 6th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 1978 | 7.6% |
| 1979 | 11.3% |
| 1980 | 13.5% |
| 1981 | 10.3% |
| 1982 | 6.1% |
Wages in 1980 and today
- The federal minimum wage was $3.10 an hour in 1980. $3.10 then is worth $12.67 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $6.84 an hour in 1980, or $27.97 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 16.3% more than in 1980.
Prices in 1980 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, all 5 items cost less today than they did in 1980, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 1980 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $0.84 | $3.45 | $2.27 | 7.4 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $0.51 | $2.08 | $1.83 | 4.5 → 3.4 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $3.14 | $12.85 | $9.33 | 28 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $1.25 | $5.09 | $4.48 | 11 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.060 | $0.245 | $0.196 | 0.5 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 1980 was worth over the years
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 1980, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 82.408) = $408.87
1980'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; prices and wages from BLS average price data and Current Employment Statistics; minimum wage from the U.S. Department of Labor.