$1 in 1985 had the same buying power as $3.13 in September 2026. Prices are 213% higher than in 1985, an average of 2.8% 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 32 cents bought in 1985.
Convert any amount from 1985 in the Inflation Calculator
1985 dollars in today's money
| In 1985 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $3.13 |
| $5.00 | $15.66 |
| $10.00 | $31.32 |
| $20.00 | $62.65 |
| $50.00 | $156.62 |
| $100.00 | $313 |
| $500.00 | $1,566 |
| $1,000 | $3,132 |
| $10,000 | $31,324 |
What $100 from 1985 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 1985
Prices rose 3.5% in 1985, comparing its average CPI-U with 1984's. That ranks 38th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 3.2% |
| 1984 | 4.3% |
| 1985 | 3.5% |
| 1986 | 1.9% |
| 1987 | 3.7% |
Wages in 1985 and today
- The federal minimum wage was $3.35 an hour in 1985. $3.35 then is worth $10.49 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $8.73 an hour in 1985, or $27.35 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 19.0% more than in 1985.
Prices in 1985 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, 2 of these 6 items cost less today than they did in 1985, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 1985 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $0.80 | $2.52 | $2.27 | 5.5 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $0.55 | $1.73 | $1.83 | 3.8 → 3.4 |
| Ground beef (per pound) | $1.24 | $3.88 | $6.79 | 8.5 → 13 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $2.58 | $8.08 | $9.33 | 18 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $1.20 | $3.77 | $4.48 | 8.3 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.081 | $0.254 | $0.196 | 0.6 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 1985 was worth over the years
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 1985, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 107.567) = $313.24
1985'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.