$1 in 1995 had the same buying power as $2.21 in September 2026. Prices are 121% higher than in 1995, an average of 2.6% 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 45 cents bought in 1995.
Convert any amount from 1995 in the Inflation Calculator
1995 dollars in today's money
| In 1995 | In September 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1.00 | $2.21 |
| $5.00 | $11.06 |
| $10.00 | $22.11 |
| $20.00 | $44.22 |
| $50.00 | $110.56 |
| $100.00 | $221 |
| $500.00 | $1,106 |
| $1,000 | $2,211 |
| $10,000 | $22,111 |
What $100 from 1995 cost in the years since
Annual averages of CPI-U; 2026 uses September 2026. Source: BLS via FRED.
Inflation in 1995
Prices rose 2.8% in 1995, comparing its average CPI-U with 1994's. That ranks 54th of the 112 years since 1914, from the highest inflation to the lowest.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 3.0% |
| 1994 | 2.6% |
| 1995 | 2.8% |
| 1996 | 2.9% |
| 1997 | 2.3% |
Wages in 1995 and today
- The federal minimum wage was $4.25 an hour in 1995. $4.25 then is worth $9.40 in today's dollars; the federal minimum has been $7.25 since July 2009.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $11.65 an hour in 1995, or $25.76 in today's dollars. In September 2026 they averaged $32.54, so their pay buys 26.3% more than in 1995.
Prices in 1995 and today
U.S. average retail prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, 1 of these 6 items cost less today than they did in 1995, and the last column shows how long an average worker had to work to buy each one.
| Item | 1995 | In today's dollars | September 2026 | Minutes of work, then → now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large (per dozen) | $0.93 | $2.05 | $2.27 | 4.8 → 4.2 |
| White bread (per pound) | $0.79 | $1.75 | $1.83 | 4.1 → 3.4 |
| Ground beef (per pound) | $1.37 | $3.03 | $6.79 | 7.1 → 13 |
| Ground coffee (per pound) | $4.04 | $8.93 | $9.33 | 21 → 17 |
| Regular gasoline (per gallon) | $1.15 | $2.54 | $4.48 | 5.9 → 8.3 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.094 | $0.208 | $0.196 | 0.5 → 0.4 |
What $100 from 1995 was worth over the years
How this is calculated
Divide today's price index by the index for 1995, then multiply by the amount:
$100 × (336.94 ÷ 152.383) = $221.11
1995'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.