Value of $8,873 from 1950 to 2016

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2016 are 895.88% higher than average prices since 1950. The U.S. dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.54% per year during this period, causing the real value of a dollar to decrease.

In other words, $8,873 in 1950 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $88,364.40 in 2016, a difference of $79,491.40 over 66 years.

The 1950 inflation rate was 1.26%. The inflation rate in 2016 was 1.26%. The 2016 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 2.01% per year between 2016 and 2020.

⌃

Inflation from 1950 to 2016 Cumulative price change 895.88% Average inflation rate 3.54% Converted amount ($8,873 base) $88,364.40 Price difference ($8,873 base) $79,491.40 CPI in 1950 24.100 CPI in 2016 240.007 Inflation in 1950 1.26% Inflation in 2016 1.26%

USD Inflation since 1913 Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Download

Buying power of $8,873 in 1950 This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $8,873 in 1950 (price index tracking began in 1635). For example, if you started with $8,873, you would need to end with $88,364.40 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation"). Download When $8,873 is equivalent to $88,364.40 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.S. dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store. This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1950 dollars, the chart below shows how $8,873 is worth less over 66 years. Download According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of these USD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time: Dollar inflation: 1950-2016 Year Dollar Value Inflation Rate 1950 $8,873.00 1.26% 1951 $9,572.53 7.88% 1952 $9,756.62 1.92% 1953 $9,830.25 0.75% 1954 $9,903.89 0.75% 1955 $9,867.07 -0.37% 1956 $10,014.34 1.49% 1957 $10,345.70 3.31% 1958 $10,640.24 2.85% 1959 $10,713.87 0.69% 1960 $10,897.96 1.72% 1961 $11,008.41 1.01% 1962 $11,118.86 1.00% 1963 $11,266.13 1.32% 1964 $11,413.40 1.31% 1965 $11,597.49 1.61% 1966 $11,928.85 2.86% 1967 $12,297.02 3.09% 1968 $12,812.46 4.19% 1969 $13,512.00 5.46% 1970 $14,285.16 5.72% 1971 $14,911.06 4.38% 1972 $15,389.68 3.21% 1973 $16,346.94 6.22% 1974 $18,150.99 11.04% 1975 $19,807.78 9.13% 1976 $20,949.12 5.76% 1977 $22,311.36 6.50% 1978 $24,004.96 7.59% 1979 $26,729.45 11.35% 1980 $30,337.56 13.50% 1981 $33,467.04 10.32% 1982 $35,528.82 6.16% 1983 $36,670.16 3.21% 1984 $38,253.31 4.32% 1985 $39,615.55 3.56% 1986 $40,351.90 1.86% 1987 $41,824.60 3.65% 1988 $43,555.02 4.14% 1989 $45,653.61 4.82% 1990 $48,120.38 5.40% 1991 $50,145.34 4.21% 1992 $51,654.85 3.01% 1993 $53,201.18 2.99% 1994 $54,563.43 2.56% 1995 $56,109.76 2.83% 1996 $57,766.54 2.95% 1997 $59,091.97 2.29% 1998 $60,012.41 1.56% 1999 $61,337.83 2.21% 2000 $63,399.61 3.36% 2001 $65,203.66 2.85% 2002 $66,234.55 1.58% 2003 $67,744.07 2.28% 2004 $69,548.12 2.66% 2005 $71,904.44 3.39% 2006 $74,223.93 3.23% 2007 $76,337.99 2.85% 2008 $79,269.03 3.84% 2009 $78,987.00 -0.36% 2010 $80,282.61 1.64% 2011 $82,816.75 3.16% 2012 $84,530.60 2.07% 2013 $85,768.77 1.46% 2014 $87,160.10 1.62% 2015 $87,263.56 0.12% 2016 $88,364.40 1.26% 2017 $90,246.88 2.13% 2018 $92,496.42 2.49% 2019 $94,126.51 1.76% 2020 $95,695.12 1.67%* * Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See * Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value. Click to show 60 more rows Download as CSV/Excel This conversion table shows various other 1950 amounts in 2016 dollars, based on the 895.88% change in prices: Conversion Table: Value of a dollar in 2016 Initial value Equivalent value $1 dollar in 1950 $9.96 dollars in 2016 $5 dollars in 1950 $49.79 dollars in 2016 $10 dollars in 1950 $99.59 dollars in 2016 $50 dollars in 1950 $497.94 dollars in 2016 $100 dollars in 1950 $995.88 dollars in 2016 $500 dollars in 1950 $4,979.40 dollars in 2016 $1,000 dollars in 1950 $9,958.80 dollars in 2016 $5,000 dollars in 1950 $49,793.98 dollars in 2016 $10,000 dollars in 1950 $99,587.97 dollars in 2016 $50,000 dollars in 1950 $497,939.83 dollars in 2016 $100,000 dollars in 1950 $995,879.67 dollars in 2016 $500,000 dollars in 1950 $4,979,398.34 dollars in 2016 $1,000,000 dollars in 1950 $9,958,796.68 dollars in 2016

Inflation by City Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1950 to 2016 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $8,873): San Francisco, California : 3.85% average rate, $8,873 → $107,666.55 , cumulative change of 1,113.42%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Seattle, Washington : 3.72% average rate, $8,873 → $98,658.85 , cumulative change of 1,011.90%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Boston, Massachusetts : 3.68% average rate, $8,873 → $96,631.05 , cumulative change of 989.05%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of New York : 3.66% average rate, $8,873 → $94,961.20 , cumulative change of 970.23%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : 3.54% average rate, $8,873 → $88,114.52 , cumulative change of 893.06%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Chicago, Illinois : 3.46% average rate, $8,873 → $83,900.80 , cumulative change of 845.57%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Atlanta, Georgia : 3.45% average rate, $8,873 → $83,397.01 , cumulative change of 839.90%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Houston, Texas : 3.43% average rate, $8,873 → $82,171.96 , cumulative change of 826.09%

: average rate, $8,873 → , cumulative change of Detroit, Michigan: 3.39% average rate, $8,873 → $80,259.42 , cumulative change of 804.54% San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 66 years between 1950 and 2016 (3.85%). Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 66 years between 1950 and 2016 (3.39%). Note that some locations showing 0% inflation may have not yet reported latest data. Inflation by Country Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £8,873.00 in 1950 would be equivalent to £279,015.52 in 2016, an absolute change of £270,142.52 and a cumulative change of 3,044.55%. In Canada, CA$8,873.00 in 1950 would be equivalent to CA$88,317.30 in 2016, an absolute change of CA$79,444.30 and a cumulative change of 895.35%. Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $79,491.40 and total percent change of 895.88%.

Inflation by Spending Category CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. Breaking down these categories helps explain the main drivers behind price changes. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1950 and 2016. Compare these values to the overall average of 3.54% per year: Category Avg Inflation (%) Total Inflation (%) $8,873 in 1950 → 2016 Food and beverages 4.07 1,295.50 123,822.71 Housing 4.31 1,524.72 144,161.37 Apparel 1.74 212.89 27,762.46 Transportation 3.31 759.14 76,231.89 Medical care 5.33 2,970.76 272,468.72 Recreation 1.11 106.63 18,334.36 Education and communication 2.14 303.47 35,799.62 Other goods and services 5.21 2,762.48 253,987.64 The graph below compares inflation in categories of goods over time. Click on a category such as "Food" to toggle it on or off: For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1950. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.

How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $8,873, 1950 to 2016 Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1950 and 2016: CPI in 2016 CPI in 1950 × 1950 USD value = 2016 USD value Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 24.1 in the year 1950 and 240.007 in 2016: 240.007 24.1 × $8,873 = $88,364.40 $8,873 in 1950 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $88,364.40 in 2016. To get the total inflation rate for the 66 years between 1950 and 2016, we use the following formula: CPI in 2016 - CPI in 1950 CPI in 1950 × 100 = Cumulative inflation rate (66 years) Plugging in the values to this equation, we get: 240.007 - 24.1 24.1 × 100 = 896%

Comparison to S&P 500 Index The average inflation rate of 3.54% has a compounding effect between 1950 and 2016. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 895.88% over 66 years. To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $8,873 in the S&P 500 index in 1950, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $10,494,941.23 in 2016. This is a return on investment of 118,179.51%, with an absolute return of $10,486,068.23 on top of the original $8,873. These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account. The compounding effect of inflation would account for 89.96% of returns ($9,441,104.95) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $8,873 investment is $1,044,963.28. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $888,219 for most people. Investment in S&P 500 Index, 1950-2016 Original Amount Final Amount Change Nominal $8,873 $10,494,941.23 118,179.51% Real

Inflation Adjusted $8,873 $1,053,836.28 11,776.89% Information displayed above may differ slightly from other S&P 500 calculators. Minor discrepancies can occur because we use the latest CPI data for inflation, annualized inflation numbers for previous years, and we compute S&P price and dividends from January of 1950 to latest available data for 2016 using average monthly close price. For more details on the S&P 500 between 1950 and 2016, see the stock market returns calculator.

News headlines from 1950 Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time: Jerusalem is proclaimed the capital of Israel by Knesset

North Korea invades South Korea.

Harry Truman announces that America will seek to develop a hydrogen bomb.

Chinese forces occupy Tibet.

Data Source & Citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$8,873 in 1950 → 2016 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 24 Sep. 2020, https://www.officialdata.org/1950-dollars-in-2016?amount=8873.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.