Value of $50 from 1950 to 2017

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2017 are 917.10% higher than average prices since 1950. The U.S. dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.52% per year during this period, causing the real value of a dollar to decrease.

In other words, $50 in 1950 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $508.55 in 2017, a difference of $458.55 over 67 years.

The 1950 inflation rate was 1.26%. The inflation rate in 2017 was 2.13%. The 2017 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 1.97% per year between 2017 and 2020.

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Inflation from 1950 to 2017 Cumulative price change 917.10% Average inflation rate 3.52% Converted amount ($50 base) $508.55 Price difference ($50 base) $458.55 CPI in 1950 24.100 CPI in 2017 245.120 Inflation in 1950 1.26% Inflation in 2017 2.13%

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

Buying power of $50 in 1950 This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $50 in 1950 (price index tracking began in 1635). For example, if you started with $50, you would need to end with $508.55 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation"). Download When $50 is equivalent to $508.55 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 $50 is worth less over 67 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: 1950-2017 Year Dollar Value Inflation Rate 1950 $50.00 1.26% 1951 $53.94 7.88% 1952 $54.98 1.92% 1953 $55.39 0.75% 1954 $55.81 0.75% 1955 $55.60 -0.37% 1956 $56.43 1.49% 1957 $58.30 3.31% 1958 $59.96 2.85% 1959 $60.37 0.69% 1960 $61.41 1.72% 1961 $62.03 1.01% 1962 $62.66 1.00% 1963 $63.49 1.32% 1964 $64.32 1.31% 1965 $65.35 1.61% 1966 $67.22 2.86% 1967 $69.29 3.09% 1968 $72.20 4.19% 1969 $76.14 5.46% 1970 $80.50 5.72% 1971 $84.02 4.38% 1972 $86.72 3.21% 1973 $92.12 6.22% 1974 $102.28 11.04% 1975 $111.62 9.13% 1976 $118.05 5.76% 1977 $125.73 6.50% 1978 $135.27 7.59% 1979 $150.62 11.35% 1980 $170.95 13.50% 1981 $188.59 10.32% 1982 $200.21 6.16% 1983 $206.64 3.21% 1984 $215.56 4.32% 1985 $223.24 3.56% 1986 $227.39 1.86% 1987 $235.68 3.65% 1988 $245.44 4.14% 1989 $257.26 4.82% 1990 $271.16 5.40% 1991 $282.57 4.21% 1992 $291.08 3.01% 1993 $299.79 2.99% 1994 $307.47 2.56% 1995 $316.18 2.83% 1996 $325.52 2.95% 1997 $332.99 2.29% 1998 $338.17 1.56% 1999 $345.64 2.21% 2000 $357.26 3.36% 2001 $367.43 2.85% 2002 $373.24 1.58% 2003 $381.74 2.28% 2004 $391.91 2.66% 2005 $405.19 3.39% 2006 $418.26 3.23% 2007 $430.17 2.85% 2008 $446.69 3.84% 2009 $445.10 -0.36% 2010 $452.40 1.64% 2011 $466.68 3.16% 2012 $476.34 2.07% 2013 $483.31 1.46% 2014 $491.15 1.62% 2015 $491.74 0.12% 2016 $497.94 1.26% 2017 $508.55 2.13% 2018 $521.22 2.49% 2019 $530.41 1.76% 2020 $539.25 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 61 more rows Download as CSV/Excel This conversion table shows various other 1950 amounts in 2017 dollars, based on the 917.10% change in prices: Conversion Table: Value of a dollar in 2017 Initial value Equivalent value $1 dollar in 1950 $10.17 dollars in 2017 $5 dollars in 1950 $50.85 dollars in 2017 $10 dollars in 1950 $101.71 dollars in 2017 $50 dollars in 1950 $508.55 dollars in 2017 $100 dollars in 1950 $1,017.10 dollars in 2017 $500 dollars in 1950 $5,085.48 dollars in 2017 $1,000 dollars in 1950 $10,170.95 dollars in 2017 $5,000 dollars in 1950 $50,854.77 dollars in 2017 $10,000 dollars in 1950 $101,709.54 dollars in 2017 $50,000 dollars in 1950 $508,547.72 dollars in 2017 $100,000 dollars in 1950 $1,017,095.44 dollars in 2017 $500,000 dollars in 1950 $5,085,477.18 dollars in 2017 $1,000,000 dollars in 1950 $10,170,954.36 dollars in 2017

Inflation by City Inflation can vary widely by city, even within the United States. Here's how some cities fared in 1950 to 2017 (figures shown are purchasing power equivalents of $50): San Francisco, California : 3.85% average rate, $50 → $626.54 , cumulative change of 1,153.08%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Seattle, Washington : 3.71% average rate, $50 → $572.62 , cumulative change of 1,045.25%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Boston, Massachusetts : 3.67% average rate, $50 → $558.41 , cumulative change of 1,016.82%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of New York : 3.63% average rate, $50 → $545.59 , cumulative change of 991.18%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : 3.51% average rate, $50 → $502.85 , cumulative change of 905.70%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Atlanta, Georgia : 3.45% average rate, $50 → $485.26 , cumulative change of 870.53%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Chicago, Illinois : 3.44% average rate, $50 → $481.67 , cumulative change of 863.35%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Houston, Texas : 3.41% average rate, $50 → $472.47 , cumulative change of 844.93%

: average rate, $50 → , cumulative change of Detroit, Michigan: 3.37% average rate, $50 → $461.46 , cumulative change of 822.93% San Francisco, California experienced the highest rate of inflation during the 67 years between 1950 and 2017 (3.85%). Detroit, Michigan experienced the lowest rate of inflation during the 67 years between 1950 and 2017 (3.37%). 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 £50.00 in 1950 would be equivalent to £1,628.64 in 2017, an absolute change of £1,578.64 and a cumulative change of 3,157.27%. In Canada, CA$50.00 in 1950 would be equivalent to CA$505.43 in 2017, an absolute change of CA$455.43 and a cumulative change of 910.85%. Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $458.55 and total percent change of 917.10%.

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 2017. Compare these values to the overall average of 3.52% per year: Category Avg Inflation (%) Total Inflation (%) $50 in 1950 → 2017 Food and beverages 4.01 1,293.03 696.51 Housing 4.29 1,565.72 832.86 Apparel 1.71 211.81 155.91 Transportation 3.31 788.55 444.28 Medical care 5.28 3,047.84 1,573.92 Recreation 1.11 110.02 105.01 Education and communication 1.97 268.35 184.18 Other goods and services 5.15 2,798.51 1,449.25 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 $50, 1950 to 2017 Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1950 and 2017: CPI in 2017 CPI in 1950 × 1950 USD value = 2017 USD value Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 24.1 in the year 1950 and 245.12 in 2017: 245.12 24.1 × $50 = $508.55 $50 in 1950 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $508.55 in 2017. To get the total inflation rate for the 67 years between 1950 and 2017, we use the following formula: CPI in 2017 - CPI in 1950 CPI in 1950 × 100 = Cumulative inflation rate (67 years) Plugging in the values to this equation, we get: 245.12 - 24.1 24.1 × 100 = 917%

Comparison to S&P 500 Index The average inflation rate of 3.52% has a compounding effect between 1950 and 2017. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 917.10% over 67 years. To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $50 in the S&P 500 index in 1950, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $73,912.90 in 2017. This is a return on investment of 147,725.79%, with an absolute return of $73,862.90 on top of the original $50. 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 90.17% of returns ($66,645.84) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $50 investment is $7,217.06. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $6,134 for most people. Investment in S&P 500 Index, 1950-2017 Original Amount Final Amount Change Nominal $50 $73,912.90 147,725.79% Real

Inflation Adjusted $50 $7,267.06 14,434.11% 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 2017 using average monthly close price. For more details on the S&P 500 between 1950 and 2017, 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: “$50 in 1950 → 2017 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 23 Sep. 2020, https://www.officialdata.org/1950-dollars-in-2017?amount=50.

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