Purchasing Power Calculator
What is $10,000 from January 1920 worth today?
The conventional answer
Measured by US Consumer Prices
$173,565
observation August 2026 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
What it bought then
GoldGold data begins in January 1960, so January 1920 is not available.—
Median new home sale priceMedian new home sale price data begins in Q1 1963, so Q1 1920 is not available.—
Median US household incomeMedian US household income data begins in 1967, so 1920 is not available.—
Had it been invested instead
A different question: not what money could buy, but what it would have become.
GoldGold data begins in January 1960, so January 1920 is not available.—
U.S. Large-Cap Equity Composite (total return)observation June 2026 · Robert J. Shiller, Yale University$456,770,534