$3,000 in 1920 Is Worth $47,053 Today
Adjusted for US inflation (CPI) from 1920 to 2024.
$3,000 in 1920 has the same buying power as about $47,053 in 2024 — a total increase of 1,468.4%, or roughly 2.68% a year on average.
The calculation uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the same series the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly and the Federal Reserve watches for inflation targeting. Prices do not rise evenly: housing, medical care and education have typically outpaced the headline index, while electronics and clothing have lagged it.
Reading the result
- A salary that grew slower than 2.68% a year lost purchasing power, even if the number on the contract went up.
- Housing costs are the single largest weight in the index for most households, so local inflation can differ sharply from the national figure.
- For long horizons, compounding matters more than any single year: 3% a year doubles prices in about 24 years.
$3,000 in 1920 has the same buying power as about $47,053 in 2024. In other words, prices have risen roughly 1,468.4% over 104 years — an average of about 2.68% per year.
Value of $3,000 (1920) Over Time
| Year | Equivalent Value |
|---|---|
| 1950 | $3,615 |
| 1970 | $5,820 |
| 1980 | $12,360 |
| 1990 | $19,605 |
| 2000 | $25,830 |
| 2010 | $32,708 |
| 2020 | $38,822 |
| 2024 | $47,053 |
Last reviewed: October 2026
Data sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (1913–2024).
Disclaimer: Figures use national annual-average CPI-U data and reflect overall inflation, not local prices or the cost of a specific item. For informational use only.