United States Inflation & Purchasing Power Calculator
The Great Depression (1929–1939) created a paradox: the purchasing power of money technically increased (deflation made dollars worth more), but 25% of Americans had no income at all. Prices fell 25% between 1929 and 1933. Banks collapsed, wiping out savings. President Roosevelt took the US off the domestic gold standard in 1933 and devalued the dollar. A family surviving on $500/year in 1935 was considered lower-middle class — that sum had the purchasing power of roughly $11,000 today, representing extreme poverty.
During the Depression, some American cities issued their own local currency ("scrip") because federal dollars were so scarce. Hundreds of these local currencies circulated simultaneously.
The CPI comparison estimates the purchasing power of $20 in 1933 United States. No wage comparison is shown for this amount and year: same-year wage data may be missing, or the comparison is smaller than half a week. We do not infer a salary, rent period or social class from the nominal amount alone.
1933 was rock bottom for the American economy — 25% unemployment, one in three banks closed, and a new president taking office in March. Franklin Roosevelt's first hundred days launched the New Deal. Germany saw Hitler appointed Chancellor the same month.
$20 in 1933 is equivalent to approximately $503 in 2026. This represents a 2417% increase due to cumulative inflation in United States between 1933 and 2026.
Since 1933, the United States currency has lost approximately 96% of its purchasing power. In other words, what cost $20 in 1933 would cost $503 today — you need 25.2× more money to buy the same goods.
No wage comparison is shown for this amount and year. We only use data recorded for the requested year, and omit comparisons smaller than half a week. Wage data is separate from CPI and remains a legacy estimate.
1933: CPI 13, published BLS annual average (not interpolated). 2026: CPI 327.2, an unverified estimate in the legacy dataset, not a verified official annual observation.
A simple inflation percentage tells you how prices changed, but purchasing power shows you what money could actually buy in human terms. $20 in 1933 bought a specific number of loaves of bread, weeks of rent, or months of wages — context that makes the number real and tangible, not just an abstract percentage.
See where a modern salary would have ranked among adults in United States's past with the Rich-O-Meter. Only years with wage data can be compared. The resulting tiers are illustrative wage ratios, not measured historical income percentiles.
Try the Historical Rich-O-Meter belowExplore more purchasing power comparisons below
1800–2025
up to 2026
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Our WealthMap compares your salary with published median wage benchmarks across countries. Observation years and employee coverage vary. Check the source details and sensitivity ranges before interpreting a comparison.
Open the WealthMapLegacy dataset attribution (not independently verified): BLS CPI-U annual averages (1913–2024); legacy estimates outside verified coverage. Legacy source note: Pre-1913 values reconstructed from commodity price indices. Civil War inflation 1861–1865 reflected. See our Methodology and Data Sources for full details. Not financial advice.