Value of a dollar · 1979
Value of a Dollar in 1979
$1 in 1979 had the same buying power as $4.44 in 2025. Prices rose 344% over those 46 years, an average of 3.29% a year.
- $100 from 1979 $444 in 2025 dollars
- Prices since +344% 4.44× the 1979 level
- Average inflation 3.29% a year, 1979–2025
- $100 in 2025 $22.54 in 1979 dollars
1979 dollars in 2025 money
| In 1979 | Worth in 2025 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $4.44 |
| $10 | $44.37 |
| $100 | $444 |
| $1,000 | $4,437 |
| $10,000 | $44,366 |
For a specific amount or a different pair of years, use the inflation calculator.
How $100 from 1979 kept pace
The amount needed in each later year to buy what $100 bought in 1979:
Prices had doubled by 1994, 15 years after 1979. The steepest single year along the way was 1980, when inflation reached 13.55%. Read what happened in 1980.
Borrowing in 1979
A 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 11.2% in 1979, against 7.4% this week. See every year on historical mortgage rates.
For the inflation rate that year and the story behind it, see inflation in 1979.
Value of a dollar in 1979 — FAQ
How much is $1 from 1979 worth today?
$1 in 1979 buys about as much as $4.44 did in 2025, the latest full year of Consumer Price Index data. $100 from 1979 equals about $444.
How much have prices gone up since 1979?
Consumer prices rose about 344% from 1979 to 2025, so things cost about 4.44 times as much. That works out to an average of 3.29% a year.
What would $100 in 2025 have been worth in 1979?
$100 in 2025 had the buying power of about $22.54 in 1979.
When did prices double after 1979?
By 1994, 15 years later, the price level was more than twice what it was in 1979, so a dollar saved in 1979 bought less than half as much.
Based on annual average Consumer Price Index levels. 2025 is the latest full year in the data, so “today” on this page means 2025 dollars.
Data: World Bank, World Development Indicators, via APIVerve. Our tables, charts and text are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: share and adapt them for non-commercial use as long as you credit us. For commercial use or bulk data, use the APIVerve API. See the data terms. Cite as: Digest Your Finances, “Value of a Dollar by Year”, https://digestyourfinances.com/studies/value-of-a-dollar/1979/ — based on World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY-NC 4.0.
