How many years ago was 1972 to 2022

$10,000 in 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $71,222.73 today, an increase of $61,222.73 over 50 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 4.00% per year between 1972 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 612.23%.

This means that today's prices are 7.12 times as high as average prices since 1972, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 14.040% of what it could buy back then.

The inflation rate in 1972 was 3.21%. The current inflation rate compared to last year is now 7.11%. If this number holds, $10,000 today will be equivalent in buying power to $10,711.03 next year. The current inflation rate page gives more detail on the latest inflation rates.

Inflation from 1972 to 2022Cumulative price change612.23%Average inflation rate4.00%Converted amount ($10,000 base)$71,222.73Price difference ($10,000 base)$61,222.73CPI in 197241.800CPI in 2022297.711Inflation in 19723.21%Inflation in 20227.11%$10,000 in 1972$71,222.73 in 2022

Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI

Buying power of $10,000 in 1972

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $10,000 in 1972 (price index tracking began in 1635).

For example, if you started with $10,000, you would need to end with $71,222.73 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $10,000 is equivalent to $71,222.73 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 1972 dollars, the chart below shows how $10,000 is worth less over 50 years.

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: 1972-2022YearDollar ValueInflation Rate1972$10,000.003.21%1973$10,622.016.22%1974$11,794.2611.04%1975$12,870.819.13%1976$13,612.445.76%1977$14,497.616.50%1978$15,598.097.59%1979$17,368.4211.35%1980$19,712.9213.50%1981$21,746.4110.32%1982$23,086.126.16%1983$23,827.753.21%1984$24,856.464.32%1985$25,741.633.56%1986$26,220.101.86%1987$27,177.033.65%1988$28,301.444.14%1989$29,665.074.82%1990$31,267.945.40%1991$32,583.734.21%1992$33,564.593.01%1993$34,569.382.99%1994$35,454.552.56%1995$36,459.332.83%1996$37,535.892.95%1997$38,397.132.29%1998$38,995.221.56%1999$39,856.462.21%2000$41,196.173.36%2001$42,368.422.85%2002$43,038.281.58%2003$44,019.142.28%2004$45,191.392.66%2005$46,722.493.39%2006$48,229.673.23%2007$49,603.352.85%2008$51,507.893.84%2009$51,324.64-0.36%2010$52,166.511.64%2011$53,813.163.16%2012$54,926.792.07%2013$55,731.341.46%2014$56,635.411.62%2015$56,702.630.12%2016$57,417.941.26%2017$58,641.152.13%2018$60,102.872.49%2019$61,162.081.76%2020$61,916.671.23%2021$64,825.404.70%2022$71,222.739.87%** Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.

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This conversion table shows various other 1972 amounts in today's dollars, based on the 612.23% change in prices:

Conversion: 1972 dollars todayInitial valueEquivalent value$1 dollar in 1972$7.12 dollars today$5 dollars in 1972$35.61 dollars today$10 dollars in 1972$71.22 dollars today$50 dollars in 1972$356.11 dollars today$100 dollars in 1972$712.23 dollars today$500 dollars in 1972$3,561.14 dollars today$1,000 dollars in 1972$7,122.27 dollars today$5,000 dollars in 1972$35,611.36 dollars today$10,000 dollars in 1972$71,222.73 dollars today$50,000 dollars in 1972$356,113.64 dollars today$100,000 dollars in 1972$712,227.27 dollars today$500,000 dollars in 1972$3,561,136.36 dollars today$1,000,000 dollars in 1972$7,122,272.73 dollars today

How to calculate inflation rate for $10,000 since 1972

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1972 and today:

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 41.8 in the year 1972 and 297.711 in 2022:

$10,000 in 1972 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $71,222.73 in 2022.

To get the total inflation rate for the 50 years between 1972 and 2022, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2022 - CPI in 1972CPI in 1972

Cumulative inflation rate (50 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

Alternate Measurements of Inflation

There are multiple ways to measure inflation. Published rates of inflation will vary depending on methodology. The Consumer Price Index, used above, is the most common standard used globally.

Alternative measurements are sometimes used based on context and economic/political circumstances. Below are a few examples of alternative measurements.

Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Inflation

The PCE Price Index is the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It measures the change in prices of goods and services purchased by consumers.

The PCE Price Index changed by 3.44% per year on average between 1972 and 2022. The total PCE inflation between these dates was 443.04%. In 1972, PCE inflation was 3.41%.

This means that the PCE Index equates $10,000 in 1972 with $54,304.26 in 2022, a difference of $44,304.26. Compare this to the standard CPI measurement, which equates $10,000 with $71,222.73. The PCE measured -169.18% inflation compared to standard CPI.

For more information on the difference between PCE and CPI, see this analysis provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Core Inflation

Also of note is the Core CPI, which uses the standard CPI but omits the more volatile categories of food and energy.

Core inflation averaged 3.87% per year between 1972 and 2022 (vs all-CPI inflation of 4.00%), for an inflation total of 566.98%. In 1972, core inflation was 3.06%.

When using the core inflation measurement, $10,000 in 1972 is equivalent in buying power to $66,698.07 in 2022, a difference of $56,698.07. Recall that the converted amount is $71,222.73 when all items including food and energy are measured.

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

The average inflation rate of 4.00% has a compounding effect between 1972 and 2022. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 612.23% over 50 years.

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1972, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $1,489,138.30 in 2022. This is a return on investment of 14,791.38%, with an absolute return of $1,479,138.30 on top of the original $10,000.

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 85.96% of returns ($1,280,056.40) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $10,000 investment is $199,081.90. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $169,220 for most people.

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 1972 to latest available data for 2022 using average monthly close price.

For more details on the S&P 500 between 1972 and 2022, see the stock market returns calculator.

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1634 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University and from the American Antiquarian Society.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$10,000 in 1972 → 2022 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 13 Dec. 2022, https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1972?amount=10000.

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