United States · 1940
$1,000 in 1940 =
$23,371today
×23.37+2237.1% inflation1940 → 2026
Life in 1940
In 1940, United States's average annual wage was approximately $1,296. This means $1000 represented roughly 40.1 weeks of average earnings — a substantial investment. To put this in perspective, a loaf of bread cost approximately $0.08 and typical monthly rent was around $28.
What you could buy
$1000 in 1940
Loaf of bread
12.5k×Milk (gallon)
2.9k×Monthly rent
35×Gasoline (gallon)
5.6k×$23,371 in 2026
Loaf of bread
5.2k×Milk (gallon)
5.8k×Monthly rent
12×Gasoline (gallon)
6.8k×These calculations are estimates based on United States's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U; Warren & Pearson (pre-1913); Federal Reserve. Pre-1913 values reconstructed from commodity price indices. Civil War inflation 1861–1865 reflected. Results may differ from other inflation calculators due to methodology differences. See our Methodology and Sources pages for full details.