Transportation price inflation, 1938→2025

Transportation Inflation Calculator

Prices for Transportation, 1938-2025 ($860)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for transportation are 1,749.41% higher in 2025 versus 1938 (a $15,044.94 difference in value).

Between 1938 and 2025: Transportation experienced an average inflation rate of 3.41% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, transportation costing $860 in the year 1938 would cost $15,904.94 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.65% during this same period, inflation for transportation was lower.

In the year 1938: Pricing changed by 0.41%, which is below the average yearly change for transportation during the 1938-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1938 (-2.03%), inflation for transportation was higher.

Price Inflation for Transportation since 1935

Consumer Price Index, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Years with the largest changes in pricing: 1980 (17.81%), 2022 (15.47%), and 2021 (14.56%).

View price changes for other categories
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Buying power of $860.00 since 1938

Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Transportation, over time, for $860 beginning in 1938. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Year	USD Value	Inflation Rate
1938	$860.00	0.41%
1939	$841.18	-2.19%
1940	$836.47	-0.56%
1941	$868.24	3.80%
1942	$942.35	8.54%
1943	$936.47	-0.62%
1944	$935.29	-0.13%
1945	$935.29	0.00% **
1946	$991.76	6.04%
1947	$1,085.52	9.45%
1948	$1,210.41	11.50%
1949	$1,300.90	7.48%
1950	$1,334.39	2.57%
1951	$1,419.91	6.41%
1952	$1,513.57	6.60%
1953	$1,557.01	2.87%
1954	$1,534.39	-1.45%
1955	$1,515.84	-1.21%
1956	$1,542.99	1.79%
1957	$1,628.96	5.57%
1958	$1,682.81	3.31%
1959	$1,752.49	4.14%
1960	$1,752.04	-0.03%
1961	$1,771.95	1.14%
1962	$1,809.05	2.09%
1963	$1,819.00	0.55%
1964	$1,846.15	1.49%
1965	$1,876.47	1.64%
1966	$1,903.17	1.42%
1967	$1,957.47	2.85%
1968	$2,019.91	3.19%
1969	$2,097.74	3.85%
1970	$2,205.43	5.13%
1971	$2,321.27	5.25%
1972	$2,348.42	1.17%
1973	$2,422.62	3.16%
1974	$2,694.12	11.21%
1975	$2,947.06	9.39%
1976	$3,240.27	9.95%
1977	$3,468.78	7.05%
1978	$3,631.22	4.68%
1979	$4,148.87	14.26%
1980	$4,887.78	17.81%
1981	$5,479.64	12.11%
1982	$5,705.43	4.12%
1983	$5,841.63	2.39%
1984	$6,100.90	4.44%
1985	$6,261.99	2.64%
1986	$6,018.55	-3.89%
1987	$6,200.45	3.02%
1988	$6,391.86	3.09%
1989	$6,711.76	5.00%
1990	$7,089.14	5.62%
1991	$7,284.16	2.75%
1992	$7,443.44	2.19%
1993	$7,668.33	3.02%
1994	$7,900.00	3.02%
1995	$8,182.81	3.58%
1996	$8,413.57	2.82%
1997	$8,486.88	0.87%
1998	$8,326.70	-1.89%
1999	$8,494.12	2.01%
2000	$9,019.46	6.18%
2001	$9,073.76	0.60%
2002	$8,991.86	-0.90%
2003	$9,268.33	3.07%
2004	$9,594.12	3.52%
2005	$10,229.86	6.63%
2006	$10,638.91	4.00%
2007	$10,863.62	2.11%
2008	$11,502.90	5.88%
2009	$10,544.26	-8.33%
2010	$11,376.23	7.89%
2011	$12,492.12	9.81%
2012	$12,784.55	2.34%
2013	$12,788.92	0.03%
2014	$12,702.31	-0.68%
2015	$11,709.80	-7.81%
2016	$11,464.33	-2.10%
2017	$11,856.77	3.42%
2018	$12,391.97	4.51%
2019	$12,356.95	-0.28%
2020	$11,843.19	-4.16%
2021	$13,568.06	14.56%
2022	$15,666.46	15.47%
2023	$15,704.61	0.24%
2024	$15,922.66	1.39%
2025	$15,904.94	-0.11%*

* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.
** Extended periods of 0% inflation usually indicate incomplete underlying data. This can manifest as a sharp increase in inflation later on.

Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Transportation:

Year	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
CPI	14.200	14.267	14.560	14.620	14.300	14.220	14.760	16.020	15.920	15.900	15.900	16.860	18.454	20.577	22.115	22.685	24.138	25.731	26.469	26.085	25.769	26.231	27.692	28.608	29.792	29.785	30.123	30.754	30.923	31.385	31.900	32.354	33.277	34.338	35.662	37.492	39.462	39.923	41.185	45.800	50.100	55.085	58.969	61.731	70.531	83.092	93.154	96.992	99.308	103.715	106.454	102.315	105.408	108.662	114.100	120.515	123.831	126.538	130.362	134.300	139.108	143.031	144.277	141.554	144.400	153.331	154.254	152.862	157.562	163.100	173.908	180.862	184.682	195.549	179.252	193.396	212.366	217.337	217.412	215.939	199.067	194.894	201.565	210.664	210.068	201.334	230.657	266.330	266.978	270.685	270.384

Adjust transportation prices for inflation

Start with the inflation rate formula:

CPI in 2025 / CPI in 1938 * 1938 USD value = 2025 USD value

Then plug in historical CPI values from above. The CPI for Transportation was 14.620 in the year 1938 and 270.384 in 2025:

270.384 / 14.620 * $860 = $15,904.94

Therefore, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $860 in 1938 has the same "purchasing power" as $15,904.94 in 2025 (in the CPI category of Transportation).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the Consumer Price Index for Transportation in 1935. In addition to transportation, the index produces monthly data on changes in prices paid by urban consumers for a variety of goods and services.

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