$1 in 1950 is worth $25.75 in 2018

Value of $1 from 1950 to 2018

$1 in 1950 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $25.75 in 2018, an increase of $24.75 over 68 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 4.89% per year between 1950 and 2018, producing a cumulative price increase of 2,475.00%.

This means that prices in 2018 are 25.75 times as high as average prices since 1950, according to the Bureau of Statistics consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1950 was 10.00%. The inflation rate in 2018 was 1.89%. The 2018 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.00% per year between 2018 and 2024.


Inflation from 1950 to 2018
Cumulative price change2,475.00%
Average inflation rate4.89%
Converted amount
$1 base
$25.75
Price difference
$1 base
$24.75
CPI in 19504.400
CPI in 2018113.300
Inflation in 195010.00%
Inflation in 20181.89%
$1 in 1950$25.75 in 2018

AUD inflation since 1950
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of $1 in 1950

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $1 in 1950 (price index tracking began in 1922).

For example, if you started with $1, you would need to end with $25.75 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $1 is equivalent to $25.75 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Australian 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 1950 dollars, the chart below shows how $1 is worth less over 68 years.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, each of these AUD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1950-2018
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1950$1.0010.00%
1951$1.1818.18%
1952$1.3917.31%
1953$1.454.92%
1954$1.481.56%
1955$1.501.54%
1956$1.596.06%
1957$1.642.86%
1958$1.640.00%
1959$1.682.78%
1960$1.754.05%
1961$1.771.30%
1962$1.770.00%
1963$1.801.28%
1964$1.842.53%
1965$1.913.70%
1966$1.952.38%
1967$2.023.49%
1968$2.093.37%
1969$2.163.26%
1970$2.233.16%
1971$2.366.12%
1972$2.505.77%
1973$2.739.09%
1974$3.1615.83%
1975$3.6415.11%
1976$4.1113.13%
1977$4.6112.15%
1978$4.987.88%
1979$5.439.13%
1980$6.0010.46%
1981$6.579.47%
1982$7.3011.07%
1983$8.0510.28%
1984$8.363.95%
1985$8.916.52%
1986$9.739.18%
1987$10.558.41%
1988$11.327.33%
1989$12.167.43%
1990$13.077.48%
1991$13.483.13%
1992$13.611.01%
1993$13.841.67%
1994$14.111.97%
1995$14.774.67%
1996$15.162.62%
1997$15.200.30%
1998$15.320.75%
1999$15.551.48%
2000$16.254.53%
2001$16.954.34%
2002$17.483.08%
2003$17.952.73%
2004$18.362.28%
2005$18.862.72%
2006$19.523.49%
2007$19.982.33%
2008$20.864.44%
2009$21.231.74%
2010$21.842.89%
2011$22.573.33%
2012$22.951.71%
2013$23.522.48%
2014$24.112.51%
2015$24.481.51%
2016$24.801.30%
2017$25.271.92%
2018$25.751.89%
2019$26.161.59%
2020$26.390.87%
2021$27.142.84%
2022$28.936.62%
2023$30.435.18%
2024$30.751.05%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 62 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1950 amounts in 2018 dollars, based on the 2,475.00% change in prices:

Conversion: 1950 dollars in 2018
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1950$25.75 dollars in 2018
$5 dollars in 1950$128.75 dollars in 2018
$10 dollars in 1950$257.50 dollars in 2018
$50 dollars in 1950$1,287.50 dollars in 2018
$100 dollars in 1950$2,575.00 dollars in 2018
$500 dollars in 1950$12,875.00 dollars in 2018
$1,000 dollars in 1950$25,750.00 dollars in 2018
$5,000 dollars in 1950$128,750.00 dollars in 2018
$10,000 dollars in 1950$257,500.00 dollars in 2018
$50,000 dollars in 1950$1,287,500.00 dollars in 2018
$100,000 dollars in 1950$2,575,000.00 dollars in 2018
$500,000 dollars in 1950$12,875,000.00 dollars in 2018
$1,000,000 dollars in 1950$25,750,000.00 dollars in 2018

How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1950 to 2018

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1950 and 2018:

CPI in 2018 CPI in 1950
×
1950 AUD value
=
2018 AUD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Australian CPI was 4.4 in the year 1950 and 113.3 in 2018:

113.34.4
×
$1
=
$25.75

$1 in 1950 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $25.75 in 2018.

To get the total inflation rate for the 68 years between 1950 and 2018, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2018 - CPI in 1950CPI in 1950
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (68 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

113.3 - 4.44.4
×
100
=
2,475%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Australia's annual (CPI) as provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The consumer price index was established in 1922 and is tracked by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$1 in 1950 → 2018 | Australia Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1950-AUD-in-2018?amount=1.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.


Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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Inflation from 1950 to 2018
Cumulative price change2,475.00%
Average inflation rate4.89%
Converted amount
$1 base
$25.75
Price difference
$1 base
$24.75
CPI in 19504.400
CPI in 2018113.300
Inflation in 195010.00%
Inflation in 20181.89%
$1 in 1950$25.75 in 2018