According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,428.24% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $35,706,108,669,403,660 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 2.61% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $2,500,000,025,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1920 would cost $38,206,108,694,403,656 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.67% during this same period, inflation in Chicago was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 19.10%, which is significantly above the average yearly change in Chicago during the 1920-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.63%), inflation in Chicago was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $2,500,000,025,000,000 beginning in 1920. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | $2,500,000,025,000,000.00 | 19.10% |
| 1921 | $2,289,042,844,049,118.50 | -8.44% |
| 1922 | $2,162,048,720,193,115.50 | -5.55% |
| 1923 | $2,188,287,175,535,264.75 | 1.21% |
| 1924 | $2,231,318,242,296,389.50 | 1.97% |
| 1925 | $2,280,646,538,339,630.50 | 2.21% |
| 1926 | $2,320,528,990,459,698.00 | 1.75% |
| 1927 | $2,299,538,226,185,978.50 | -0.90% |
| 1928 | $2,228,169,627,655,331.75 | -3.10% |
| 1929 | $2,222,921,936,586,902.50 | -0.24% |
| 1930 | $2,198,782,557,672,124.25 | -1.09% |
| 1931 | $2,009,865,679,208,649.00 | -8.59% |
| 1932 | $1,773,719,581,129,303.00 | -11.75% |
| 1933 | $1,591,099,931,947,943.00 | -10.30% |
| 1934 | $1,601,595,314,084,803.00 | 0.66% |
| 1935 | $1,670,864,836,188,077.50 | 4.33% |
| 1936 | $1,704,450,059,026,028.75 | 2.01% |
| 1937 | $1,774,769,119,342,989.00 | 4.13% |
| 1938 | $1,762,174,660,778,757.75 | -0.71% |
| 1939 | $1,727,539,899,727,120.25 | -1.97% |
| 1940 | $1,736,985,743,650,294.00 | 0.55% |
| 1941 | $1,828,295,568,240,974.00 | 5.26% |
| 1942 | $2,009,865,679,208,649.00 | 9.93% |
| 1943 | $2,122,166,268,073,047.75 | 5.59% |
| 1944 | $2,154,701,952,697,314.00 | 1.53% |
| 1945 | $2,200,881,634,099,496.75 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $2,397,145,280,058,774.50 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $2,784,424,880,908,900.50 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $3,026,868,208,270,361.00 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $3,023,719,593,629,303.50 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $3,054,156,201,826,197.00 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $3,294,500,452,760,285.50 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $3,365,869,051,290,932.00 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $3,395,256,121,274,139.50 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $3,445,633,955,531,067.00 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $3,468,723,796,232,158.50 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $3,517,002,554,061,713.50 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $3,631,402,219,353,485.00 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $3,741,603,731,790,512.50 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $3,772,040,339,987,406.00 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $3,824,517,250,671,704.50 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $3,843,408,938,518,052.00 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $3,883,291,390,638,119.00 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $3,922,124,304,544,501.00 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $3,937,867,377,749,790.00 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $3,990,344,288,434,089.50 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $4,109,991,644,794,291.00 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $4,217,044,542,590,261.00 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $4,395,466,038,916,877.00 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $4,635,810,289,850,966.00 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $4,901,343,457,913,518.00 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $5,094,458,489,231,738.00 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $5,239,294,762,720,404.00 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $5,567,800,223,604,115.00 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $6,156,591,161,481,949.00 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $6,642,527,354,418,557.00 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $6,960,537,433,165,409.00 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $7,398,194,868,272,460.00 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $8,041,561,793,261,966.00 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $9,044,920,325,545,760.00 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $10,349,496,325,157,432.00 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $11,340,260,398,876,996.00 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $12,113,770,062,363,560.00 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $12,596,557,640,659,112.00 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $13,071,998,451,458,860.00 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $13,565,281,411,891,270.00 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $13,848,656,729,586,484.00 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $14,419,605,517,831,656.00 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $14,983,207,538,581,022.00 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $15,740,974,128,862,302.00 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $16,586,901,929,093,202.00 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $17,259,655,924,065,910.00 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $17,765,533,343,062,556.00 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $18,313,392,290,606,632.00 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $18,714,315,888,234,680.00 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $19,309,404,055,394,628.00 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $19,825,776,856,528,132.00 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $20,368,388,113,003,780.00 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $20,778,757,554,554,996.00 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $21,209,068,222,166,248.00 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $21,890,218,522,848,452.00 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $22,460,117,772,879,936.00 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $22,818,010,303,746,852.00 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $23,237,825,589,221,244.00 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $23,757,347,004,995,804.00 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $24,476,280,681,370,700.00 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $24,977,959,947,512,600.00 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $25,795,665,665,177,484.00 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $26,767,705,977,164,892.00 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $26,447,743,757,340,576.00 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $26,809,876,422,590,788.00 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $27,542,086,757,368,812.00 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $27,960,296,249,376,256.00 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $28,280,247,973,818,428.00 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $28,774,276,106,382,560.00 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $28,689,211,034,163,308.00 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $28,879,313,890,808,252.00 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $29,422,082,578,015,960.00 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $29,937,815,160,839,108.00 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $30,375,399,128,271,208.00 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $30,714,452,448,202,456.00 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $32,009,960,437,647,884.00 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $34,427,718,648,223,452.00 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $35,572,985,242,379,728.00 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $36,804,156,539,326,200.00 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $37,972,554,955,712,120.00 | 3.17% |
| 2026 | $38,206,108,694,403,656.00 | 0.62%* |
* 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 Chicago, Illinois:
| Year | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 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 | 2026 |
| CPI | 10.000 | 10.017 | 10.317 | 11.758 | 13.733 | 16.667 | 19.850 | 18.175 | 17.167 | 17.375 | 17.717 | 18.108 | 18.425 | 18.258 | 17.692 | 17.650 | 17.458 | 15.958 | 14.083 | 12.633 | 12.717 | 13.267 | 13.533 | 14.092 | 13.992 | 13.717 | 13.792 | 14.517 | 15.958 | 16.850 | 17.108 | 17.475 | 19.033 | 22.108 | 24.033 | 24.008 | 24.250 | 26.158 | 26.725 | 26.958 | 27.358 | 27.542 | 27.925 | 28.833 | 29.708 | 29.950 | 30.367 | 30.517 | 30.833 | 31.142 | 31.267 | 31.683 | 32.633 | 33.483 | 34.900 | 36.808 | 38.917 | 40.450 | 41.600 | 44.208 | 48.883 | 52.742 | 55.267 | 58.742 | 63.850 | 71.817 | 82.175 | 90.042 | 96.183 | 100.017 | 103.792 | 107.708 | 109.958 | 114.492 | 118.967 | 124.983 | 131.700 | 137.042 | 141.058 | 145.408 | 148.592 | 153.317 | 157.417 | 161.725 | 164.983 | 168.400 | 173.808 | 178.333 | 181.175 | 184.508 | 188.633 | 194.342 | 198.325 | 204.818 | 212.536 | 209.995 | 212.870 | 218.684 | 222.005 | 224.545 | 228.468 | 227.792 | 229.302 | 233.611 | 237.706 | 241.181 | 243.873 | 254.159 | 273.356 | 282.450 | 292.225 | 301.502 | 303.356 |