According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in Chicago, Illinois are 1,621.09% higher in 2025 versus 1945 (a $16,210,894,134,477,824,000 difference in value).
Between 1945 and 2025: Chicago experienced an average inflation rate of 3.62% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in Chicago in the year 1945 would cost $17,210,894,134,477,824,000 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.67% during this same period, inflation in Chicago was lower.
In the year 1945: Pricing changed by 2.14%, which is below the average yearly change in Chicago during the 1945-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1945 (2.27%), inflation in Chicago was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power in Chicago, over time, for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1945. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 2.14% |
| 1946 | $1,089,175,011,921,793,152.00 | 8.92% |
| 1947 | $1,265,140,677,157,844,480.00 | 16.16% |
| 1948 | $1,375,298,044,825,941,504.00 | 8.71% |
| 1949 | $1,373,867,429,661,421,056.00 | -0.10% |
| 1950 | $1,387,696,709,585,121,536.00 | 1.01% |
| 1951 | $1,496,900,333,810,204,928.00 | 7.87% |
| 1952 | $1,529,327,610,872,674,816.00 | 2.17% |
| 1953 | $1,542,680,019,074,868,736.00 | 0.87% |
| 1954 | $1,565,569,861,707,201,024.00 | 1.48% |
| 1955 | $1,576,061,039,580,352,768.00 | 0.67% |
| 1956 | $1,597,997,138,769,670,912.00 | 1.39% |
| 1957 | $1,649,976,156,413,924,352.00 | 3.25% |
| 1958 | $1,700,047,687,172,150,272.00 | 3.03% |
| 1959 | $1,713,876,967,095,851,008.00 | 0.81% |
| 1960 | $1,737,720,553,171,196,672.00 | 1.39% |
| 1961 | $1,746,304,244,158,321,152.00 | 0.49% |
| 1962 | $1,764,425,369,575,584,000.00 | 1.04% |
| 1963 | $1,782,069,623,271,339,776.00 | 1.00% |
| 1964 | $1,789,222,699,093,943,552.00 | 0.40% |
| 1965 | $1,813,066,285,169,289,216.00 | 1.33% |
| 1966 | $1,867,429,661,421,077,504.00 | 3.00% |
| 1967 | $1,916,070,577,014,782,976.00 | 2.60% |
| 1968 | $1,997,138,769,670,958,336.00 | 4.23% |
| 1969 | $2,106,342,393,896,041,728.00 | 5.47% |
| 1970 | $2,226,990,939,437,291,008.00 | 5.73% |
| 1971 | $2,314,735,336,194,563,072.00 | 3.94% |
| 1972 | $2,380,543,633,762,517,504.00 | 2.84% |
| 1973 | $2,529,804,482,594,182,144.00 | 6.27% |
| 1974 | $2,797,329,518,359,560,704.00 | 10.57% |
| 1975 | $3,018,121,125,417,262,592.00 | 7.89% |
| 1976 | $3,162,613,257,033,857,536.00 | 4.79% |
| 1977 | $3,361,468,764,902,241,280.00 | 6.29% |
| 1978 | $3,653,791,130,185,980,416.00 | 8.70% |
| 1979 | $4,109,680,495,946,589,696.00 | 12.48% |
| 1980 | $4,702,432,045,779,685,376.00 | 14.42% |
| 1981 | $5,152,598,950,882,212,864.00 | 9.57% |
| 1982 | $5,504,053,409,632,808,960.00 | 6.82% |
| 1983 | $5,723,414,401,525,988,352.00 | 3.99% |
| 1984 | $5,939,437,291,368,622,080.00 | 3.77% |
| 1985 | $6,163,567,000,476,871,680.00 | 3.77% |
| 1986 | $6,292,322,365,283,738,624.00 | 2.09% |
| 1987 | $6,551,740,581,783,499,776.00 | 4.12% |
| 1988 | $6,807,820,696,232,712,192.00 | 3.91% |
| 1989 | $7,152,122,079,160,705,024.00 | 5.06% |
| 1990 | $7,536,480,686,695,279,616.00 | 5.37% |
| 1991 | $7,842,155,460,181,210,112.00 | 4.06% |
| 1992 | $8,072,007,629,947,544,576.00 | 2.93% |
| 1993 | $8,320,934,668,574,152,704.00 | 3.08% |
| 1994 | $8,503,099,666,189,793,280.00 | 2.19% |
| 1995 | $8,773,485,932,284,214,272.00 | 3.18% |
| 1996 | $9,008,106,819,265,615,872.00 | 2.67% |
| 1997 | $9,254,649,499,284,688,896.00 | 2.74% |
| 1998 | $9,441,106,342,393,894,912.00 | 2.01% |
| 1999 | $9,636,623,748,211,730,432.00 | 2.07% |
| 2000 | $9,946,113,495,469,717,504.00 | 3.21% |
| 2001 | $10,205,054,840,247,973,888.00 | 2.60% |
| 2002 | $10,367,668,097,281,828,864.00 | 1.59% |
| 2003 | $10,558,416,785,884,594,176.00 | 1.84% |
| 2004 | $10,794,468,288,030,517,248.00 | 2.24% |
| 2005 | $11,121,125,417,262,753,792.00 | 3.03% |
| 2006 | $11,349,070,100,143,063,040.00 | 2.05% |
| 2007 | $11,720,605,627,086,313,472.00 | 3.27% |
| 2008 | $12,162,265,140,677,156,864.00 | 3.77% |
| 2009 | $12,016,886,027,658,557,440.00 | -1.20% |
| 2010 | $12,181,425,846,447,306,752.00 | 1.37% |
| 2011 | $12,514,115,402,956,603,392.00 | 2.73% |
| 2012 | $12,704,134,477,825,462,272.00 | 1.52% |
| 2013 | $12,849,508,822,126,848,000.00 | 1.14% |
| 2014 | $13,073,977,110,157,367,296.00 | 1.75% |
| 2015 | $13,035,326,657,129,230,336.00 | -0.30% |
| 2016 | $13,121,702,432,045,780,992.00 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | $13,368,316,642,823,081,984.00 | 1.88% |
| 2018 | $13,602,646,638,054,361,088.00 | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $13,801,468,764,902,240,256.00 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $13,955,522,174,535,049,216.00 | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $14,544,153,552,694,325,248.00 | 4.22% |
| 2022 | $15,642,694,325,226,514,432.00 | 7.55% |
| 2023 | $16,163,061,516,452,073,472.00 | 3.33% |
| 2024 | $16,722,460,658,082,971,648.00 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | $17,210,894,134,477,824,000.00 | 2.92%* |
* 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 |
| 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 | 300.760 |