Price level
The CPI comparison answers: “How much money would buy a similar basket of everyday goods today?”
The Purchasing Power Time Machine
What Was Money Worth Back Then?
Enter a year, choose a retro object or type your own amount. We’ll translate yesterday’s dollars into 2026 purchasing power, then show how many minimum-wage hours it represented.
How to read it: CPI measures general purchasing power. A movie ticket, gasoline or a console could rise faster or slower than the all-items average, so treat the result as a historical comparison—not a promise about an individual product.
Set the dial
Send a price through time
The result updates as you move the year or change the amount.
2026 purchasing power
$202
Your $50.00 from 1985 has the buying power of about $202.00 today.
Minimum-wage time capsule14.9 hours
At the 1985 federal minimum wage, that price meant about 14.9 hours of work.
Pop-culture dispatch
The year in one glance
1985 snapshotNo. 1 song snapshotThe Power of LoveHuey Lewis & the News
Popular film snapshotBack to the FutureA box-office time capsule
Chart and film references are curated year snapshots; rankings can vary by chart methodology and market.
Keep the receipt
A dollar tells two stories
Work time
The wage card answers a different question: “How long did someone at the federal minimum wage have to work?”
Culture changes
Objects and entertainment do not follow inflation perfectly. Scarcity, technology and fashion can rewrite the price tag.
Frequently asked questions
The fine print behind the nostalgia
How much would $100 from 1980 be worth today?
This calculator compares the 1980 CPI-U annual average with the latest available 2026 CPI-U index, then shows the result in 2026 dollars. The figure is an inflation comparison, not an investment return.
What did a movie ticket cost in the 1970s?
Ticket prices varied by city, theater and year. Use the movie-ticket preset for a period estimate, then change the year or amount for your own comparison.
Can I compare the price of an old Mustang or N64?
Yes. Choose an iconic item from the preset list. The calculator loads a documented period price and year, then converts it to a 2026 purchasing-power equivalent.
Why is there no minimum-wage result before 1938?
The United States did not have a federal minimum wage before the Fair Labor Standards Act took effect in 1938. For those earlier years, the calculator shows the purchasing-power result but marks the wage-hours comparison as unavailable.