The U.S. dollar has steadily lost value over the past century. According to Federal Reserve data, the purchasing power of one dollar today is equal to just a few cents in 1913 (the year the Fed was created). In this graphic, we track the decline in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar since the early 1900s, illustrating how inflation has eroded its value. The data for this visualization comes from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). It measures the “Purchasing Power of the Consumer Dollar” across all U.S. city averages, indexed to consumer prices. The higher the index, the more purchasing power the dollar has. As the index declines, goods and services become relatively more expensive.
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