Start with the year printed on the record
A receipt, wage record or ad from 1970 belongs to that year’s price level. Enter the amount as written and keep the year attached to the result.
If a source names a particular month, the BLS calculator can provide a more specific comparison.
| Question | Use | Do not substitute |
|---|---|---|
| What would $100 be worth today? | All-items CPI | Gold price |
| What happened to one product? | That product's own price history | All-items CPI alone |
| What was $100 in foreign currency then? | Exchange rates from that year | Today's exchange rate |
Place 1970 inside the Great Inflation
Federal Reserve History dates the Great Inflation from 1965 through 1982. Inflation was already building in 1970; the 1971 suspension of dollar convertibility into gold, the 1973–74 oil shock, and later policy choices belong to the same period but are not interchangeable explanations.
Useful checkpoints are 1965, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1980, and 1982. Comparing the same $100 at each checkpoint shows that the price path was uneven, which is more informative than saying the dollar simply lost a fixed percentage every year.
- 1965: conventional start of the Great Inflation period
- 1971: foreign official dollar-to-gold convertibility was halted
- 1973–74: the first oil shock amplified price pressure
- 1980–82: exceptionally tight monetary policy closed the era
Use the result as a baseline, then choose the right object
If the $100 came from a grocery receipt or household budget, national CPI is a sensible starting point. A home price, tuition bill, wage, stock investment or barrel of oil needs figures for that specific subject.
The calculator's result is also not a claim that a person in 1970 enjoyed the same products, quality, taxes, credit access, or household needs as a person today. It translates the average price level, not the whole standard of living.