Special Report

What the Stock Market Was Worth the Year You Were Born

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed out a tumultuous 2020 by hitting a record high of over 30,600 points. It has since climbed even higher, leaving shareholders and analysts wondering how long the market can continue to rise before the next major sell-off.

Though the DJIA comprises only 30 stocks, it is often regarded as a gauge of American business and economic prosperity. At the time of this writing, the Dow Jones sits at just over 31,300, roughly triple its value from a decade ago.

The DJIA is a price-weighted average of 30 large American companies. The index currently contains companies such as the world’s largest retailer Walmart, media juggernaut Disney, global financial institution J.P. Morgan, aerospace and defense giant Boeing, and as of 2015, tech behemoth Apple.

The companies comprising the Dow change over time to reflect the changing economy. Since the creator of the index, Charles Dow, was also the founding editor of The Wall Street Journal, editors at the publication select the companies that comprise the index.

Since its inception in 1896, when only 12 companies were included in the average, the Dow has changed over 50 times. The last remaining company from the original list of 12, General Electric, was finally removed in June 2018. It was replaced with drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance.

To determine the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed daily Dow figures aggregated by economic research website Macrotrends.net. Historical Dow data are inflation-adjusted using annual headline CPI in chained 2018 dollars.

Click here to see what the stock market was worth the year you were born.

Wikimedia Commons

1929
> Start: 4,452.4
> End: 3,603.6
> High: 5,527.9
> Change: -19.1%

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Wikimedia Commons

1930
> Start: 3,632.7
> End: 2,448.3
> High: 4,374.6
> Change: -32.6%

Wikimedia Commons

1931
> Start: 2,770.4
> End: 1,270.7
> High: 3,170.4
> Change: -54.1%

Wikimedia Commons

1932
> Start: 1,357.1
> End: 1,089.9
> High: 1,614.6
> Change: -19.7%

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1933
> Start: 1,136.5
> End: 1,915.0
> High: 2,083.1
> Change: +68.5%

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1934
> Start: 1,862.0
> End: 1,930.3
> High: 2,054.6
> Change: +3.7%

Wikimedia Commons

1935
> Start: 1,891.0
> End: 2,607.9
> High: 2,685.9
> Change: +37.9%

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St. Paul Pioneer Press / Wikimedia Commons

1936
> Start: 2,583.4
> End: 3,224.6
> High: 3,314.2
> Change: +24.8%

State Library of New South Wales / Flickr

1937
> Start: 3,088.4
> End: 2,090.7
> High: 3,363.1
> Change: -32.3%

Wikimedia Commons

1938
> Start: 2,125.8
> End: 2,728.7
> High: 2,793.0
> Change: +28.4%

Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1939
> Start: 2,747.9
> End: 2,687.1
> High: 2,788.7
> Change: -2.2%

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Wikimedia Commons

1940
> Start: 2,681.4
> End: 2,321.9
> High: 2,705.6
> Change: -13.4%

National Archives and Records Administration, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR) / Wikimedia Commons

1941
> Start: 2,202.1
> End: 1,871.4
> High: 2,253.1
> Change: -15.0%

Photo by Hulton Archive / Getty Images

1942
> Start: 1,718.7
> End: 1,819.8
> High: 1,824.5
> Change: +5.9%

pingnews.com / Flickr

1943
> Start: 1,722.2
> End: 1,951.4
> High: 2,094.0
> Change: +13.3%

U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation / Wikimedia Commons

1944
> Start: 1,918.5
> End: 2,150.0
> High: 2,153.0
> Change: +12.1%

National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1945
> Start: 2,105.8
> End: 2,662.5
> High: 2,702.6
> Change: +26.4%

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Wikimedia Commons

1946
> Start: 2,436.7
> End: 2,252.9
> High: 2,701.7
> Change: -7.5%

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

1947
> Start: 1,961.5
> End: 2,014.6
> High: 2,077.8
> Change: +2.7%

Wikimedia Commons

1948
> Start: 1,867.8
> End: 1,829.2
> High: 1,992.8
> Change: -2.1%

The U.S. National Archives / Flickr

1949
> Start: 1,823.2
> End: 2,084.6
> High: 2,088.7
> Change: +14.3%

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National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1950
> Start: 2,051.9
> End: 2,428.7
> High: 2,429.3
> Change: +18.4%

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1951
> Start: 2,294.2
> End: 2,574.5
> High: 2,642.7
> Change: +12.2%

Wikimedia Commons

1952
> Start: 2,525.1
> End: 2,731.3
> High: 2,732.3
> Change: +8.2%

Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1953
> Start: 2,713.1
> End: 2,608.7
> High: 2,728.4
> Change: -3.8%

Seattle Municipal Archives / Wikimedia Commons

1954
> Start: 2,614.5
> End: 3,737.4
> High: 3,737.4
> Change: +42.9%

Seattle Municipal Archives / Wikimedia Commons

1955
> Start: 3,793.1
> End: 4,530.7
> High: 4,530.7
> Change: +19.4%

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ABC Television / Wikimedia Commons

1956
> Start: 4,440.1
> End: 4,565.2
> High: 4,762.5
> Change: +2.8%

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1957
> Start: 4,377.6
> End: 3,845.0
> High: 4,595.9
> Change: -12.2%

National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1958
> Start: 3,773.4
> End: 5,013.7
> High: 5,013.7
> Change: +32.9%

The Sporting News Archives / Wikimedia Commons

1959
> Start: 5,006.0
> End: 5,787.8
> High: 5,787.8
> Change: +15.6%

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Alden Jewell / Wikimedia Commons

1960
> Start: 5,695.4
> End: 5,165.6
> High: 5,749.2
> Change: -9.3%

The U.S. National Archives / Wikimedia Commons

1961
> Start: 5,067.0
> End: 6,070.7
> High: 6,102.0
> Change: +19.8%

Wikimedia Commons

1962
> Start: 5,949.7
> End: 5,353.6
> High: 5,960.4
> Change: -10.0%

Executive Office of the President of the United States / Wikimedia Commons

1963
> Start: 5,247.6
> End: 6,190.0
> High: 6,224.6
> Change: +18.0%

Harry Pot, / Wikimedia Commons

1964
> Start: 6,133.3
> End: 6,998.4
> High: 7,139.1
> Change: +14.1%

Seattle Municipal Archives / Wikimedia Commons

1965
> Start: 6,846.6
> End: 7,629.7
> High: 7,629.7
> Change: +11.4%

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Nationaal Archief / Wikimedia Commons

1966
> Start: 7,412.6
> End: 6,013.2
> High: 7,616.3
> Change: -18.9%

JOHN LLOYD / Flickr

1967
> Start: 5,849.3
> End: 6,732.2
> High: 7,014.6
> Change: +15.1%

Ollie Atkins, White House photographer / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1968
> Start: 6,473.7
> End: 6,737.2
> High: 7,033.2
> Change: +4.1%

NASA / Wikimedia Commons

1969
> Start: 6,420.6
> End: 5,422.2
> High: 6,563.7
> Change: -15.5%

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CBS Television / Wikimedia Commons

1970
> Start: 5,175.8
> End: 5,365.9
> High: 5,385.6
> Change: +3.7%

Leena A. Krohn / Wikimedia Commons

1971
> Start: 5,093.5
> End: 5,459.2
> High: 5,830.9
> Change: +7.2%

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1972
> Start: 5,279.0
> End: 6,055.0
> High: 6,151.5
> Change: +14.7%

sterferg / Wikimedia Commons

1973
> Start: 5,766.0
> End: 4,755.4
> High: 5,877.9
> Change: -17.5%

ABC Television / Wikimedia Commons

1974
> Start: 4,307.4
> End: 3,103.4
> High: 4,490.5
> Change: -28.0%

O'Halloran, Thomas J. / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1975
> Start: 2,916.4
> End: 3,933.2
> High: 4,068.9
> Change: +34.9%

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White House Photograph Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library / Wikimedia Commons

1976
> Start: 3,746.5
> End: 4,383.3
> High: 4,427.5
> Change: +17.0%

Derzsi Elekes Andor / Wikimedia Commons

1977
> Start: 4,097.8
> End: 3,406.8
> High: 4,097.8
> Change: -16.9%

Steve Morgan / Wikimedia Commons

1978
> Start: 3,114.8
> End: 3,066.4
> High: 3,457.7
> Change: -1.6%

Thomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1979
> Start: 2,777.7
> End: 2,871.3
> High: 3,072.8
> Change: +3.4%

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Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo / Wikimedia Commons

1980
> Start: 2,486.6
> End: 2,907.1
> High: 3,016.2
> Change: +16.9%

White House Photographic Office / The National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

1981
> Start: 2,657.7
> End: 2,390.6
> High: 2,797.8
> Change: -10.1%

Wikimedia Commons

1982
> Start: 2,272.0
> End: 2,694.2
> High: 2,756.0
> Change: +18.6%

Wikimedia Commons

1983
> Start: 2,561.7
> End: 3,139.4
> High: 3,210.6
> Change: +22.6%

Marcin Wichary / Wikimedia Commons

1984
> Start: 2,995.4
> End: 2,896.9
> High: 3,076.4
> Change: -3.3%

Wikimedia Commons

1985
> Start: 2,768.0
> End: 3,571.0
> High: 3,585.8
> Change: +29.0%

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A1C Nancy Smelser / Wikimedia Commons

1986
> Start: 3,485.6
> End: 4,297.5
> High: 4,432.7
> Change: +23.3%

Virginia Tehan / Wikimedia Commons

1987
> Start: 4,214.8
> End: 4,240.0
> High: 5,953.6
> Change: +0.6%

National Park Service / Wikimedia Commons

1988
> Start: 4,232.0
> End: 4,554.0
> High: 4,585.3
> Change: +7.6%

Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

1989
> Start: 4,296.7
> End: 5,515.9
> High: 5,592.5
> Change: +28.4%

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Andrew Thomas / Wikimedia Commons

1990
> Start: 5,341.4
> End: 5,005.9
> High: 5,701.8
> Change: -6.3%

U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons

1991
> Start: 4,761.8
> End: 5,780.0
> High: 5,780.0
> Change: +21.4%

Gary B. Edstrom / Wikimedia Commons

1992
> Start: 5,617.4
> End: 5,845.3
> High: 6,043.7
> Change: +4.1%

Official White House photograph / Wikimedia Commons

1993
> Start: 5,689.3
> End: 6,454.2
> High: 6,523.3
> Change: +13.4%

Andrea Booher / FEMA / Wikimedia Commons

1994
> Start: 6,297.2
> End: 6,427.7
> High: 6,669.0
> Change: +2.1%

NASA / Wikimedia Commons

1995
> Start: 6,257.2
> End: 8,341.5
> High: 8,503.4
> Change: +33.3%

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1996
> Start: 8,197.8
> End: 10,209.9
> High: 10,388.3
> Change: +24.5%

Kees de Vos / Wikimedia Commons

1997
> Start: 9,972.0
> End: 12,240.8
> High: 12,784.1
> Change: +22.8%

Flickr user Kevin Jarrett / Wikimedia Commons

1998
> Start: 12,139.5
> End: 13,993.5
> High: 14,287.4
> Change: +15.3%

Grj23 / Wikimedia Commons

1999
> Start: 13,695.3
> End: 17,144.2
> High: 17,144.2
> Change: +25.2%

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Rob Boudon / Wikimedia Commons

2000
> Start: 16,385.2
> End: 15,563.6
> High: 16,912.5
> Change: -5.0%

SFC Thomas R. Roberts / Wikimedia Commons

2001
> Start: 14,934.0
> End: 14,057.9
> High: 15,904.4
> Change: -5.9%

Sergeant Joseph R. Chenelly, United States Marine Corps / Wikimedia Commons

2002
> Start: 13,910.6
> End: 11,519.2
> High: 14,686.5
> Change: -17.2%

National Archive Catalog / Wikimedia Commons

2003
> Start: 11,621.5
> End: 14,114.4
> High: 14,114.4
> Change: +21.5%

Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison Jr., U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons

2004
> Start: 13,690.4
> End: 14,181.1
> High: 14,275.2
> Change: +3.6%

Jocelyn Augustino / Wikimedia Commons

2005
> Start: 13,648.2
> End: 13,633.1
> High: 13,916.8
> Change: -0.1%

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Kjetil Ree / Wikimedia Commons

2006
> Start: 13,367.1
> End: 15,358.2
> High: 15,416.6
> Change: +14.9%

Ben Stanfield / Wikimedia Commons

2007
> Start: 14,946.6
> End: 15,893.5
> High: 16,971.5
> Change: +6.3%

CODEPINK Women For Peace / Wikimedia Commons

2008
> Start: 15,051.1
> End: 10,126.8
> High: 15,067.5
> Change: -32.7%

Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons

2009
> Start: 10,461.8
> End: 12,075.3
> High: 12,214.8
> Change: +15.4%

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U.S. Coast Guard / Wikimedia Commons

2010
> Start: 12,058.0
> End: 13,189.9
> High: 13,198.9
> Change: +9.4%

David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons

2011
> Start: 12,889.4
> End: 13,493.4
> High: 14,148.3
> Change: +4.7%

New Jersey National Guard / Wikimedia Commons

2012
> Start: 13,414.6
> End: 14,179.4
> High: 14,726.9
> Change: +5.7%

White House / Sonya Hebert / Wikimedia Commons

2013
> Start: 14,303.2
> End: 17,677.4
> High: 17,677.4
> Change: +23.6%

TechCrunch / Wikimedia Commons

2014
> Start: 17,253.1
> End: 18,703.1
> High: 18,945.1
> Change: +8.4%

Difference engine / Wikimedia Commons

2015
> Start: 18,691.4
> End: 18,263.8
> High: 19,193.9
> Change: -2.3%

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Krassotkin, Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

2016
> Start: 17,750.5
> End: 20,455.8
> High: 20,675.3
> Change: +15.2%

Wikimedia Commons

2017
> Start: 20,150.2
> End: 25,052.9
> High: 25,172.8
> Change: +24.3%

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

2018
> Start: 24,824.0
> End: 23,327.5
> High: 26,828.4
> Change: -6.0%

 

Koyfin

2019
> Start: 23,346.2
> End: 28,462.1
> High: 28,645.3
> Change: +21.9%

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Drew Angerer / Getty Images

2020
> Start: 28,868.8
> End: 30,606.5
> High: 30,606.5
> Change: +6.0%

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