In other words, $3,000 in 1915 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $74,586.19 in 2018, a difference of $71,586.19 over 103 years.
This chart shows calculation of buying power equivalence, often referred to as "the value of a dollar" over time for $3,000 in 1915 (price index tracking began in 1635).
Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £3,000.00 in 1915 would be equivalent to £300,434.55 in 2018, an absolute change of £297,434.55 and a cumulative change of 9,914.48%.
In Canada, CA$3,000.00 in 1915 would be equivalent to CA$62,285.71 in 2018, an absolute change of CA$59,285.71 and a cumulative change of 1,976.19%.
Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $71,586.19 and total percent change of 2,386.21%.
$3,000 in 1915 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $74,586.19 in 2018.
To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $3,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1915, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $69,061,370.98 in 2018. This is a return on investment of 2,301,945.70%, with an absolute return of $69,058,370.98.
The compounding effect of inflation would account for 95.98% of returns ($66,280,710.42) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $3,000 investment is $2,777,660.56.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: "$3,000 in 1915 → 2018 | Inflation Calculator." U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 20 Apr. 2019, https://www.officialdata.org/1915-dollars-in-2018?amount=3000.