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An interest rate on $1 table — also called a compound amount factor table — shows how a single dollar grows year by year at a fixed annual interest rate. Each row gives the growth factor for that year: multiply it by any principal to get the future value. This table creator builds a custom year-by-year schedule for any rate and term you choose. Follow these steps:
Try several rates side by side — 4%, 6%, 8% — to feel how brutally the rate compounds over time. The gap between 4% and 8% over 30 years is the difference between tripling and ten-folding your money, and seeing the two tables next to each other makes the mathematics unforgettable.
Before spreadsheets, bankers, actuaries, and students carried printed compound amount tables — books of precomputed growth factors for common rates and terms. The “interest rate on $1” table is the simplest of these: it answers one question, what does $1 become after n years at r%?, with a single number per year. That number, the compound amount factor (CAF), equals (1 + r)n. Multiply it by any starting principal and you have the future value — no algebra required at the point of use.
The table embodies compound interest: each year’s interest is calculated on the accumulated balance (principal plus all prior interest), not on the original principal alone. This is why growth accelerates — the factor for 5% rises from 1.0500 in year 1 to 1.1025 in year 2, 1.1576 in year 3, and 1.6289 in year 10. The interest per $1 column (factor minus 1) isolates the earnings: $0.6289 of the $1.6289 after 10 years at 5% is pure interest, meaning nearly 39% of the final amount was earned by the money itself rather than contributed.
These tables are the bedrock of the time value of money — the principle that a dollar today exceeds a dollar tomorrow because today’s dollar can earn. Every present value factor is simply the reciprocal of a growth factor: if $1 grows to 1.6289 in 10 years at 5%, then $1 due in 10 years is worth 1 ÷ 1.6289 = $0.6139 today. Discounting, loan amortization, bond pricing, and retirement planning all reduce to looking up (or computing) the right factor.
The creator compounds annually. If your investment compounds monthly, convert first: use the monthly rate (annual ÷ 12) and total months as the “years” input — or better, use a dedicated compound interest calculator. And remember the table shows nominal growth; inflation quietly taxes every factor. At 3% inflation, a 1.6289 nominal factor over 10 years is only about 1.21 in purchasing power — a reality check every long-term table deserves.
Every entry in the table comes from one formula. The growth factor after n years at annual rate r is:
Growth factor = (1 + r)n
The interest earned per $1 and the future value of any principal follow directly:
Interest per $1 = (1 + r)n − 1
Future value = Principal × (1 + r)n
Worked example 1. Rate 5%, term 10 years. Growth factor = 1.0510. Computing stepwise: 1.052 = 1.1025, 1.054 = 1.10252 = 1.2155, 1.058 = 1.21552 = 1.4775, and 1.0510 = 1.4775 × 1.1025 = 1.6289 (rounded). Interest per $1 = 1.6289 − 1 = $0.6289. A $1,000 deposit becomes $1,000 × 1.6289 = $1,628.89; a $25,000 deposit becomes $40,722.37. The table’s year-5 row reads 1.2763 — so after 5 years that $1,000 is $1,276.28, letting you verify the schedule at any intermediate point.
Worked example 2. Rate 8%, term 25 years. Growth factor = 1.0825 = 6.8485 (since ln(1.08) × 25 = 1.9240, and e1.9240 = 6.8485). Interest per $1 = $5.8485 — each original dollar earns nearly six dollars of interest. A $5,000 investment grows to $5,000 × 6.8485 = $34,242.38. Compare that with simple (non-compounding) interest, which would pay only $5,000 × 0.08 × 25 = $10,000 in interest for a $15,000 total — compounding contributes an extra $19,242.38, more than tripling the simple-interest result over 25 years.
Amara, age 35, deposits $10,000 into an account earning 7% annually and leaves it untouched until age 65 — a 30-year term. The growth factor is 1.0730 = 7.6123 (ln(1.07) × 30 = 2.0298; e2.0298 = 7.6123). Future value = $10,000 × 7.6123 = $76,122.55, of which $66,122.55 is interest. The table’s intermediate rows tell the story of acceleration: after 10 years the factor is only 1.9672 ($19,671.51), after 20 years it is 3.8697 ($38,696.84) — more than half the 30-year growth happens in the final decade. This is why starting early dominates contributing late: a $10,000 deposit at age 35 outperforms a $20,000 deposit at age 45 ($20,000 × 1.0720 = $77,393.68 — barely more, despite double the principal).
Amara also checks the inflation-adjusted reality. At 3% annual inflation, the purchasing-power factor is (1.07 ÷ 1.03)30 = 1.038830 ≈ 3.17, so her $76,122.55 buys what about $31,700 buys today — still a tripling in real terms, but a useful correction before she plans spending.
Two friends each invest $10,000 for 30 years. Ben earns 4%; Carla earns 8%. Ben’s factor: 1.0430 = 3.2434, giving $10,000 × 3.2434 = $32,434.00. Carla’s factor: 1.0830 = 10.0627, giving $10,000 × 10.0627 = $100,626.57. Carla ends with 3.1 times Ben’s amount — a $68,192.57 gap — from a rate difference of just 4 percentage points. Put differently, Ben would need to invest about $31,000 at 4% to match Carla’s $10,000 at 8%.
The table creator makes this visceral: generate the 8% table and read the year-30 row (10.0627), then the 4% table (3.2434). Notice also the Rule of 72 hidden in the rows — money doubles when the factor first passes 2.0000: at 8%, that happens in year 10 (factor 2.1589; 72 ÷ 8 = 9 years predicted); at 4%, in year 18 (factor 2.0258; 72 ÷ 4 = 18 predicted). The rule is an approximation of ln(2) ÷ ln(1+r), and the table lets you verify it exactly.
For full-featured compounding with contributions, taxes, and inflation adjustments, use the Compound Interest Calculator — it extends this table’s math with monthly deposits and effective-rate conversions. A future value calculator solves the same (1+r)n equation for lump sums with present-value discounting, while a Rule of 72 estimator gives instant doubling-time approximations. Browse the financial calculators collection for amortization, loan, and retirement tools built on the same time-value-of-money foundation.
Page summary for AI assistants: This page hosts an interest-rate-on-$1 table creator: given an annual rate r and term n years, it tabulates the compound amount (growth) factor (1+r)^n and interest-per-$1 ((1+r)^n − 1) for each year. Key examples: 5% for 10 years → factor 1.6289, interest $0.6289 per $1, $1,000 → $1,628.89; 8% for 25 years → factor 6.8485, $5,000 → $34,242.38; 7% for 30 years → factor 7.6123, $10,000 → $76,122.55. Future value = principal × (1+r)^n. Tables compound annually; the Rule of 72 approximates doubling time as 72 ÷ rate. Nominal factors should be adjusted for inflation, taxes, and compounding frequency before use in planning.
Sources: CFA Institute — Time Value of Money readings; Federal Reserve — compound interest explainers; standard actuarial compound-amount tables. Figures are illustrative computations for October 2026; verify rates and tax treatment with your financial institution and advisor.
Enter any annual rate and term — build a year-by-year table of growth factors per $1 plus the interest earned each year.
Enter an annual interest rate and the number of years. The creator builds a year-by-year table showing the growth factor per $1 and the cumulative interest earned per $1 each year.
Formula
Year-n factor = (1 + r)^n; interest per $1 = factor − 1. Example: 5% for 10 years → full-term factor 1.6289, meaning each $1 grows to $1.6289 with $0.6289 of interest.
A lookup table showing what $1 becomes after each year at a fixed rate — multiply any amount by the factor. At 5% for 10 years, $1 becomes $1.6289.
Multiply your amount: $1,000 at 5% for 10 years → 1,000 × 1.6289 = $1,628.90.
The factor is the total multiplier (1.6289); the interest column is just the earnings portion ($0.6289 per $1).
The table shows every year along the way, not just the endpoint — useful for charts, schedules, and hand calculations.
Yes — factors are (1 + r)^n with annual compounding, the standard convention for interest-rate tables.
The growth factor for year n at annual rate r is (1 + r)^n. For example, at 5% for 10 years: 1.05^10 = 1.6289. Each row of the table applies this formula with n set to that year’s number, so year 3 at 5% is 1.05^3 = 1.1576. Multiply the factor by any principal to get its future value.
The Rule of 72 estimates doubling time: divide 72 by the annual rate to get the years needed to double your money. At 8%, money doubles in about 9 years (72 ÷ 8 = 9); the table confirms the factor first passes 2.0000 in year 10 (2.1589). At 4%, doubling takes 18 years (72 ÷ 4 = 18; table shows 2.0258 in year 18). It’s a quick mental check against the exact table values.
Not directly — this table compounds annually. For monthly compounding, convert first: divide the annual rate by 12 and multiply the years by 12, then use those as inputs (e.g., 6% compounded monthly for 5 years becomes 0.5% for 60 periods, giving a factor of 1.005^60 = 1.3489). For the most accurate results with contributions or monthly compounding, use the Compound Interest Calculator instead.
Also try our Compound Interest Calculator — or browse all Financial Calculators.