What did things cost?

Average US store prices for 29 everyday things, 1980 to , from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. · See every item

the basket price

Every item, then and now

Price history

What it cost If it had only kept up with inflation since

And in plain dollars

Any amount, any two years from 1913 to 2025, by the Consumer Price Index.

in is worth

Did your pay keep up?

Compare what you earned then with what you earn now.

Where the prices come from

Every item price is the US city average that the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects each month from real stores, for its Average Price Data.

  • ✓Yearly averages. A year's price is the average of that year's monthly prices. "Now" is the latest month published.
  • ✓Inflation alone. Then-price × CPI now ÷ CPI then, using the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers.
  • ✓Minutes of work. Price ÷ the federal minimum wage that year, from the Department of Labor.
  • ✓Gaps are real. Some items start later (milk 1995, chicken breast 2006) and a few years are missing where BLS did not publish.
1980 to nowthe price of a dozen eggs

Source: BLS Average Price Data, series APU0000708111