Then vs. now

Gas was 36¢ a gallon. What happened?

See what everyday things cost the year you were born, how far a dollar went in every decade since the 1950s and what your old paycheck would be worth today.

Look up your birth year

GAS36¢1970 AVERAGE$3.102025 AVERAGE0.36

Inflation calculator

  

How much is a dollar from back then worth?

Type an amount and two years. The calculator adjusts for inflation using the government’s Consumer Price Index.

For example, $100 in 1980 buys about as much as $391 did in 2025.

Open the full calculator →

Price tags from the past

Where the numbers come from →
31¢Gallon of gas, 1960
U.S. average regular gasoline, 1960 (EIA).
$20,200Median home, 1965
Median sales price of houses sold, early 1965 (Census/HUD).
$1.60Minimum wage, 1970
Federal hourly minimum wage in 1970 (Dept. of Labor).
13¢Stamp, 1975
First-class stamp at the end of 1975 (USPS).

Pick a decade

1950s$1 in 1950 = $13.36 in 20251960s$1 in 1960 = $10.87 in 20251970s$1 in 1970 = $8.30 in 20251980s$1 in 1980 = $3.91 in 20251990s$1 in 1990 = $2.46 in 20252000s$1 in 2000 = $1.87 in 2025

Things that disappeared

See all ten →
Cassette tapesRotary phones555-0123PagersVHS tapesFloppy disks
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