Roberta Flack
Prices in 1972 vs. today
“In today's money” adjusts the 1972 price for inflation (CPI-U, Sep 2026). If today's price is higher than that, the item really did get more expensive, not just the dollar.
| Item | 1972 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 Median price of a house soldmedian sale price | $27,500 | $393,300 +1,330% |
| ⛽ Gallon of regular gasper gallon | 36¢ | $4.48 +1,142% |
| 🥛 Gallon of whole milkper gallon | $1.20 | $4.11 +243% |
| 🥛 Half-gallon of whole milkper half-gallon | 60¢ | $2.05 +243% |
| 🥚 Dozen large eggsper dozen | 52¢ | $2.27 +334% |
| 🍞 Loaf of white breadper pound | 25¢ | $1.83 +641% |
| ☕ Pound of ground coffeeper pound | 93¢ | $9.33 +907% |
| ✉️ First-class postage stampper letter | 8¢ | 82¢ +925% |
| 💡 Kilowatt-hour of home electricityper kWh, residential | 2.4¢ | 18.3¢ +663% |
| ⏱️ Federal minimum wageper hour | $1.60 | $7.25 +353% |
| 🧰 Average factory worker's hourly payper hour, manufacturing production workers | $3.70 | $30.21 +717% |
| 👪 Median family incomeper year | $11,100 | $110,500 +895% |
| 🍔 Pound of ground beefper pound | 74¢ | $6.79 +813% |
| 🥓 Pound of baconper pound | 96¢ | $6.76 +602% |
| 🍗 Pound of whole chickenper pound | 41¢ | $2.06 +399% |
| 🍌 Pound of bananasper pound | 16¢ | 66¢ +315% |
| 🍅 Pound of tomatoesper pound | 47¢ | $1.99 +326% |
| 🍬 Pound of white sugarper pound | 14¢ | $1.02 +633% |
| 🌾 Pound of flourper pound | 12¢ | 55¢ +358% |
1972 at a glance
Questions people ask about 1972
How much was a gallon of gas in 1972?
Regular gasoline averaged 36¢ a gallon in 1972 (U.S. city average, including taxes). That's about $2.91 in today's money. In Sep 2026 it averaged $4.48.
How much was a postage stamp in 1972?
A first-class stamp cost 8¢ in 1972. Today it costs 82¢.
How much did a house cost in 1972?
The median price of a house sold in the U.S. in 1972 was $27,500, about $221,581 adjusted for inflation. The latest median (Q3 2026) is $393,300.
What was the minimum wage in 1972?
The federal minimum wage was $1.60 an hour in 1972, worth about $12.89 an hour today. It has been $7.25 since July 2009.
How much was milk in 1972?
A gallon of whole milk averaged $1.20 in 1972. Today: $4.11.
How much were eggs in 1972?
A dozen large Grade A eggs averaged 52¢ in 1972. Today: $2.27.
What was the #1 song of 1972?
Billboard's top song of 1972 was “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack.
How much is $1 from 1972 worth today?
$1 in 1972 buys about as much as $8.06 did in Sep 2026, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau & HUD, Median Sales Price of Houses Sold; U.S. Energy Information Administration (regular gasoline, U.S. city average retail price incl. taxes; leaded until 1975, unleaded from 1976); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data (U.S. city average) (from 1980); Before 1980: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics retail food prices as published by the U.S. Census Bureau (Historical Statistics of the United States, Series E 187–202, and the Statistical Abstract of the United States); U.S. Postal Service rate history (rate in effect July 1); U.S. Energy Information Administration (average residential price incl. taxes); U.S. Department of Labor (rate in effect July 1); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey; Billboard Year-End Hot 100. How we calculate these.
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