Remember The Year
Home › Your year › 1975

1975: what things cost, the #1 song and more

In 1975, a gallon of gas cost 57¢, a gallon of milk was $1.57, a stamp was 10¢ and the median house sold for $39,300. If you were born in 1975, you turn 51 in 2026. Here's how 1975 prices compare with today.

Born in
1975
Gen X
🏠House$39,300Today: $393,300
⛽Gas57¢Today: $4.48
🥛Milk$1.57Today: $4.11
🥚Eggs77¢Today: $2.27
🍞Bread36¢Today: $1.83
☕Coffee$1.33Today: $9.33
✉️Stamp10¢Today: 82¢
🎵 #1 song: “Love Will Keep Us Together”
Captain & Tennille

Prices in 1975 vs. today

“In today's money” adjusts the 1975 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.

Item1975In today's moneyToday
🏠 Median price of a house soldmedian sale price$39,300$246,051$393,300
+901%
⛽ Gallon of regular gasper gallon57¢$3.55$4.48
+690%
🥛 Gallon of whole milkper gallon$1.57$9.83$4.11
+162%
🥛 Half-gallon of whole milkper half-gallon79¢$4.91$2.05
+162%
🥚 Dozen large eggsper dozen77¢$4.82$2.27
+195%
🍞 Loaf of white breadper pound36¢$2.25$1.83
+408%
☕ Pound of ground coffeeper pound$1.33$8.35$9.33
+600%
✉️ First-class postage stampper letter10¢63¢82¢
+720%
💡 Kilowatt-hour of home electricityper kWh, residential3.5¢21.9¢18.3¢
+423%
⏱️ Federal minimum wageper hour$2.10$13.15$7.25
+245%
🧰 Average factory worker's hourly payper hour, manufacturing production workers$4.70$29.44$30.21
+542%
👪 Median family incomeper year$13,700$85,774$110,500
+707%
🍔 Pound of ground beefper pound88¢$5.50$6.79
+674%
🥓 Pound of baconper pound$1.76$10.99$6.76
+285%
🍗 Pound of whole chickenper pound63¢$3.96$2.06
+226%
🍌 Pound of bananasper pound23¢$1.4566¢
+183%
🍅 Pound of tomatoesper pound58¢$3.62$1.99
+245%
🍬 Pound of white sugarper pound37¢$2.33$1.02
+174%
🌾 Pound of flourper pound20¢$1.2555¢
+174%

1975 at a glance

Turning this year51 years old
GenerationGen X
PresidentGerald Ford
U.S. population216.0 million
$1 back then is worth$6.26 today
#1 albumGreatest Hits – Elton John
🎵
Song of the year
“Love Will Keep Us Together”
Captain & Tennille · Billboard Year-End #1

Questions people ask about 1975

How much was a gallon of gas in 1975?

Regular gasoline averaged 57¢ a gallon in 1975 (U.S. city average, including taxes). That's about $3.55 in today's money. In Sep 2026 it averaged $4.48.

How much was a postage stamp in 1975?

A first-class stamp cost 10¢ in 1975. Today it costs 82¢.

How much did a house cost in 1975?

The median price of a house sold in the U.S. in 1975 was $39,300, about $246,051 adjusted for inflation. The latest median (Q3 2026) is $393,300.

What was the minimum wage in 1975?

The federal minimum wage was $2.10 an hour in 1975, worth about $13.15 an hour today. It has been $7.25 since July 2009.

How much was milk in 1975?

A gallon of whole milk averaged $1.57 in 1975. Today: $4.11.

How much were eggs in 1975?

A dozen large Grade A eggs averaged 77¢ in 1975. Today: $2.27.

What was the #1 song of 1975?

Billboard's top song of 1975 was “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille.

How much is $1 from 1975 worth today?

$1 in 1975 buys about as much as $6.26 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.