Wings
Prices in 1976 vs. today
“In today's money” adjusts the 1976 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 | 1976 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 Median price of a house soldmedian sale price | $44,200 | $393,300 +790% |
| ⛽ Gallon of regular gasper gallon | 61¢ | $4.48 +630% |
| 🥛 Gallon of whole milkper gallon | $1.65 | $4.11 +148% |
| 🥛 Half-gallon of whole milkper half-gallon | 83¢ | $2.05 +148% |
| 🥚 Dozen large eggsper dozen | 84¢ | $2.27 +170% |
| 🍞 Loaf of white breadper pound | 35¢ | $1.83 +418% |
| ☕ Pound of ground coffeeper pound | $1.87 | $9.33 +398% |
| ✉️ First-class postage stampper letter | 13¢ | 82¢ +531% |
| 💡 Kilowatt-hour of home electricityper kWh, residential | 3.7¢ | 18.3¢ +395% |
| ⏱️ Federal minimum wageper hour | $2.30 | $7.25 +215% |
| 🧰 Average factory worker's hourly payper hour, manufacturing production workers | $5.09 | $30.21 +493% |
| 👪 Median family incomeper year | $15,000 | $110,500 +637% |
| 🍔 Pound of ground beefper pound | 88¢ | $6.79 +675% |
| 🥓 Pound of baconper pound | $1.71 | $6.76 +295% |
| 🍗 Pound of whole chickenper pound | 60¢ | $2.06 +246% |
| 🍌 Pound of bananasper pound | 24¢ | 66¢ +179% |
| 🍅 Pound of tomatoesper pound | 58¢ | $1.99 +245% |
| 🍬 Pound of white sugarper pound | 24¢ | $1.02 +325% |
| 🌾 Pound of flourper pound | 19¢ | 55¢ +195% |
1976 at a glance
Questions people ask about 1976
How much was a gallon of gas in 1976?
Regular gasoline averaged 61¢ a gallon in 1976 (U.S. city average, including taxes). That's about $3.64 in today's money. In Sep 2026 it averaged $4.48.
How much was a postage stamp in 1976?
A first-class stamp cost 13¢ in 1976. Today it costs 82¢.
How much did a house cost in 1976?
The median price of a house sold in the U.S. in 1976 was $44,200, about $261,699 adjusted for inflation. The latest median (Q3 2026) is $393,300.
What was the minimum wage in 1976?
The federal minimum wage was $2.30 an hour in 1976, worth about $13.62 an hour today. It has been $7.25 since July 2009.
How much was milk in 1976?
A gallon of whole milk averaged $1.65 in 1976. Today: $4.11.
How much were eggs in 1976?
A dozen large Grade A eggs averaged 84¢ in 1976. Today: $2.27.
What was the #1 song of 1976?
Billboard's top song of 1976 was “Silly Love Songs” by Wings.
How much is $1 from 1976 worth today?
$1 in 1976 buys about as much as $5.92 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.
Get tomorrow's year in your inbox
One short email each morning around 7am Eastern: the new daily game and one surprising price from the past. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.