The Knack
Prices in 1979 vs. today
“In today's money” adjusts the 1979 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 | 1979 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 Median price of a house soldmedian sale price | $62,800 | $393,300 +526% |
| ⛽ Gallon of regular gasper gallon | 90¢ | $4.48 +396% |
| 🥛 Gallon of whole milkper gallon | $1.92 | $4.11 +114% |
| 🥛 Half-gallon of whole milkper half-gallon | 96¢ | $2.05 +114% |
| 🥚 Dozen large eggsper dozen | 86¢ | $2.27 +164% |
| 🍞 Loaf of white breadper pound | 47¢ | $1.83 +292% |
| ✉️ First-class postage stampper letter | 15¢ | 82¢ +447% |
| 💡 Kilowatt-hour of home electricityper kWh, residential | 4.6¢ | 18.3¢ +298% |
| ⏱️ Federal minimum wageper hour | $2.90 | $7.25 +150% |
| 🧰 Average factory worker's hourly payper hour, manufacturing production workers | $6.57 | $30.21 +360% |
| 👪 Median family incomeper year | $19,600 | $110,500 +464% |
1979 at a glance
Questions people ask about 1979
How much was a gallon of gas in 1979?
Regular gasoline averaged 90¢ a gallon in 1979 (U.S. city average, including taxes). That's about $4.19 in today's money. In Sep 2026 it averaged $4.48.
How much was a postage stamp in 1979?
A first-class stamp cost 15¢ in 1979. Today it costs 82¢.
How much did a house cost in 1979?
The median price of a house sold in the U.S. in 1979 was $62,800, about $291,558 adjusted for inflation. The latest median (Q3 2026) is $393,300.
What was the minimum wage in 1979?
The federal minimum wage was $2.90 an hour in 1979, worth about $13.46 an hour today. It has been $7.25 since July 2009.
How much was milk in 1979?
A gallon of whole milk averaged $1.92 in 1979. Today: $4.11.
How much were eggs in 1979?
A dozen large Grade A eggs averaged 86¢ in 1979. Today: $2.27.
What was the #1 song of 1979?
Billboard's top song of 1979 was “My Sharona” by The Knack.
How much is $1 from 1979 worth today?
$1 in 1979 buys about as much as $4.64 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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