🍞 Loaf of white bread by Year (1946–2025)
In 1946 it cost 10¢ (per pound). In 2025 it was $1.87, and the latest figure (Sep 2026) is $1.83. Adjusted for inflation, it was cheapest in 1987 and most expensive in 1963.
| Year | Price then | In today's money |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.87 | $1.96 |
| 2024 | $1.97 | $2.12 |
| 2023 | $1.96 | $2.17 |
| 2022 | $1.70 | $1.96 |
| 2021 | $1.52 | $1.90 |
| 2020 | $1.45 | $1.89 |
| 2019 | $1.30 | $1.71 |
| 2018 | $1.29 | $1.73 |
| 2017 | $1.33 | $1.83 |
| 2016 | $1.37 | $1.92 |
| 2015 | $1.44 | $2.05 |
| 2014 | $1.40 | $1.99 |
| 2013 | $1.41 | $2.04 |
| 2012 | $1.42 | $2.08 |
| 2011 | $1.45 | $2.16 |
| 2010 | $1.37 | $2.12 |
| 2009 | $1.39 | $2.18 |
| 2008 | $1.37 | $2.14 |
| 2007 | $1.21 | $1.96 |
| 2006 | $1.08 | $1.81 |
| 2005 | $1.04 | $1.79 |
| 2004 | 97¢ | $1.73 |
| 2003 | $1.00 | $1.83 |
| 2002 | $1.02 | $1.90 |
| 2001 | 100¢ | $1.90 |
| 2000 | 93¢ | $1.82 |
| 1999 | 89¢ | $1.79 |
| 1998 | 86¢ | $1.78 |
| 1997 | 87¢ | $1.83 |
| 1996 | 88¢ | $1.88 |
| 1995 | 79¢ | $1.75 |
| 1994 | 76¢ | $1.73 |
| 1993 | 75¢ | $1.75 |
| 1992 | 75¢ | $1.80 |
| 1991 | 71¢ | $1.76 |
| 1990 | 70¢ | $1.79 |
| 1989 | 67¢ | $1.81 |
| 1988 | 61¢ | $1.75 |
| 1987 | 55¢ | $1.62 |
| 1986 | 56¢ | $1.74 |
| 1985 | 55¢ | $1.73 |
| 1984 | 54¢ | $1.75 |
| 1983 | 54¢ | $1.83 |
| 1982 | 53¢ | $1.86 |
| 1981 | 53¢ | $1.95 |
| 1980 | 51¢ | $2.08 |
| 1979 | 47¢ | $2.17 |
| 1978 | 42¢ | $2.15 |
| 1977 | 36¢ | $1.97 |
| 1976 | 35¢ | $2.09 |
| 1975 | 36¢ | $2.25 |
| 1974 | 35¢ | $2.36 |
| 1973 | 28¢ | $2.09 |
| 1972 | 25¢ | $1.99 |
| 1971 | 25¢ | $2.08 |
| 1970 | 24¢ | $2.11 |
| 1969 | 23¢ | $2.11 |
| 1968 | 22¢ | $2.17 |
| 1967 | 22¢ | $2.24 |
| 1966 | 22¢ | $2.30 |
| 1965 | 21¢ | $2.24 |
| 1964 | 21¢ | $2.25 |
| 1963 | 22¢ | $2.38 |
| 1962 | 21¢ | $2.36 |
| 1961 | 21¢ | $2.36 |
| 1960 | 20¢ | $2.31 |
| 1959 | 20¢ | $2.28 |
| 1958 | 19¢ | $2.25 |
| 1957 | 19¢ | $2.25 |
| 1956 | 18¢ | $2.22 |
| 1955 | 18¢ | $2.23 |
| 1954 | 17¢ | $2.16 |
| 1953 | 16¢ | $2.06 |
| 1952 | 16¢ | $2.03 |
| 1951 | 16¢ | $2.04 |
| 1950 | 14¢ | $2.00 |
| 1949 | 14¢ | $1.98 |
| 1948 | 14¢ | $1.95 |
| 1947 | 13¢ | $1.89 |
| 1946 | 10¢ | $1.80 |
How to read this
“Price then” is the average for that year. “In today's money” converts it to Sep 2026 dollars with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), so you can see whether bread really got pricier or the dollar just shrank.
Source: 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) (series APU0000702111). Yearly figures are averages of the monthly or quarterly data.
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