What did things cost
the year you were born?
Gas, milk, a movie ticket, a home — see the prices back then, and how many times more they cost now.
How it works
Type the year you were born. The tool shows you roughly what everyday things cost around then in the United States, alongside their price today and how many times more expensive they've become. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
About the numbers
- Prices are approximate and rounded. They're anchored to decade benchmark years (1930–2025); for years in between, the figure is estimated by interpolating between the two nearest benchmarks.
- They are not inflation-adjusted — “×N today” simply compares the raw dollar amounts then and now.
- Figures are compiled from public data (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, FRED, U.S. Census, USPS historical postage rates, and published industry averages) and rounded for display.
- This is a nostalgia tool for fun — not financial, investment, or historical-record advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How is my exact year estimated?
- Reliable everyday-price data is easiest to pin down at decade benchmarks, so for a year in between (say 1987) the figures are interpolated between the nearest benchmarks (1980 and 1990) and labelled as an approximate estimate.
- Are these the exact prices?
- No — they're rounded approximations of typical US prices. Real prices varied by place and brand.
- Do you store my birth year?
- No. The whole tool runs on your device; nothing is saved or uploaded.
- Will other countries be added?
- That's the plan — the data is structured so more countries can be added over time.