The price time machine
Slide back to any year since 1980 and see what eggs, milk, bread, gas and more cost then, what that is in today's money, and why each price moves.
1 viewQuestions people ask
Where do these prices come from?
From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which checks the prices of the same items in stores in cities across the country every month and publishes the averages. Each year here is the average of its months; this year is the average so far.
What does "in today's money" mean?
It adjusts an old price for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the government's measure of how prices in general have risen. If eggs cost less in today's money than they did then, they have become cheaper compared with everything else.
Why is my local price different?
These are averages across US cities. Prices differ between regions, stores and brands, and organic or premium versions cost more.
Prices: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, average prices in US cities, and the Consumer Price Index for inflation (public domain). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each picture.