How much did things cost in 1979?
These are prices of some sample items in 1979.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1979? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1979 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1979 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | 98p | £8.40 |
| Bottle of whisky (Bells) (Peter Dominic) | £4.75 | £41 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Peter Dominic) | £2.34 | £20 |
| Watneys Party 4 (International) | £1.09p | £9.30 |
| Watneys Party 7 (Peter Dominic) | £1.99 | £17 |
| Pint of beer | 46p | £4 |
| 20 cigarettes | 67p | £5.80 |
| Pint of milk | 15p | £1.30 |
| Large loaf of bread | 25½p | £2.20 |
| 22" Bush colour TV (Currys) | £259.95 | £2,200 |
| 12" Bush portable black & white TV (Currys) | £72.95 | £630 |
| Commodore pocket calculator LC925 (Currys) | £8.95 | £77 |
| Buler LCD digital watch with musical alarm (Currys) | £29.95 | £260 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 8p-9p | 69-77p |
| Average house price | £20,000.00 | £170,000 |
| ½lb Tesco Creamery butter | 30½p | £2.60 |
| 100g Nescafé coffee (Sainsbury's) | 89½p | £7.70 |
| Can of coke (Tesco) | 12½p | £1.10 |
| Ford Cortina car | £3503.00 | £30,000 |
| Indesit fridge-freezer (Tesco) | £147.95 | £1,300 |
| Hotpoint Supermatic twin tub washing machine (Rumbelows) | £193.95 | £1,700 |
| Hotpoint Super Electronic Deluxe automatic washing machine (Rumbelows) | £264.95 | £2,300 |
| Golden Wonder crisps 100g (Fine Fare) | 19½p | £1.70 |
| Half dozen size 4 eggs (Liptons) | 22p | £1.90 |
| English Cheddar cheese (1lb) (Liptons) | 69p | £5.90 |
| Sainsbury's Super Soft Blue Label margarine | 27½p | £2.40 |
The income adjusted prices are based on the Bank of England's Three Centuries Macroeconomic Dataset Version 2.3 - 30 June 2016. I have updated the income figures based on the ONS: Series code KAB9, adjusted to bring the figures inline with the Bank of England's.
For a comparison of prices in 1979 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1979
By Steven Braggs, updated May 2022
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