How much did things cost in 1962?

These are prices of some sample items in 1962.

How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1962? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1962 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.

1962 priceIncome adjusted
Gallon of petrol4s 11d£14
Pint of beer2s 1d£5.90
20 cigarettes4s 6d£13
Pint of milk8½d£2
19" Ekco black & white TV (Currys)67 guineas£4,000
Bush TR104 personal transistor radio £15 4s 6d£860
The Daily Mirror newspaper3d71p
Average house price£2,599£150,000
Cola (Fine Fare)9d£2.10
Ford Cortina car£597£34,000
Hotpoint Iced Diamond Super F50 refrigerator£55 13s£3,100
Hoover 65 twin tub - washing machine (Currys)65 guineas£3,900
Kenwood Chef mixer£28 19s 6d£1,600
Morphy-Richards Atlantic electric iron£2 12s 6d£150
Smiths crisps - 1 pack 4d94p
Heinz Cream of Tomato Soap (tin)1s 3d£3.50
Del Monte tinned fruit salad1s 9d to 2s 11d£4.90 to £8.20
Nylon stockings (St. Michael) from Marks & Spencer5s 6d£16
Agfacolour CT18 colour 35mm film including processing£1 11s 9d£90
Smiths Astral T152 men's wristwatch £7 10s£420
12 months membership of a 'Top Rank' health club £18 18s£1,100
Television rental (per week)8s to 12s£23 to £34
Olympia Splendid 33 portable manual typewriter£23£1,300
Ronson (model 21) electric razor£6 19s 6d £390

Prices are in pounds, shillings and pence.

Some shops priced more expensive items in guineas. A guinea is one pound and one shilling or £1.05.

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 1962 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1962

By Steven Braggs, November 2021, updated May 2022

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