How much did things cost in 1974?
These are prices of some sample items in 1974.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1974? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1974 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1974 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | 50p | £9.40 |
| Bottle of whisky (Haig) (Fine Fare) | £2.57 | £48 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Tesco) | £1.69 | £32 |
| Watneys Party 4 (Co-op) | 60p | £11 |
| Watneys Party 7 (Co-op) | £1 | £19 |
| Pint of beer | 22½p | £4.20 |
| Pint of milk | 4½p | 84p |
| Large loaf of bread | 14½p | £2.70 |
| 22" Pye colour TV (Currys) | £195.00 | £3,700 |
| 24" Philips black & white TV (Currys) | £59.95 | £1,100 |
| The Daily Mirror newspaper | 3-5p | 56-94p |
| Average house price | £10,000.00 | £190,000 |
| ½lb Emblem butter (Tesco) | 10½p | £2 |
| Nescafé 8oz coffee (Tesco) | 69p | £13 |
| Can of Coke (Tesco) | 7½p | £1.40 |
| Ford Cortina car | £1519.00 | £28,000 |
| Zoppas Fridge-Freezer (Currys) | £104.95 | £2,000 |
| Hotpoint Supermatic twin tub washing machine (Currys) | £74.95 | £1,400 |
| Bendix Autowasher Deluxe automatic washing machine (Currys) | £110.00 | £2,100 |
| Golden Wonder crisps | 7p | £1.30 |
| One dozen large white eggs | 45p | £8.40 |
| 1lb Stork soft margarine (Safeway) | 18p | £3.40 |
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 1974 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1974
By Steven Braggs, updated May 2022
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