How much did things cost in 1981?
These are prices of some sample items in 1981.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1981? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1981 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1981 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| 20" Grundig colour TV (Dixons) | £239.95 | £1,500 |
| 12" Hitachi portable black & white TV (Currys) | £79.95 | £500 |
| Prinztronic scientific calculator (Dixons) | £9.90 | £61 |
| Bush stereo cassette recorder (Dixons) | £69.95 | £430 |
| Sinclair ZX81 personal computer | £69.95 | £430 |
| Gallon of petrol | £1.60 | £9.90 |
| Ford Cortina car | £4,200 | £26,000 |
| Bottle of whisky (Teacher's) (Tesco) | £6.09 | £38 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Tesco) | £2.89 | £18 |
| Bailey's Irish Cream (International) | £4.89 | £30 |
| Harp lager - four cans (Tesco) | £1.19 | £7.40 |
| Pint of beer | 51p | £3.20 |
| 20 cigarettes | 78p | £4.80 |
| Pint of milk | 18½p | £1.10 |
| Large loaf of bread | 35½p | £2.20 |
| 250g Sainsbury's English butter | 43½p | £2.70 |
| 100g Nescafé coffee (Fine Fare) | 87p | £5.40 |
| Can of Pepsi Cola (Tesco) | 17p | £1.10 |
| Half dozen size 4 brown eggs (Sainsbury's) | 30½p | £1.90 |
| Mild English Cheddar cheese (1lb) (Sainsbury's) | 99p | £6.20 |
| Stork SB 500g margarine | 32½p | £2 |
| Carlton fridge-freezer (Currys) | £169.95 | £1,100 |
| Servis twin tub washing machine (Currys) | £189.95 | £1,200 |
| Hoover automatic washing machine (Currys) | £194.95 | £1,200 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 12-14p | 75-87p |
| Average house price | £24,000 | £150,000 |
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 1981 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1981
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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