How much did things cost in 1982?
These are prices of some sample items in 1982.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1982? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1982 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1982 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | £1.64 | £9.30 |
| Bottle of whisky (White Horse) (Fine Fare) | £6.39 | £36 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Fine Fare) | £2.98 | £17 |
| Kestrel lager 4 cans (Fine Fare) | £1.39 | £7.90 |
| Pint of beer | 61p | £3.40 |
| Pint of milk | 20p | £1.10 |
| 22" Siemens colour TV (Dixons) | £299.99 | £1,700 |
| Programmable TV games console (Dixons) | £39.99 | £230 |
| Commodore Vic-20 home computer (Dixons) | £159.99 | £910 |
| Le Cel 17 LCD digital watch (W H Smith) | £4.99 | £28 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 14-16p | 79-91p |
| Average house price | £33,000 | £190,000 |
| 250g Sainsbury's butter | 44½p | £2.50 |
| 100g Nescafé coffee (Tesco) | 94p | £5.30 |
| Coca-Cola 2 litre bottle (Key Markets) | 69p | £3.90 |
| Ford Cortina 1300L 2 door car | £4,232 | £24,000 |
| Indesit fridge-freezer (Comet) | £145.95 | £830 |
| Hoovermatic 504 deluxe twin tub washing machine (Comet) | £187.90 | £1,100 |
| Bendix 7001 deluxe automatic washing machine (Comet) | £227.95 | £1,300 |
| Russell Hobbs K2 kettle (Comet) | £19.95 | £110 |
| Goblin Teasmade (Comet) | £34.95 | £200 |
| Smiths crisps, 10 pack (Mainstop) | 69p | £3.90 |
| Half dozen size 4 brown eggs (Sainsbury's) | 38½p | £2.20 |
| Irish Cheddar cheese (1lb) (Liptons) | 98p | £5.50 |
| Kraft margarine 2kg (Tesco) | 99p | £5.60 |
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 1982 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1982
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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