How much did things cost in 1983?
These are prices of some sample items in 1983.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1983? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1983 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1983 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | £1.76 | £9.20 |
| Bottle of whisky (Teacher's) (Liptons) | £6.89 | £36 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Liptons) | £3.25 | £17 |
| Kestral lager 4 cans (Liptons) | £1.35 | £7 |
| Pint of beer | 67p | £3.50 |
| 20 cigarettes - John Player King Size, Extra Mild | £1 | £5.20 |
| Pint of milk | 21p | £1.10 |
| Prescription | £1.40 | £7.30 |
| 22" Toshiba colour TV (Currys) | £319.95 | £1,700 |
| Panasonic VHS recorder (Currys) | £399.95 | £2,100 |
| Commodore 64 computer (Dixons) | £199.95 | £1,000 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 16p | 83p |
| Average house price | £36,000 | £190,000 |
| 250g Lurpack butter (Fine Fare) | 47½p | £2.50 |
| 100g Nescafé coffee (Tesco) | £1.05 | £5.50 |
| Can of Pepsi cola (Fine Fare) | 14½p | 76p |
| Ford Sierra 1.6L 5dr car | £5,743 | £30,000 |
| Carlton fridge-freezer (Currys) | £169.94 | £890 |
| Servis automatic washing machine (Currys) | £289.95 | £1,500 |
| 6 packs of crisps (Tesco) | 47p | £2.40 |
| Irish Cheddar cheese (1lb) (Fine Fare) | 88p | £4.60 |
| Flora margarine 250g (Liptons) | 31p | £1.60 |
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 1983 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1983
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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